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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5, by Richard F. Burton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5
+
+Author: Richard F. Burton
+
+Release Date: July 5, 2001 [EBook #3439]
+Last updated: May 25, 2019
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS ***
+
+
+
+
+This etext was scanned by J.C. Byers and proofread by Doris Ringbloom.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOK OF THE
+ THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
+
+
+
+A Plain and Literal Translation
+
+of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
+
+
+Translated and Annotated by
+ Richard F. Burton 
+
+
+
+VOLUME FIVE
+
+
+Privately Printed By The Burton Club
+
+
+
+To Doctor George Bird.
+
+
+
+My Dear Bird, This is not a strictly medical work, although in places treating
+of subjects which may modestly be called hygienic. I inscribe it to you
+because your knowledge of Egypt will enable you to appreciate its finer
+touches; and for another and a yet more cogent reason, namely, that you are one
+of my best and oldest friends.
+
+
+
+Ever yours sincerely,
+
+
+
+Richard F. Burton
+
+
+
+Athenæum Club, October 20, 1885.
+
+
+Contents of the Fifth Volume
+
+
+ 59. The Ebony Horse
+ 60. Uns Al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter Al-Ward Fi'l-Akmam or Rose-In-Hood
+ 61. Abu Nowas With the Three Boys and the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid
+ 62. Abdallah Bin Ma'amar With the Man of Bassorah and His Slave Girl
+ 63. The Lovers of the Banu Ozrah
+ 64. The Wazir of Al-Yaman and His Younger Brother
+ 65. The Loves of the Boy and Girl at School
+ 66. Al-Mutalammis and His Wife Umaymah
+ 67. The Caliph Marun Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah in the Bath
+ 68. Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Poets
+ 69. Mus'ab Bin Al-Zubayr and Ayishah His Wife
+ 70. Abu Al-Aswad and His Slave-Girl
+ 71. Harun Al-Rashid and the Two Slave-Girls
+ 72. The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Slave-Girls
+ 73. The Miller and His Wife
+ 74. The Simpleton and the Sharper
+ 75. The Kazi Abu Yusuf With Harum Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah
+ 76. The Caliph Al-Hakim and the Merchand
+ 77. King Kisra Anushirwan and the Village Damsel
+ 78. The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife
+ 79. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman
+ 80. Yahya Bin Khalid the Barmecide and the Poor Man
+ 81. Mohammed Al-Amin and the Slave-Girl
+ 82. The Sons of Yahya Bin Khalid and Sa'id Bin Salim Al-Bahili
+ 83. The Woman's Trick Against Her Husband
+ 84. The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders
+ 85. Ja'afar the Barmecide and the Old Badawi
+ 86. The Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab and the Young Badawi
+ 87. The Caliph Al-Maamum and the Pyramids of Egypt
+ 88. The Thief and the Merchant
+ 89. Masrur the Eunuch and Ibn Al-Karibi
+ 90. The Devotee Prince
+ 91. The Unwise Schoolmaster Who Fell in Love by Report
+ 92. The Foolish Dominie
+ 93. The Illiterate Who Set Up For a Schoolmaster
+ 94. The King and the Virtuous Wife
+ 95. Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh
+ 96. Adi Bin Zayd and the Princess Hind
+ 97. Di'ibil Al-Khuza'i With the Lady and Muslim Bin Al-Walid
+ 98. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant
+ 99. The Three Unfortunate Lovers
+ 100. How Abu Hasan Brake Wind
+ 101. The Lovers of the Banu Tayy
+ 102. The Mad Lover
+ 103. The Prior Who Became A Moslem
+ 104. The Loves of Abu Isa and Jurrat Al-Ayn
+ 105. Al-Amin Son of Al-Rashid and His Uncle Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi
+ 106. Al-Fath Bin Khakan and Al-Mutawakkil
+ 107. The Man's Dispute With the Learned Woman Concerning the Relative Excellence of Male and Female
+ 108. Abu Suwayd and the Pretty Old Woman
+ 109. The Emir ali Bin Tahir and the Girl Muunis
+ 110. The Woman Who had a Boy and the Other Who had a Man to Lover
+ 111. Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad
+ 112. The Pilgrim Man and the Old Woman
+ 113. Abu Alhusn and His Slave-Girl Tawaddud
+ 114. The Angel of Death With the Proud King and the Devout Man
+ 115. The Angel of Death and the Rich King
+ 116. The Angel of Death and the King of the Children of Israel
+ 117. Iskandar Zu Al-Karnayn and a Certain Tribe of Poor Folk
+ 118. The Righteousness of King Anushirwan
+ 119. The Jewish Kazi and His Pious Wife
+ 120. The Shipwrecked Woman and Her Child
+ 121. The Pious Black Slave
+ 122. The Devout Tray-Maker and His Wife
+ 123. Al-Jajjaj and the Pious Man
+ 124. The Blacksmith Who Could Handle Fire Without Hurt
+ 125. The Devotee To Whom Allah Gave a Cloud for Service and the Devout King
+ 126. The Moslem Champion and the Christian Damsel
+ 127. The Christian King's Daughter and the Moslem
+ 128. The Prophet and the Justice of Providence
+ 129. The Ferryman of the Nile and the Hermit
+ 130. The Island King and the Pious Israelite
+ 131. Abu Al-Hasan and Abu Ja'afar the Leper
+ 132. The Queen of Serpents
+ a. The Adventures of Bulukiya
+ b. The Story of Jansha
+
+
+
+The Book Of The
+
+THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
+
+
+
+THE EBONY HORSE.[FN#1]
+
+There was once in times of yore and ages long gone before, a great and
+puissant King, of the Kings of the Persians, Sαbϊr by name, who was the
+richest of all the Kings in store of wealth and dominion and surpassed
+each and every in wit and wisdom. He was generous, open handed and
+beneficent, and he gave to those who sought him and repelled not those
+who resorted to him; and he comforted the broken-hearted and honourably
+entreated those who fled to him for refuge. Moreover, he loved the poor
+and was hospitable to strangers and did the oppressed justice upon the
+oppressor. He had three daughters, like full moons of shining light or
+flower-gardens blooming bright; and a son as he were the moon; and it
+was his wont to keep two festivals in the twelve- month, those of the
+Nau-Roz, or New Year, and Mihrgαn the Autumnal Equinox,[FN#2] on which
+occasions he threw open his palaces and gave largesse and made
+proclamation of safety and security and promoted his chamberlains and
+viceroys; and the people of his realm came in to him and saluted him
+and gave him joy of the holy day, bringing him gifts and servants and
+eunuchs. Now he loved science and geometry, and one festival-day as he
+sat on his kingly throne there came in to him three wise men, cunning
+artificers and past masters in all manner of craft and inventions,
+skilled in making things curious and rare, such as confound the wit;
+and versed in the knowledge of occult truths and perfect in mysteries
+and subtleties. And they were of three different tongues and countries,
+the first a Hindi or Indian,[FN#3] the second a Roumi or Greek and the
+third a Farsi or Persian. The Indian came forwards and, prostrating
+himself before the King, wished him joy of the festival and laid before
+him a present befitting his dignity; that is to say, a man of gold, set
+with precious gems and jewels of price and hending in hand a golden
+trumpet. When Sabur[FN#4] saw this, he asked, "O sage, what is the
+virtue of this figure?"; and the Indian answered, "O my lord, if this
+figure be set at the gate of thy city, it will be a guardian over it;
+for, in an enemy enter the place, it will blow this clarion against him
+and he will be seized with a palsy and drop down dead." Much the King
+marvelled at this and cried, "By Allah, O sage, an this thy word be
+true, I will grant thee thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the
+Greek and, prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a
+basin of silver, in whose midst was a peacock of gold, surrounded by
+four-and-twenty chicks of the same metal. Sabur looked at them and
+turning to the Greek, said to him, "O sage, what is the virtue of this
+peacock?" "O my lord," answered he, "as often as an hour of the day or
+night passeth, it pecketh one of its young and crieth out and flappeth
+its wings, till the four-and-twenty hours are accomplished; and when
+the month cometh to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see
+the crescent therein." And the King said, "An thou speak sooth, I will
+bring thee to thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the Persian
+sage and, prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a
+horse[FN#5] of the blackest ebony-wood inlaid with gold and jewels, and
+ready harnessed with saddle, bridle and stirrups such as befit Kings;
+which when Sabur saw, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and was
+confounded at the beauty of its form and the ingenuity of its fashion.
+So he asked, "What is the use of this horse of wood, and what is its
+virtue and what the secret of its movement?"; and the Persian answered,
+"O my lord, the virtue of this horse is that, if one mount him, it will
+carry him whither he will and fare with its rider through the air and
+cover the space of a year in a single day." The King marvelled and was
+amazed at these three wonders, following thus hard upon one another on
+the same day, and turning to the sage, said to him, "By Allah the
+Omnipotent, and our Lord the Beneficent, who created all creatures and
+feedeth them with meat and drink, an thy speech be veritable and the
+virtue of thy contrivance appear, I will assuredly give thee whatsoever
+thou lustest for and will bring thee to thy desire and thy wish!"[FN#6]
+Then he entertained the sages three days, that he might make trial of
+their gifts; after which they brought the figures before him and each
+took the creature he had wroughten and showed him the mystery of its
+movement. The trumpeter blew the trump; the peacock pecked its chicks
+and the Persian sage mounted the ebony house, whereupon it soared with
+him high in air and descended again. When King Sabur saw all this, he
+was amazed and perplexed and felt like to fly for joy and said to the
+three sages, "Now I am certified of the truth of your words and it
+behoveth me to quit me of my promise. Ask ye, therefore, what ye will,
+and I will give you that same." Now the report of the King's daughters
+had reached the sages, so they answered, "If the King be content with
+us and accept of our gifts and allow us to prefer a request to him, we
+crave of him that he give us his three daughters in marriage, that we
+may be his sons-in-law; for that the stability of Kings may not be
+gainsaid." Quoth the King, "I grant you that which you wish and you
+desire," and bade summon the Kazi forthright, that he might marry each
+of the sages to one of his daughters. Now it fortuned that the
+Princesses were behind a curtain, looking on; and when they heard this,
+the youngest considered her husband to be and behold, he was an old
+man,[FN#7] an hundred years of age, with hair frosted, forehead
+drooping, eyebrows mangy, ears slitten, beard and mustachios stained
+and dyed; eyes red and goggle; cheeks bleached and hollow; flabby nose
+like a brinjall, or egg- plant[FN#8]; face like a cobbler's apron,
+teeth overlapping and lips like camel's kidneys, loose and pendulous;
+in brief a terror, a horror, a monster, for he was of the folk of his
+time the unsightliest and of his age the frightfullest; sundry of his
+grinders had been knocked out and his eye-teeth were like the tusks of
+the Jinni who frighteneth poultry in hen-houses. Now the girl was the
+fairest and most graceful of her time, more elegant than the gazelle
+however tender, than the gentlest zephyr blander and brighter than the
+moon at her full; for amorous fray right suitable; confounding in
+graceful sway the waving bough and outdoing in swimming gait the pacing
+roe; in fine she was fairer and sweeter by far than all her sisters.
+So, when she saw her suitor, she went to her chamber and strewed dust
+on her head and tore her clothes and fell to buffeting her face and
+weeping and wailing. Now the Prince, her brother, Kamar al-Akmαr, or
+the Moon of Moons hight, was then newly returned from a journey and,
+hearing her weeping and crying came in to her (for he loved her with
+fond affection, more than his other sisters) and asked her, "What
+aileth thee? What hath befallen thee? Tell me and conceal naught from
+me." So she smote her breast and answered, "O my brother and my dear
+one, I have nothing to hide. If the palace be straitened upon thy
+father, I will go out; and if he be resolved upon a foul thing, I will
+separate myself from him, though he consent not to make provision for
+me; and my Lord will provide." Quoth he, "Tell me what meaneth this
+talk and what hath straitened thy breast and troubled thy temper." "O
+my brother and my dear one," answered the Princess, "Know that my
+father hath promised me in marriage to a wicked magician who brought
+him, as a gift, a horse of black wood, and hath bewitched him with his
+craft and his egromancy; but, as for me, I will none of him, and would,
+because of him, I had never come into this world!" Her brother soothed
+her and solaced her, then fared to his sire and said, "What be this
+wizard to whom thou hast given my youngest sister in marriage, and what
+is this present which he hath brought thee, so that thou hast
+killed[FN#9] my sister with chagrin? It is not right that this should
+be." Now the Persian was standing by and, when he heard the Prince's
+words, he was mortified and filled with fury and the King said, "O my
+son, an thou sawest this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou
+wouldst be amated with amazement." Then he bade the slaves bring the
+horse before him and they did so; and, when the Prince saw it, it
+pleased him. So (being an accomplished cavalier) he mounted it
+forthright and struck its sides with the shovel-shaped stirrup-irons;
+but it stirred not and the King said to the Sage, "Go show him its
+movement, that he also may help thee to win thy wish." Now the Persian
+bore the Prince a grudge because he willed not he should have his
+sister; so he showed him the pin of ascent on the right side of the
+horse and saying to him, "Trill this," left him. Thereupon the Prince
+trilled the pin and lo! the horse forthwith soared with him high in
+ether, as it were a bird, and gave not overflying till it disappeared
+from men's espying, whereat the King was troubled and perplexed about
+his case and said to the Persian, "O sage, look how thou mayest make
+him descend." But he replied, "O my lord, I can do nothing, and thou
+wilt never see him again till Resurrection-day, for he, of his
+ignorance and pride, asked me not of the pin of descent and I forgot to
+acquaint him therewith." When the King heard this, he was enraged with
+sore rage; and bade bastinado the sorcerer and clap him in jail, whilst
+he himself cast the crown from his head and beat his face and smote his
+breast. Moreover, he shut the doors of his palaces and gave himself up
+to weeping and keening, he and his wife and daughters and all the folk
+of the city; and thus their joy was turned to annoy and their gladness
+changed into sore affliction and sadness. Thus far concerning them; but
+as regards the Prince, the horse gave not over soaring with him till he
+drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up for lost and saw death in
+the skies, and was confounded at his case, repenting him of having
+mounted the horse and saying to himself, "Verily, this was a device of
+the Sage to destroy me on account of my youngest sister; but there is
+no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
+Great! I am lost without recourse; but I wonder, did not he who made
+the ascent-pin make also a descent-pin?" Now he was a man of wit and
+knowledge and intelligence; so he fell to feeling all the parts of the
+horse, but saw nothing save a screw, like a cock's head, on its right
+shoulder and the like on the left, when quoth he to himself, "I see no
+sign save these things like buttons." Presently he turned the
+right-hand pin, whereupon the horse flew heavenwards with increased
+speed. So he left it and looking at the sinister shoulder and finding
+another pin, he wound it up and immediately the steed's upwards motion
+slowed and ceased and it began to descend, little by little, towards
+the face of the earth, while the rider became yet more cautious and
+careful of his life.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince
+wound up the sinister screw, the steed's upward motion slowed and
+ceased, and it began to descend, little by little, towards the earth
+while the rider became yet more cautious and careful of his life. And
+when he saw this and knew the uses of the horse, his heart was filled
+with joy and gladness and he thanked Almighty Allah for that He had
+deigned deliver him from destruction. Then he began to turn the horse's
+head whithersoever he would, making it rise and fall at pleasure, till
+he had gotten complete mastery over its every movement. He ceased not
+to descend the whole of that day, for that the steed's ascending flight
+had borne him afar from the earth; and, as he descended, he diverted
+himself with viewing the various cities and countries over which he
+passed and which he knew not, never having seen them in his life.
+Amongst the rest, he descried a city ordered after the fairest fashion
+in the midst of a verdant and riant land, rich in trees and streams,
+with gazelles pacing daintily over the plains; whereat he fell a-musing
+and said to himself, "Would I knew the name of yon town and in what
+land it is!" And he took to circling about it and observing it right
+and left. By this time, the day began to decline and the sun drew near
+to its downing; and he said in his mind, "Verily I find no goodlier
+place to night in than this city; so I will lodge here and early on the
+morrow I will return to my kith and kin and my kingdom; and tell my
+father and family what hath passed and acquaint him with what mine eyes
+have seen." Then he addressed himself to seeking a place wherein he
+might safely bestow himself and his horse and where none should descry
+him, and presently behold, he espied a-middlemost of the city a palace
+rising high in upper air surrounded by a great wall with lofty
+crenelles and battlements, guarded by forty black slaves, clad in
+complete mail and armed with spears and swords, bows and arrows. Quoth
+he, "This is a goodly place," and turned the descent-pin, whereupon the
+horse sank down with him like a weary bird, and alighted gently on the
+terrace-roof of the palace. So the Prince dismounted and ejaculating
+"Alhamdolillah"—praise be to Allah[FN#10]—he began to go round about
+the horse and examine it, saying, "By Allah, he who fashioned thee with
+these perfections was a cunning craftsman, and if the Almighty extend
+the term of my life and restore me to my country and kinsfolk in safety
+and reunite me with my father, I will assuredly bestow upon him all
+manner bounties and benefit him with the utmost beneficence." By this
+time night had overtaken him and he sat on the roof till he was assured
+that all in the palace slept; and indeed hunger and thirst were sore
+upon him, for that he had not tasted food nor drunk water since he
+parted from his sire. So he said within himself, "Surely the like of
+this palace will not lack of victual;" and, leaving the horse above,
+went down in search of somewhat to eat. Presently, he came to a
+staircase and descending it to the bottom, found himself in a court
+paved with white marble and alabaster, which shone in the light of the
+moon. He marvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion, but
+sensed no sound of speaker and saw no living soul and stood in
+perplexed surprise, looking right and left and knowing not whither he
+should wend. Then said he to himself, "I may not do better than return
+to where I left my horse and pass the night by it; and as soon as day
+shall dawn I will mount and ride away."— And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the king's
+son to himself, "I may not do better than pass the night by my horse;
+and as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride away." However, as
+he tarried talking to himself, he espied a light within the palace, and
+making towards it, found that it came from a candle that stood before a
+door of the Harim, at the head of a sleeping eunuch, as he were one of
+the Ifrits of Solomon or a tribesman of the Jinn, longer than lumber
+and broader than a bench. He lay before the door, with the pommel of
+his sword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head was a
+bag of leather[FN#11] hanging from a column of granite. When the Prince
+saw this, he was affrighted and said, "I crave help from Allah the
+Supreme! O mine Holy One, even as Thou hast already delivered me from
+destruction, so vouchsafe me strength to quit myself of the adventure
+of this palace!" So saying, he put out his hand to the budget and
+taking it, carried it aside and opened it and found in it food of the
+best. He ate his fill and refreshed himself and drank water, after
+which he hung up the provision-bag in its place and drawing the
+eunuch's sword from its sheath, took it, whilst the slave slept on,
+knowing not whence destiny should come to him. Then the Prince fared
+forwards into the palace and ceased not till he came to a second door,
+with a curtain drawn before it; so he raised the curtain and behold, on
+entering he saw a couch of the whitest ivory, inlaid with pearls and
+jacinths and jewels, and four slave-girls sleeping about it. He went up
+to the couch, to see what was thereon, and found a young lady lying
+asleep, chemised with her hair[FN#12] as she were the full moon
+rising[FN#13] over the Eastern horizon, with flower-white brow and
+shining hair-paring and cheeks like blood-red anemones and dainty moles
+thereon. He was amazed at her as she lay in her beauty and loveliness,
+her symmetry and grace, and he recked no more of death. So he went up
+to her, trembling in every nerve and, shuddering with pleasure, kissed
+her on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke forthright and opened her
+eyes, and seeing the Prince standing at her head, said to him, "Who art
+thou and whence comest thou?" Quoth he, "I am thy slave and thy lover."
+Asked she, "And who brought thee hither?" and he answered, "My Lord and
+my fortune." Then said Shams al-Nahαr[FN#14] (for such was her name),
+"Haply thou art he who demanded me yesterday of my father in marriage
+and he rejected thee, pretending that thou wast foul of favour. By
+Allah, my sire lied in his throat when he spoke this thing, for thou
+art not other than beautiful." Now the son of the King of Hind had
+sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him, for that he
+was ugly and uncouth, and she thought the Prince was he. So, when she
+saw his beauty and grace (for indeed he was like the radiant moon) the
+syntheism[FN#15] of love gat hold of her heart as it were a flaming
+fire, and they fell to talk and converse. Suddenly, her waiting-women
+awoke and, seeing the Prince with their mistress, said to her, "Oh my
+lady, who is this with thee?" Quoth she, "I know not; I found him
+sitting by me, when I woke up: haply 'tis he who seeketh me in marriage
+of my sire." Quoth they, "O my lady, by Allah the All-Father, this is
+not he who seeketh thee in marriage, for he is hideous and this man is
+handsome and of high degree. Indeed, the other is not fit to be his
+servant."[FN#16] Then the handmaidens went out to the eunuch, and
+finding him slumbering awoke him, and he started up in alarm. Said
+they, "How happeth it that thou art on guard at the palace and yet men
+come in to us, whilst we are asleep?" When the black heard this, he
+sprang in haste to his sword, but found it not; and fear took him and
+trembling. Then he went in, confounded, to his mistress and seeing the
+Prince sitting at talk with her, said to him, "O my lord, art thou man
+or Jinni?" Replied the Prince, "Woe to thee, O unluckiest of slaves:
+how darest thou even the sons of the royal Chosroes[FN#17] with one of
+the unbelieving Satans?" And he was as a raging lion. Then he took the
+sword in his hand and said to the slave, "I am the King's son-in-law,
+and he hath married me to his daughter and bidden me go in to her." And
+when the eunuch heard these words he replied, "O my lord, if thou be
+indeed of kind a man as thou avouchest, she is fit for none but for
+thee, and thou art worthier of her than any other." Thereupon the
+eunuch ran to the King, shrieking loud and rending his raiment and
+heaving dust upon his head; and when the King heard his outcry, he said
+to him, "What hath befallen thee?: speak quickly and be brief; for thou
+hast fluttered my heart." Answered the eunuch, "O King, come to thy
+daughter's succour; for a devil of the Jinn, in the likeness of a
+King's son, hath got possession of her; so up and at him!" When the
+King heard this, he thought to kill him and said, "How camest thou to
+be careless of my daughter and let this demon come at her?" Then he
+betook himself to the Princess's palace, where he found her slave-women
+standing to await him and asked them, "What is come to my daughter?" "O
+King," answered they, "slumber overcame us and, when we awoke, we found
+a young man sitting upon her couch in talk with her, as he were the
+full moon; never saw we aught fairer of favour than he. So we
+questioned him of his case and he declared that thou hadst given him
+thy daughter in marriage. More than this we know not, nor do we know if
+he be a man or a Jinni; but he is modest and well bred, and doth
+nothing unseemly or which leadeth to disgrace." Now when the King heard
+these words, his wrath cooled and he raised the curtain little by
+little and looking in, saw sitting at talk with his daughter a Prince
+of the goodliest with a face like the full moon for sheen. At this
+sight he could not contain himself, of his jealousy for his daughter's
+honour; and, putting aside the curtain, rushed in upon them drawn sword
+in hand like a furious Ghul. Now when the Prince saw him he asked the
+Princess, "Is this thy sire?"; and she answered, "Yes."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Price
+saw the King rushing in upon them, drawn sword in hand, like a furious
+Ghul he asked the Princess, "Is this thy sire?"; and she answered,
+"Yes." Whereupon he sprang to his feet and, seizing his sword, cried
+out at the King with so terrible a cry that he was confounded. Then the
+youth would have fallen on him with the sword; but the King seeing that
+the Prince was doughtier than he, sheathed his scymitar and stood till
+the young man came up to him, when he accosted him courteously and said
+to him, "O youth, art thou a man or a Jinni?" Quoth the Prince, "Did I
+not respect thy right as mine host and thy daughter's honour, I would
+spill thy blood! How darest thou fellow me with devils, me that am a
+Prince of the sons of the royal Chosroes who, had they wished to take
+thy kingdom, could shake thee like an earthquake from thy glory and thy
+dominions and spoil thee of all thy possessions?" Now when the King
+heard his words, he was confounded with awe and bodily fear of him and
+rejoined, "If thou indeed be of the sons of the Kings, as thou
+pretendest, how cometh it that thou enterest my palace without my
+permission, and smirchest mine honour, making thy way to my daughter
+and feigning that thou art her husband and claiming that I have given
+her to thee to wife, I that have slain Kings and Kings' sons, who
+sought her of me in marriage? And now who shall save thee from my might
+and majesty when, if I cried out to my slaves and servants and bade
+them put thee to the vilest of deaths they would slay thee forthright?
+Who shall deliver thee out of my hand?" When the Prince heard this
+speech of the King he answered, "Verily, I wonder at thee and at the
+shortness and denseness of thy wit! Say me, canst covet for thy
+daughter a mate comelier than myself, and hast ever seen a stouter
+hearted man or one better fitted for a Sultan or a more glorious in
+rank and dominion than I?" Rejoined the King, "Nay, by Allah! but I
+would have had thee, O youth, act after the custom of Kings and demand
+her from me to wife before witnesses, that I might have married her to
+thee publicly; and now, even were I to marry her to thee privily, yet
+hast thou dishonoured me in her person." Rejoined the Prince, "Thou
+sayest sooth, O King, but if thou summon thy slaves and thy soldiers
+and they fall upon me and slay me, as thou pretendest, thou wouldst but
+publish thine own disgrace, and the folk would be divided between
+belief in thee and disbelief in thee. Wherefore, O King, thou wilt do
+well, meseemeth, to turn from this thought to that which I shall
+counsel thee." Quoth the King, "Let me hear what thou hast to advise;"
+and quoth the Prince, "What I have to propose to thee is this: either
+do thou meet me in combat singular, I and thou; and he who slayeth his
+adversary shall be held the worthier and having a better title to the
+kingdom; or else, let me be this night and, whenas dawns the morn, draw
+out against me thy horsemen and footmen and servants; but first tell me
+their number." Said the King, "They are forty thousand horse, beside my
+own slaves and their followers,[FN#18] who are the like of them in
+number." Thereupon said the Prince, "When the day shall break, do thou
+array them against me and say to them"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+Prince, "When day shall break, do thou array them against me and say to
+them: 'This man is a suitor to me for my daughter's hand, on condition
+that he shall do battle single-handed against you all; for he
+pretendeth that he will overcome you and put you to the rout, and
+indeed that ye cannot prevail against him.' After which, leave me to do
+battle with them: if they slay me, then is thy secret surer guarded and
+thine honour the better warded; and if I overcome them and see their
+backs, then is it the like of me a King should covet to his
+son-in-law." So the King approved of his opinion and accepted his
+proposition, despite his awe at the boldness of his speech and amaze at
+the pretensions of the Prince to meet in fight his whole host, such as
+he had described to him, being at heart assured that he would perish in
+the fray and so he should be quit of him and freed from the fear of
+dishonour. Thereupon he called the eunuch and bade him go to his Wazir
+without stay and delay and command him to assemble the whole of the
+army and cause them don their arms and armour and mount their steeds.
+So the eunuch carried the King's order to the Minister, who
+straightaway summoned the Captains of the host and the Lords of the
+realm and bade them don their harness of derring-do and mount horse and
+sally forth in battle array. Such was their case; but as regards the
+King, he sat a long while conversing with the young Prince, being
+pleased with his wise speech and good sense and fine breeding. And when
+it was day-break he returned to his palace and, seating himself on his
+throne, commanded his merry men to mount and bade them saddle one of
+the best of the royal steeds with handsome selle and housings and
+trappings and bring it to the Prince. But the youth said, "O King, I
+will not mount horse, till I come in view of the troops and review
+them." "Be it as thou wilt," replied the King. Then the two repaired to
+the parade-ground, where the troops were drawn up, and the young Prince
+looked upon them and noted their great number; after which the King
+cried out to them, saying, "Ho, all ye men, there is come to me a youth
+who seeketh my daughter in marriage; and in very sooth never have I
+seen a goodlier than he; no, nor a stouter of heart nor a doughtier of
+arm, for he pretendeth that he can overcome you, single-handed, and
+force you to flight and that, were ye an hundred thousand in number,
+yet for him would ye be but few. Now when he chargeth down on you, do
+ye receive him upon point of pike and sharp of sabre; for, indeed, he
+hath undertaken a mighty matter." Then quoth the King to the Prince,
+"Up, O my son, and do thy devoir on them." Answered he, "O King, thou
+dealest not justly and fairly by me: how shall I go forth against them,
+seeing that I am afoot and the men be mounted?" The King retorted, "I
+bade thee mount, and thou refusedst; but choose thou which of my horses
+thou wilt." Then he said, "Not one of thy horses pleaseth me, and I
+will ride none but that on which I came." Asked the King, "And where is
+thy horse?" "Atop of thy palace." "In what part of my palace?" "On the
+roof." Now when the King heard these words, he cried, "Out on thee!
+this is the first sign thou hast given of madness. How can the horse be
+on the roof? But we shall at once see if thou speak the truth or lies."
+Then he turned to one of his chief officers and said to him, "Go to my
+palace and bring me what thou findest on the roof." So all the people
+marvelled at the young Prince's words, saying one to other, "How can a
+horse come down the steps from the roof? Verily this is a thing whose
+like we never heard." In the meantime the King's messenger repaired to
+the palace and mounting to the roof, found the horse standing there and
+never had he looked on a handsomer; but when he drew near and examined
+it, he saw that it was made of ebony and ivory. Now the officer was
+accompanied by other high officers, who also looked on and they laughed
+to one another, saying, "Was it of the like of this horse that the
+youth spake? We cannot deem him other than mad; however, we shall soon
+see the truth of his case."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high
+officials looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other and said,
+"Was it of the like of his horse that the youth spake? We cannot deem
+him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the truth of his case.
+Peradventure herein is some mighty matter, and he is a man of high
+degree." Then they lifted up the horse bodily and, carrying it to the
+King, set it down before him, and all the lieges flocked round to look
+at it, marvelling at the beauty of its proportions and the richness of
+its saddle and bridle. The King also admired it and wondered at it with
+extreme wonder; and he asked the Prince, "O youth, is this thy horse?"
+He answered, "Yes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see
+the marvel it showeth." Rejoined the King, "Then take and mount it,"
+and the Prince retorted, "I will not mount till the troops withdraw
+afar from it." So the King bade them retire a bowshot from the horse;
+whereupon quoth its owner, "O King, see thou; I am about to mount my
+horse and charge upon thy host and scatter them right and left and
+split their hearts asunder." Said the King, "Do as thou wilt; and spare
+not their lives, for they will not spare thine." Then the Prince
+mounted, whilst the troops ranged themselves in ranks before him, and
+one said to another, "When the youth cometh between the ranks, we will
+take him on the points of our pikes and the sharps of our sabres."
+Quoth another, "By Allah, this a mere misfortune: how shall we slay a
+youth so comely of face and shapely of form?" And a third continued,
+"Ye will have hard work to get the better of him; for the youth had not
+done this, but for what he knew of his own prowess and pre- eminence of
+valour." Meanwhile, having settled himself in his saddle, the Prince
+turned the pin of ascent; whilst all eyes were strained to see what he
+would do, whereupon the horse began to heave and rock and sway to and
+fro and make the strangest of movements steed ever made, till its belly
+was filled with air and it took flight with its rider and soared high
+into the sky. When the King saw this, he cried out to his men, saying,
+"Woe to you! catch him, catch him, ere he 'scape you!" But his Wazirs
+and Viceroys said to him, "O King, can a man overtake the flying bird?
+This is surely none but some mighty magician or Marid of the Jinn or
+devil, and Allah save thee from him. So praise thou the Almighty for
+deliverance of thee and of all thy host from his hand." Then the King
+returned to his palace after seeing the feat of the Prince and, going
+in to his daughter, acquainted her with what had befallen them both on
+the parade-ground. He found her grievously afflicted for the Prince and
+bewailing her separation from him; wherefore she fell sick with violent
+sickness and took to her pillow. Now when her father saw her on this
+wise, he pressed her to his breast and kissing her between the eyes,
+said to her, "O my daughter, praise Allah Almighty and thank Him for
+that He hath delivered us from this crafty enchanter, this villain,
+this low fellow, this thief who thought only of seducing thee!" And he
+repeated to her the story of the Prince and how he had disappeared in
+the firmament; and he abused him and cursed him knowing not how dearly
+his daughter loved him. But she paid no heed to his words and did but
+redouble in her tears and wails, saying to herself, "By Allah, I will
+neither eat meat nor drain drink, till Allah reunite me with him!" Her
+father was greatly concerned for her case and mourned much over her
+plight; but, for all he could do to soother her, love-longing only
+increased on her.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King mourned
+much over his daughter's plight but, for all he could do to soothe her,
+love-longing only increased on her. Thus far concerning the King and
+Princess Shams al-Nahαr; but as regards Prince Kamar al-Akmar, when he
+had risen high in air, he turned his horse's head towards his native
+land, and being alone mused upon the beauty of the Princess and her
+loveliness. Now he had enquired of the King's people the name of the
+city and of its King and his daughter; and men had told him that it was
+the city of Sana'α.[FN#19] So he journeyed with all speed, till he drew
+near his father's capital and, making an airy circuit about the city,
+alighted on the roof of the King's palace, where he left his horse,
+whilst he descended into the palace and seeing its threshold strewn
+with ashes, though that one of his family was dead. Then he entered, as
+of wont, and found his father and mother and sisters clad in mourning
+raiment of black, all pale of faces and lean of frames. When his sire
+descried him and was assured that it was indeed his son, he cried out
+with a great cry and fell down in a fit, but after a time coming to
+himself, threw himself upon him and embraced him, clipping him to his
+bosom and rejoicing in him with exceeding joy and extreme gladness. His
+mother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the Prince,
+fell upon him, kissing him and weeping, and joying with exceeding
+joyance. Then they questioned him of his case; so he told them all that
+had passed from first to last, and his father said to him, "Praised be
+Allah for thy safety, O coolth of my eyes and core of my heart!" Then
+the King bade hold high festival, and the glad tidings flew through the
+city. So they beat drums and cymbals and, doffing the weed of mourning,
+they donned the gay garb of gladness and decorated the streets and
+markets; whilst the folk vied with one another who should be the first
+to give the King joy, and the King proclaimed a general pardon and
+opening the prisons, released those who were therein prisoned.
+Moreover, he made banquets for the people, with great abundance of
+eating and drinking, for seven days and nights and all creatures were
+gladsomest; and he took horse with his son and rode out with him, that
+the folk might see him and rejoice. After awhile the Prince asked about
+the maker of the horse, saying, "O my father, what hath fortune done
+with him?"; and the King answered, "Allah never bless him nor the hour
+wherein I set eyes on him! For he was the cause of thy separation from
+us, O my son, and he hath lain in gaol since the day of thy
+disappearance." Then the King bade release him from prison and, sending
+for him, invested him in a dress of satisfaction and entreated him with
+the utmost favour and munificence, save that he would not give him his
+daughter to wife; whereat the Sage raged with sore rage and repented of
+that which he had done, knowing that the Prince had secured the secret
+of the steed and the manner of its motion. Moreover, the King said to
+his son, "I reck thou wilt do will not to go near the horse henceforth
+and more especially not to mount it after this day; for thou knowest
+not its properties, and belike thou art in error about it." Not the
+Prince had told his father of his adventure with the King of Sana'a and
+his daughter and he said, "Had the King intended to kill thee, he had
+done so; but thine hour was not yet come." When the rejoicings were at
+an end, the people returned to their places and the King and his son to
+the palace, where they sat down and fell to eating and drinking and
+making merry. Now the King had a handsome handmaiden who was skilled in
+playing the lute; so she took it and began to sweep the strings and
+sing thereto before the King and his son of separation of lovers, and
+she chanted the following verses:—
+
+"Deem not that absence breeds in me aught of forgetfulness; *
+
+
+     What should remember I did you fro' my remembrance wane?
+
+
+Time dies but never dies the fondest love for you we bear; *
+
+
+     And in your love I'll die and in your love I'll arise
+
+
+     again."[FN#20]
+
+
+
+When the Prince heard these verses, the fires of longing flamed up in
+his heart and pine and passion redoubled upon him. Grief and regret
+were sore upon him and his bowels yearned in him for love of the King's
+daughter of Sana'a; so he rose forthright and, escaping his father's
+notice, went forth the palace to the horse and mounting it, turned the
+pin of ascent, whereupon bird-like it flew with him high in air and
+soared towards the upper regions of the sky. In early morning his
+father missed him and, going up to the pinnacle of the palace, in great
+concern, saw his son rising into the firmament; whereat he was sore
+afflicted and repented in all penitence that he had not taken the horse
+and hidden it; and he said to himself, "By Allah, if but my son return
+to me, I will destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest
+concerning my son." And he fell again to weeping and bewailing
+himself.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King again
+fell to weeping and bewailing himself for his son. Such was his case;
+but as regards the Prince, he ceased not flying on through air till he
+came to the city of Sana'a and alighted on the roof as before. Then he
+crept down stealthily and, finding the eunuch asleep, as of wont,
+raised the curtain and went on little by little, till he came to the
+door of the Princess's alcove-[FN#21]chamber and stopped to listen;
+when lo! he heard her shedding plenteous tears and reciting verses,
+whilst her women slept round her. Presently, overhearing her weeping
+and wailing quoth they, "O our mistress, why wilt thou mourn for one
+who mourneth not for thee?" Quoth she, "O ye little of wit, is he for
+whom I mourn of those who forget or who are forgotten?" And she fell
+again to wailing and weeping, till sleep overcame her. Hereat the
+Prince's heart melted for her and his gall-bladder was like to burst,
+so he entered and, seeing her lying asleep without covering,[FN#22]
+touched her with his hand; whereupon she opened her eyes and espied him
+standing by her. Said he, "Why all this crying and mourning?" And when
+she knew him, she threw herself upon him, and took him around the neck
+and kissed him and answered, "For thy sake and because of my separation
+from thee." Said he, "O my lady, I have been made desolate by thee all
+this long time!" But she replied, "'Tis thou who hast desolated me; and
+hadst thou tarried longer, I had surely died!" Rejoined he, "O my lady,
+what thinkest thou of my case with thy father and how he dealt with me?
+Were it not for my love of thee, O temptation and seduction of the
+Three Worlds, I had certainly slain him and made him a warning to all
+beholders; but, even as I love thee, so I love him for thy sake." Quoth
+she, "How couldst thou leave me: can my life be sweet to me after
+thee?" Quoth he, "Let what hath happened suffice: I am now hungry, and
+thirsty." So she bade her maidens make ready meat and drink, and they
+sat eating and drinking and conversing till night was well nigh ended;
+and when day broke he rose to take leave of her and depart, ere the
+eunuch should awake. Shams al-Nahar asked him, "Whither goest thou?";
+and he answered, "To my father's house, and I plight thee my troth that
+I will come to thee once in every week." But she wept and said, "I
+conjure thee, by Allah the Almighty, take me with thee whereso thou
+wendest and make me not taste anew the bittergourd[FN#23] of separation
+from thee." Quoth he, "Wilt thou indeed go with me?" and quoth she,
+"Yes." "Then," said he, "arise that we depart." So she rose forthright
+and going to a chest, arrayed herself in what was richest and dearest
+to her of her trinkets of gold and jewels of price, and she fared
+forth, her handmaids recking naught. So he carried her up to the roof
+of the palace and, mounting the ebony horse, took her up behind him and
+made her fast to himself, binding her with strong bonds; after which he
+turned the shoulder-pin of ascent, and the horse rose with him high in
+air. When her slave-women saw this, they shrieked aloud and told her
+father and mother, who in hot haste ran to the palace-roof and looking
+up, saw the magical horse flying away with the Prince and Princess. At
+this the King was troubled with ever-increasing trouble and cried out,
+saying, "O King's son, I conjure thee, by Allah, have ruth on me and my
+wife and bereave us not of our daughter!" The Prince made him no reply;
+but, thinking in himself that the maiden repented of leaving father and
+mother, asked her, "O ravishment of the age, say me, wilt thou that I
+restore thee to thy mother and father?": whereupon she answered, "By
+Allah, O my lord, that is not my desire: my only wish is to be with
+thee, wherever thou art; for I am distracted by the love of thee from
+all else, even from my father and mother." Hearing these words the
+Prince joyed with great joy, and made the horse fly and fare softly
+with them, so as not to disquiet her; nor did they stay their flight
+till they came in sight of a green meadow, wherein was a spring of
+running water. Here they alighted and ate and drank; after which the
+Prince took horse again and set her behind him, binding her in his fear
+for her safety; after which they fared on till they came in sight of
+his father's capital. At this, the Prince was filled with joy and
+bethought himself to show his beloved the seat of his dominion and his
+father's power and dignity and give her to know that it was greater
+than that of her sire. So he set her down in one of his father's
+gardens without the city where his parent was wont to take his
+pleasure; and, carrying her into a domed summer-house prepared there
+for the King, left the ebony horse at the door and charged the damsel
+keep watch over it, saying, "Sit here, till my messenger come to thee;
+for I go now to my father, to make ready a palace for thee and show
+thee my royal estate." She was delighted when she heard these words and
+said to him, "Do as thou wilt;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden was
+delighted when she heard these words and said to him, "Do as thou
+wilt;" for she thereby understood that she should not enter the city
+but with due honour and worship, as became her rank. Then the Prince
+left her and betook himself to the palace of the King his father, who
+rejoiced in his return and met him and welcomed him; and the Prince
+said to him, "Know that I have brought with me the King's daughter of
+whom I told thee; and have left her without the city in such a garden
+and come to tell thee, that thou mayst make ready the procession of
+estate and go forth to meet her and show her thy royal dignity and
+troops and guards." Answered the King, "With joy and gladness"; and
+straightaway bade decorate the town with the goodliest adornment. Then
+he took horse and rode out in all magnificence and majesty, he and his
+host, high officers and household, with drums and kettle-drums, fifes
+and clarions and all manner instruments; whilst the Prince drew forth
+of his treasuries jewellery and apparel and what else of the things
+which Kings hoards and made a rare display of wealth and splendour:
+moreover he got ready for the Princess a canopied litter of brocades,
+green, red and yellow, wherein he set Indian and Greek and Abyssinian
+slave- girls. Then he left the litter and those who were therein and
+preceded them to the pavilion where he had set her down; and searched
+but found naught, neither Princess nor horse. When he saw this, he beat
+his face, and rent his raiment and began to wander round about the
+garden, as he had lost his wits; after which he came to his senses and
+said to himself, "How could she have come at the secret of this horse,
+seeing I told her nothing of it? Maybe the Persian sage who made the
+horse hath chanced upon her and stolen her away, in revenge for my
+father's treatment of him." Then he sought the guardians of the garden
+and asked them if they had seen any pass the precincts; and said, "Hath
+any one come in here? Tell me the truth and the whole truth or I will
+at once strike off your heads." They were terrified by his threats; but
+they answered with one voice, "We have seen no man enter save the
+Persian sage, who came to gather healing herbs." So the Prince was
+certified that it was indeed he that had taken away the maiden,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince
+heard their answer, he was certified that the Sage had taken away the
+maiden and abode confounded and perplexed concerning his case. And he
+was abashed before the folk and, turning to his sire, told him what had
+happened and said to him, "Take the troops and march them back to the
+city. As for me, I will never return till I have cleared up this
+affair." When the King heard this, he wept and beat his breast and said
+to him, "O my son, calm thy choler and master thy chagrin and come home
+with us and look what King's daughter thou wouldst fain have, that I
+may marry thee to her." But the Prince paid no heed to his words and
+farewelling him departed, whilst the King returned to the city and
+their joy was changed into sore annoy. Now, as Destiny issued her
+decree, when the Prince left the Princess in the garden-house and
+betook himself to his father's palace, for the ordering of his affair,
+the Persian entered the garden to pluck certain simples and, scenting
+the sweet savour of musk and perfumes that exhaled from the Princess
+and impregnated the whole place, followed it till he came to the
+pavilion and saw standing at the door the horse which he had made with
+his own hands. His heart was filled with joy and gladness, for he had
+bemourned its loss much since it had gone out of his hand: so he went
+up to it and, examining its every part, found it whole and sound;
+whereupon he was about to mount and ride away, when he bethought
+himself and said, "Needs must I first look what the Prince hath brought
+and left here with the horse." So he entered the pavilion and, seeing
+the Princess sitting there, as she were the sun shining sheen in the
+sky serene, knew her at the first glance to be some high-born lady and
+doubted not but the Prince had brought her thither on the horse and
+left her in the pavilion, whilst he went to the city, to make ready for
+her entry in state procession with all splendor. Then he went up to her
+and kissed the earth between her hands, whereupon she raised her eyes
+to him and, finding him exceedingly foul of face and favour, asked,
+"Who art thou?"; and he answered, "O my lady, I am a messenger sent by
+the Prince who hath bidden me bring thee to another pleasance nearer
+the city; for that my lady the Queen cannot walk so far and is
+unwilling, of her joy in thee, that another should forestall her with
+thee." Quoth she, "Where is the Prince?"; and quoth the Persian, "He is
+in the city, with his sire and forthwith he shall come for thee in
+great state." Said she, "O thou! say me, could he find none handsomer
+to send to me?"; whereat loud laughed the Sage and said, "Yea verily,
+he hath not a Mameluke as ugly as I am; but, O my lady, let not the
+ill-favour of my face and the foulness of my form deceive thee. Hadst
+thou profited of me as hath the Prince, verily thou wouldst praise my
+affair. Indeed, he chose me as his messenger to thee, because of my
+uncomeliness and loathsomeness in his jealous love of thee; else hath
+he Mamelukes and negro slaves, pages, eunuchs and attendants out of
+number, each goodlier than other." Whenas she heard this, it commended
+itself to her reason and she believed him; so she rose forthright;—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Persian
+sage acquainted the Princess with the case of the King's son, she
+believed him; so she rose forthright; and, putting her hand in his,
+said, "O my father, what hast thou brought me to ride?" He replied, "O
+my lady, thou shalt ride the horse thou camest on;" and she, "I cannot
+ride it by myself." Whereupon he smiled and knew that he was her master
+and said, "I will ride with thee myself." So he mounted and, taking her
+up behind him bound her to himself with firm bonds, while she knew not
+what he would with her. Then he turned the ascent-pin, whereupon the
+belly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed to and fro like a
+wave of the sea, and rose with them high in air nor slackened in its
+flight, till it was out of sight of the city. Now when Shams al-Nahir
+saw this, she asked him, "Ho thou! what is become of that thou toldest
+me of my Prince, making me believe that he sent thee to me?" Answered
+the Persian, "Allah damn the Prince! he is a mean and skin-flint
+knave." She cried, "Woe to thee! How darest thou disobey thy lord's
+commandment?" Whereto the Persian replied, "He is no lord of mine:
+knowest thou who I am?" Rejoined the Princess, "I know nothing of thee
+save what thou toldest me;" and retorted he, "What I told thee was a
+trick of mine against thee and the King's son: I have long lamented the
+loss of this horse which is under us; for I constructed it and made
+myself master of it. But now I have gotten firm hold of it and of thee
+too, and I will burn his heart even as he hath burnt mine; nor shall he
+ever have the horse again; no, never! So be of good cheer and keep
+thine eyes cool and clear; for I can be of more use to thee than he;
+and I am generous as I am wealthy; my servants and slaves shall obey
+thee as their mistress; I will robe thee in finest raiment and thine
+every wish shall be at thy will." When she heard this, she buffeted her
+face and cried out, saying, "Ah, well-away! I have not won my beloved
+and I have lost my father and mother!" And she wept bitter tears over
+what had befallen her, whilst the Sage fared on with her, without
+ceasing, till he came to the land of the Greeks[FN#24] and alighted in
+a verdant mead, abounding in streams and trees. Now this meadow lay
+near a city wherein was a King of high puissance, and it chanced that
+he went forth that day to hunt and divert himself. As he passed by the
+meadow, he saw the Persian standing there, with the damsel and the
+horse by his side; and, before the Sage was ware, the King's slaves
+fell upon him and carried him and the lady and the horse to their
+master who, noting the foulness of the man's favour and his
+loathsomeness and the beauty of the girl and her loveliness, said, "O
+my lady, what kin is this oldster to thee?" The Persian made haste to
+reply, saying, "She is my wife and the daughter of my father's
+brother." But the lady at once gave him the lie and said, "O King, by
+Allah, I know him not, nor is he my husband; nay, he is a wicked
+magician who hath stolen me away by force and fraud." Thereupon the
+King bade bastinado the Persian and they beat him till he was well-nigh
+dead; after which the King commanded to carry him to the city and cast
+him into jail; and, taking from him the damsel and the ebony horse
+(though he knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion), set
+the girl in his serraglio and the horse amongst his hoards. Such was
+the case with the Sage and the lady; but as regards Prince Kamar
+al-Akmar, he garbed himself in travelling gear and taking what he
+needed of money, set out tracking their trail in very sorry plight; and
+journeyed from country to country and city to city seeking the Princess
+and enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst all who heard him marvelled
+at him and deemed his talk extravagant. Thus he continued doing a long
+while; but, for all his enquiry and quest, he could hit on no new news
+of her. At last he came to her father's city of Sana'a and there asked
+for her, but could get no tidings of her and found her father mourning
+her loss. So he turned back and made for the land of the Greeks,
+continuing to enquire concerning the twain as he went,— And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's son
+made for the land of the Greeks, continuing to enquire concerning the
+two as he went along, till, as chance would have it, he alighted at a
+certain Khan and saw a company of merchants sitting at talk. So he sat
+down near them and heard one say, "O my friends, I lately witnessed a
+wonder of wonders." They asked, "What was that?" and he answered, "I
+was visiting such a district in such a city (naming the city wherein
+was the Princess), and I heard its people chatting of a strange thing
+which had lately befallen. It was that their King went out one day
+hunting and coursing with a company of his courtiers and the lords of
+his realm; and, issuing from the city, they came to a green meadow
+where they espied an old man standing, with a woman sitting hard by a
+horse of ebony. The man was foulest-foul of face and loathly of form,
+but the woman was a marvel of beauty and loveliness and elegance and
+perfect grace; and as for the wooden horse, it was a miracle, never saw
+eyes aught goodlier than it nor more gracious than its make." Asked the
+others, "And what did the King with them?"; and the merchant answered,
+"As for the man the King seized him and questioned him of the damsel
+and he pretended that she was his wife and the daughter of his paternal
+uncle; but she gave him the lie forthright and declared that he was a
+sorcerer and a villain. So the King took her from the old man and bade
+beat him and cast him into the trunk-house. As for the ebony horse, I
+know not what became of it." When the Prince heard these words, he drew
+near to the merchant and began questioning him discreetly and
+courteously touching the name of the city and of its King; which when
+he knew, he passed the night full of joy. And as soon as dawned the day
+he set out and travelled sans surcease till he reached that city; but,
+when he would have entered, the gate-keepers laid hands on him, that
+they might bring him before the King to question him of his condition
+and the craft in which he was skilled and the cause of his coming
+thither-such being the usage and custom of their ruler. Now it was
+supper-time when he entered the city, and it was then impossible to go
+in to the King or take counsel with him respecting the stranger. So the
+guards carried him to the jail, thinking to lay him by the heels there
+for the night; but, when the warders saw his beauty and loveliness,
+they could not find it in their hearts to imprison him: they made him
+sit with them without the walls; and, when food came to them, he ate
+with them what sufficed him. As soon as they had made an end of eating,
+they turned to the Prince and said, "What countryman art thou?" "I come
+from Fars," answered he, "the land of the Chosroλs." When they heard
+this they laughed and one of them said, "O Chosroan,[FN#25] I have
+heard the talk of men and their histories and I have looked into their
+conditions; but never saw I or heard I a bigger liar than the Chosroan
+which is with us in the jail." Quoth another, "And never did I see
+aught fouler than his favour or more hideous than his visnomy." Asked
+the Prince. "What have ye seen of his lying?"; and they answered, "He
+pretendeth that he is one of the wise! Now the King came upon him, as
+he went a- hunting, and found with him a most beautiful woman and a
+horse of the blackest ebony, never saw I a handsomer. As for the
+damsel, she is with the King, who is enamoured of her and would fain
+marry her; but she is mad, and were this man a leach as he claimeth to
+be, he would have healed her, for the King doth his utmost to discover
+a cure for her case and a remedy for her disease, and this whole year
+past hath he spent treasure upon physicians and astrologers, on her
+account; but none can avail to cure her. As for the horse, it is in the
+royal hoard-house, and the ugly man is here with us in prison; and as
+soon as night falleth, he weepeth and bemoaneth himself and will not
+let us sleep."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the warders
+had recounted the case of the Persian egromancer they held in prison
+and his weeping and wailing, the Prince at once devised a device
+whereby he might compass his desire; and presently the guards of the
+gate, being minded to sleep, led him into the jail and locked the door.
+So he overheard the Persian weeping and bemoaning himself, in his own
+tongue, and saying, "Alack, and alas for my sin, that I sinned against
+myself and against the King's son, in that which I did with the damsel;
+for I neither left her nor won my will of her! All this cometh of my
+lack of sense, in that I sought for myself that which I deserved not
+and which befitted not the like of me; for whoso seeketh what suiteth
+him not at all, falleth with the like of my fall." Now when the King's
+son heard this, he accosted him in Persian, saying, "How long will this
+weeping and wailing last? Say me, thinkest thou that hath befallen thee
+that which never befel other than thou?" Now when the Persian heard
+this, he made friends with him and began to complain to him of his case
+and misfortunes. And as soon as the morning morrowed, the warders took
+the Prince and carried him before their King, informing him that he had
+entered the city on the previous night, at a time when audience was
+impossible. Quoth the King to the Prince, "Whence comest thou and what
+is thy name and trade and why hast thou travelled hither?" He replied,
+"As to my name I am called in Persian Harjah;[FN#26] as to my country I
+come from the land of Fars; and I am of the men of art and especially
+of the art of medicine and healing the sick and those whom the Jinns
+drive mad. For this I go round about all countries and cities, to
+profit by adding knowledge to my knowledge, and whenever I see a
+patient I heal him and this is my craft."[FN#27] Now when the King
+heard this, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and said, "O excellent Sage,
+thou hast indeed come to us at a time when we need thee." Then he
+acquainted him with the case of the Princess, adding, "If thou cure her
+and recover her from her madness, thou shalt have of me everything thou
+seekest." Replied the Prince, "Allah save and favour the King: describe
+to me all thou hast seen of her insanity and tell me how long it is
+since the access attacked her; also how thou camest by her and the
+horse and the Sage." So the King told him the whole story, from first
+to last, adding, "The Sage is in goal." Quoth the Prince, "O auspicious
+King, and what hast thou done with the horse?" Quoth the King, "O
+youth, it is with me yet, laid up in one of my treasure-chambers,"
+whereupon said the Prince within himself, "The best thing I can do is
+first to see the horse and assure myself of its condition. If it be
+whole and sound, all will be well and end well; but, if its motor-works
+be destroyed, I must find some other way of delivering my beloved."
+Thereupon he turned to the King and said to him, "O King, I must see
+the horse in question: haply I may find in it somewhat that will serve
+me for the recovery of the damsel." "With all my heart," replied the
+King, and taking him by the hand, showed him into the place where the
+horse was. The Prince went round about it, examining its condition, and
+found it whole and sound, whereat he rejoiced greatly and said to the
+King, "Allah save and exalt the King! I would fain go in to the damsel,
+that I may see how it is with her; for I hope in Allah to heal her by
+my healing hand through means of the horse." Then he bade them take
+care of the horse and the King carried him to the Princess's apartment
+where her lover found her wringing her hands and writhing and beating
+herself against the ground, and tearing her garments to tatters as was
+her wont; but there was no madness of Jinn in her, and she did this but
+that none might approach her. When the Prince saw her thus, he said to
+her, "No harm shall betide thee, O ravishment of the three worlds;" and
+went on to soothe her and speak her fair, till he managed to whisper,
+"I am Kamar al-Akmar;" whereupon she cried out with a loud cry and fell
+down fainting for excess of joy; but the King thought this was
+epilepsy[FN#28] brought on by her fear of him, and by her suddenly
+being startled. Then the Prince put his mouth to her ear and said to
+her, "O Shams al-Nahar, O seduction of the universe, have a care for
+thy life and mine and be patient and constant; for this our position
+needeth sufferance and skilful contrivance to make shift for our
+delivery from the tyrannical King. My first move will be now to go out
+to him and tell him that thou art possessed of a Jinn and hence thy
+madness; but that I will engage to heal thee and drive away the evil
+spirit, if he will at once unbind thy bonds. So when he cometh in to
+thee, do thou speak him smooth words, that he may think I have cured
+thee, and all will be done for us as we desire." Quoth she, "Hearkening
+and obedience;" and he went out to the King in joy and gladness, and
+said to him, "O august King, I have, by thy good fortune, discovered
+her disease and its remedy, and have cured her for thee. So now do thou
+go in to her and speak her softly and treat her kindly, and promise her
+what may please her; so shall all thou desirest of her be accomplished
+to thee."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince
+feigned himself a leach and went in to the damsel and made himself
+known to her and told her how he purposed to deliver her, she cried
+"Hearkening and obedience!" He then fared forth from her and sought the
+King and said, "Go thou in to her and speak her softly and promise her
+what may please her; so shall all thou desirest of her be accomplished
+to thee." Thereupon the King went in to her and when she saw him, she
+rose and kissing the ground before him, bade him welcome and said, "I
+admire how thou hast come to visit thy handmaid this day;" whereat he
+was ready to fly for joy and bade the waiting-women and the eunuchs
+attend her and carry her to the Hammam and make ready for her dresses
+and adornment. So they went in to her and saluted her, and she returned
+their salams with the goodliest language and after the pleasantest
+fashion; whereupon they clad her in royal apparel and, clasping a
+collar of jewels about her neck, carried her to the bath and served her
+there. Then they brought her forth, as she were the full moon; and,
+when she came into the King's presence, she saluted him and kissed
+ground before him; whereupon he joyed in her with joy exceeding and
+said to the Prince, "O Sage, O philosopher, all this is of thy
+blessing. Allah increase to us the benefit of thy healing
+breath!"[FN#29] The Prince replied, "O King, for the completion of her
+cure it behoveth that thou go forth, thou and all thy troops and
+guards, to the place where thou foundest her, not forgetting the beast
+of black wood which was with her; for therein is a devil; and, unless I
+exorcise him, he will return to her and afflict her at the head of
+every month." "With love and gladness," cried the King, "O thou Prince
+of all philosophers and most learned of all who see the light of day."
+Then he brought out the ebony horse to the meadow in question and rode
+thither with all his troops and the Princess, little weeting the
+purpose of the Prince. Now when they came to the appointed place, the
+Prince, still habited as a leach, bade them set the Princess and the
+steed as far as eye could reach from the King and his troops, and said
+to him, "With thy leave, and at thy word, I will now proceed to the
+fumigations and conjurations, and here imprison the adversary of
+mankind, that he may never more return to her. After this, I shall
+mount this wooden horse which seemeth to be made of ebony, and take the
+damsel up behind me; whereupon it will shake and sway to and fro and
+fare forwards, till it come to thee, when the affair will be at an end;
+and after this thou mayst do with her as thou wilt." When the King
+heard his words, he rejoiced with extreme joy; so the Prince mounted
+the horse and, taking the damsel up behind him, whilst the King and his
+troops watched him, bound her fast to him. Then he turned the
+ascending-pin and the horse took flight and soared with them high in
+air, till they disappeared from every eye. After this the King abode
+half the day, expecting their return; but they returned not. So when he
+despaired of them, repenting him greatly of that which he had done and
+grieving sore for the loss of the damsel, he went back to the city with
+his troops. He then sent for the Persian who was in prison and said to
+him, "O thou traitor, O thou villian, why didst thou hide from me the
+mystery of the ebony horse? And now a sharper hath come to me and hath
+carried it off, together with a slave-girl whose ornaments are worth a
+mint of money, and I shall never see anyone or anything of them again!"
+So the Persian related to him all his past, first and last, and the
+King was seized with a fit of fury which well-nigh ended his life. He
+shut himself up in his palace for a while, mourning and afflicted; but
+at last his Wazirs came in to him and applied themselves to comfort
+him, saying, "Verily, he who took the damsel is an enchanter, and
+praised be Allah who hath delivered thee from his craft and sorcery!"
+And they ceased not from him, till he was comforted for her loss. Thus
+far concerning the King; but as for the Prince, he continued his career
+towards his father's capital in joy and cheer, and stayed not till he
+alighted on his own palace, where he set the lady in safety; after
+which he went in to his father and mother and saluted them and
+acquainted them with her coming, whereat they were filled with solace
+and gladness. Then he spread great banquets for the towns-folk,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's son
+spread great banquets for the towns-folk and they held high festival a
+whole month, at the end of which time he went in to the Princess and
+they took their joy of each other with exceeding joy. But his father
+brake the ebony horse in pieces and destroyed its mechanism for flight;
+moreover the Prince wrote a letter to the Princess's father, advising
+him of all that had befallen her and informing him how she was now
+married to him and in all health and happiness, and sent it by a
+messenger, together with costly presents and curious rarities. And when
+the messenger arrived at the city which was Sana'a and delivered the
+letter and the presents to the King, he read the missive and rejoiced
+greatly thereat and accepted the presents, honouring and rewarding the
+bearer handsomely. Moreover, he forwarded rich gifts to his son-in-law
+by the same messenger, who returned to his master and acquainted him
+with what had passed; whereat he was much cheered. And after this the
+Prince wrote a letter every year to his father-in-law and sent him
+presents till, in course of time, his sire King Sabur deceased and he
+reigned in his stead, ruling justly over his lieges and conducting
+himself well and righteously towards them, so that the land submitted
+to him and his subjects did him loyal service; and Kamar al-Akmar and
+his wife Shams al-Nahar abode in the enjoyment of all satisfaction and
+solace of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of deligights and
+Sunderer of societies; the Plunderer of palaces, the Caterer for
+cemeteries and the Garnerer of graves. And now glory be to the Living
+One who dieth not and in whose hand is the dominion of the worlds
+visible and invisible! Moreover I have heard tell the tale of
+
+
+
+
+UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR'S DAUGHTER AL-WARD FI'L-AKMAM OR
+ROSE-IN-HOOD.[FN#30]
+
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,
+a King of great power and lord of glory and dominion galore; who had a
+Wazir Ibrahim hight, and this Wazir's daughter was a damsel of
+extraordinary beauty and loveliness, gifted with passing brilliancy and
+the perfection of grace, possessed of abundant wit, and in all good
+breeding complete. But she loved wassail and wine and the human face
+divine and choice verses and rare stories; and the delicacy of her
+inner gifts invited all hearts to love, even as saith the poet,
+describing her,
+
+     "Like moon she shines amid the starry sky, *
+
+
+          Robing in tresses blackest ink outvie.
+
+
+     The morning-breezes give her boughs fair drink, *
+
+
+          And like a branch she sways with supple ply:
+
+
+     She smiles in passing us. O thou that art *
+
+
+          Fairest in yellow robed, or cramoisie,
+
+
+     Thou playest with my wit in love, as though *
+
+
+          Sparrow in hand of playful boy were I."[FN#31]
+
+
+
+Her name was Rose-in-Hood and she was so named for her young and tender
+beauty and the freshness of her brilliancy; and the King loved her in
+his cups because of her accomplishments and fine manners. Now it was
+the King's custom yearly to gather together all the nobles of his realm
+and play with the ball.[FN#32] So when the day came round whereon the
+folk assembled for ballplay, the Minister's daughter seated herself at
+her lattice, to divert herself by looking on at the game; and, as they
+were at play, her glance fell upon a youth among the guards than whom
+never was seen a comelier face nor a goodlier form; for he was bright
+of favour showing white teeth when he smiled, tall-statured and
+broad-shouldered. She looked at him again and again and could not take
+her fill of gazing; and presently said to her nurse, "What is the name
+of yonder handsome young man among the troops?" Replied the nurse, "O
+my daughter, the dear fellows are all handsome. Which of them dost thou
+mean?" Said Rose-in-Hood, "Wait till he come past and I will point him
+out to thee." So she took an apple and as he rode by dropped it on him,
+whereupon he raised his head, to see who did this, and espied the
+Wazir's daughter at the window, as she were the moon of fullest light
+in the darkness of the night; nor did he withdraw his eyes, till his
+heart was utterly lost to her, and he recited these lines,
+
+     "Was't archer shot me, or was't thine eyes *
+
+
+          Ruined lover's heart that thy charms espies?
+
+
+     Was the notched shaft[FN#33] from a host outshot, *
+
+
+          Or from latticed window in sudden guise?"
+
+
+
+When the game was at an end, and all had left the ground, she asked her
+nurse, "What is the name of that youth I showed thee?"; and the good
+woman answered, "His name is Uns al-Wujud;" whereat Rose-in-Hood shook
+her head and lay down on her couch, with thoughts a-fire for love.
+Then, sighing deeply, she improvised these couplets,
+
+     "He missed not who dubbed thee, 'World's delight,' *
+
+
+          A world's love conjoining to bounty's light:[FN#34]
+
+
+     O thou, whose favour the full moon favours, *
+
+
+          Whose charms make life and the living bright!
+
+
+     Thou hast none equal among mankind; *
+
+
+          Sultan of Beauty, and proof I'll cite:
+
+
+     Thine eye-brows are likest a well-formed NÏŠn,[FN#35] *
+
+
+          And thine eyes a Sαd,[FN#36] by His hand indite;
+
+
+     Thy shape is the soft, green bough that gives *
+
+
+          When asked to all with all-gracious sprite:
+
+
+     Thou excellest knights of the world in stowre, *
+
+
+          With delight and beauty and bounty dight."
+
+
+
+When she had finished her verses, she wrote them on a sheet of paper,
+which she folded in a piece of golf-embroidered silk and placed under
+her pillow. Now one of her nurses had seen her; so she came up to her
+and held her in talk till she slept, when she stole the scroll from
+under her pillow; and, after reading it, knew that she had fallen in
+love with Uns al-Wujud. Then she returned the scroll to its place and
+when her mistress awoke, she said to her, "O my lady, indeed I am to
+thee a true counsellor and am tenderly anxious on thy account. Know
+that love is a tyrant and the hiding it melteth iron and entaileth
+sickness and unease; nor for whoso confesseth it is there aught of
+reproach." Rejoined Rose-in-Hood, "And what is the medicine of passion,
+O nurse mine?" Answered the nurse, "The medicine of passion is
+enjoyment" Quoth she, "And how may one come by enjoyment?" Quoth the
+other, "By letters and messages, my lady; by whispered words of
+compliment and by greetings before the world;[FN#37] all this bringeth
+lovers together and makes hard matters easy. So if thou have aught at
+heart, mistress mine, I am the fittest to keep thy secret and do thy
+desires and carry thy letters." Now when the damsel heard this, her
+reason flew and fled for joy; but she restrained herself from speech
+till she should see the issue of the matter, saying within herself,
+"None knoweth this thing of me, nor will I trust this one with my
+secret, till I have tried her." Then said the woman, "O my lady, I saw
+in my sleep as though a man came to me and said: 'Thy mistress and Uns
+al-Wujud love each other; so do thou serve their case by carrying their
+messages and doing their desires and keeping their secrets; and much
+good shall befal thee.' So now I have told thee my vision and it is
+thine to decide." Quoth Rose-in-Hood, after she heard of the dream,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Rose-in- Hood
+asked her nurse after hearing of the dream, "Tell me, canst thou keep a
+secret, O my nurse?"; whereto she answered, "And how should I not keep
+secrecy, I that am of the flower of the free?"[FN#38] Then the maiden
+pulled out the scroll, whereon she had written the verses and said,
+"Carry me this my letter to Uns al-Wujud and bring me his reply." The
+nurse took the letter and, repairing to Uns al-Wujud, kissed his hands
+and greeted him right courteously, then gave him the paper; and he read
+it and, comprehending the contents, wrote on the back these couplets,
+
+     "I soothe my heart and my love repel; *
+
+
+          But my state interprets my love too well:
+
+
+     When tears flow I tell them mine eyes are ill, *
+
+
+          Lest the censor see and my case fortell,
+
+
+     I was fancy-free and unknew I Love; *
+
+
+          But I fell in love and in madness fell.
+
+
+     I show you my case and complain of pain, *
+
+
+          Pine and ecstasy that your ruth compel:
+
+
+     I write you with tears of eyes, so belike *
+
+
+          They explain the love come my heart to quell;
+
+
+     Allah guard a face that is veiled with charms, *
+
+
+          Whose thrall is Moon and the Stars as well:
+
+
+     In her beauty I never beheld the like; *
+
+
+          From her sway the branches learn sway and swell:
+
+
+     I beg you, an 'tis not too much of pains, *
+
+
+          To call;[FN#39] 'twere boon without parallel.
+
+
+     I give you a soul you will haply take. *
+
+
+          To which Union is Heaven, Disunion Hell."
+
+
+
+Then he folded the letter and kissing it, gave it to the go- between
+and said to her, "O nurse, incline the lady's heart to me." "To hear is
+to obey," answered she and carried the script to her mistress, who
+kissed it and laid it on her head, then she opened it and read it and
+understood it and wrote at the foot of it these couplets,
+
+     "O whose heart by our beauty is captive ta'en, *
+
+
+          Have patience and all thou shalt haply gain!
+
+
+     When we knew that thy love was a true affect, *
+
+
+          And what pained our heart to thy heart gave pain,
+
+
+     We had granted thee wished-for call and more; *
+
+
+          But hindered so doing the chamberlain.
+
+
+     When the night grows dark, through our love's excess *
+
+
+          Fire burns our vitals with might and main:
+
+
+     And sleep from our beds is driven afar, *
+
+
+          And our bodies are tortured by passion-bane.
+
+
+     'Hide Love!' in Love's code is the first command; *
+
+
+          And from raising his veil thy hand restrain:
+
+
+     I fell love-fulfilled by yon gazelle: *
+
+
+          Would he never wander from where I dwell!"
+
+
+
+Then she folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and
+went out from her mistress to seek the young man; but, as she would
+fare forth, the chamberlain met her and said to her, "Whither away?"
+"To the bath," answered she; but in her fear and confusion, she dropped
+the letter, without knowing it, and went off unrecking what she had
+done; when one of the eunuchs, seeing it lying in the way, picked it
+up. When the nurse came without the door, she sought for it, but found
+it not, so turned back to her mistress and told her of this and what
+had befallen her. Meanwhile, the Wazir came out of the Harim and seated
+himself on his couch; whereupon behold, the eunuch, who had picked up
+the letter, came in to him, hending it in hand and said, "O my lord, I
+found this paper lying upon the floor and picked it up." So the
+Minister took it from his hand, folded as it was, and opening it, read
+the verses as above set down. Then, after mastering the meaning, he
+examined the writing and knew it for his daughter's hand; whereupon he
+went to her mother, weeping so abundant tears that his beard was
+wetted. His wife asked him, "What maketh thee weep, O my lord?"; and he
+answered, "Take this letter and see what is therein." So she took it
+and found it to be a love-letter from her daughter Rose-in-Hood to Uns
+al-Wujud: whereupon the ready drops sprang to her eyes; but she
+composed her mind, and, gulping down her tears, said to her husband, "O
+my lord, there is no profit in weeping: the right course is to cast
+about for a means of keeping thine honour and concealing the affair of
+thy daughter." And she went on to comfort him and lighten his trouble;
+but he said, "I am fearful for my daughter by reason of this new
+passion. Knowest thou not that the Sultan loveth Uns al- Wujud with
+exceeding love? And my fear hath two causes. The first concerneth
+myself; it is, that she is my daughter: the second is on account of the
+King; for that Uns al-Wujud is a favourite with the Sultan and
+peradventure great troubles shall come out of this affair. What deemest
+thou should be done?"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir, after
+recounting the affair of his daughter, asked his wife, "What deemest
+thou should be done?" And she answered, "Have patience whilst I pray
+the prayer for right direction." So she prayed a two-bow prayer
+according to the prophetic[FN#40] ordinance for seeking divine
+guidance; after which she said to her husband, "In the midst of the Sea
+of Treasures[FN#41] standeth a mountain named the Mount of the Bereaved
+Mother (the cause of which being so called shall presently follow in
+its place, Inshallah!); and thither can none have access, save with
+pains and difficulty and distress: do thou make that same her
+abiding-place." Accordingly the Minister and his wife agreed to build
+on that mountain a virgin castle and lodge their daughter therein with
+the necessary provision to be renewed year by year and attendants to
+cheer and to serve her. Accordingly he collected carpenters, builders
+and architects and despatched them to the mountain, where they builded
+her an impregnable castle, never saw eyes the like thereof. Then he
+made ready vivers and carriage for the journey and, going in to his
+daughter by night, bade her prepare to set out on a pleasure-excursion.
+Thereupon her heart presaged the sorrows of separation and, when she
+went forth and saw the preparations for the journey, she wept with sore
+weeping and wrote that upon the door which might acquaint her lover
+with what had passed and with the transports of passion and grief that
+were upon her, transports such as would make the flesh to shiver and
+hair to stare, and melt the hardest stone with care, and tear from
+every eye a tear. And what she wrote were these couplets,
+
+   "By Allah, O thou house, if my beloved a morn go by, *
+
+
+      And greet with signs and signals lover e'er is wont to fly,
+
+
+   I pray thee give him our salams in pure and fragrant guise, *
+
+
+      For he indeed may never know where we this eve shall lie.
+
+
+   I wot not whither they have fared, thus bearing us afar *
+
+
+      At speed, and lightly-quipt, the lighter from one love to
+
+
+      fly:
+
+
+   When starkens night, the birds in brake or branches snugly
+
+
+      perched * Wail for our sorrow and announce our hapless
+
+
+      destiny:
+
+
+   The tongue of their condition saith, 'Alas, alas for woe, *
+
+
+      And heavy brunt of parting-blow two lovers must aby':
+
+
+   When viewed I separation-cups were filled to the brim *
+
+
+      And us with merest sorrow-wine Fate came so fast to ply,
+
+
+   I mixed them with becoming share of patience self to excuse, *
+
+
+      But Patience for the loss of you her solace doth refuse."
+
+
+
+Now when she ended her lines, she mounted and they set forward with
+her, crossing and cutting over wold and wild and riant dale and rugged
+hill, till they came to the shore of the Sea of Treasures; here they
+pitched their tents and built her a great ship, wherein they went down
+with her and her suite and carried them over to the mountain. The
+Minister had ordered them, on reaching the journey's end, to set her in
+the castle and to make their way back to the shore, where they were to
+break up the vessel. So they did his bidding and returned home, weeping
+over what had befallen. Such was their case; but as regards Uns al-
+Wujud, he arose from sleep and prayed the dawn-prayer, after which he
+took horse and rode forth to attend upon the Sultan. On his way, he
+passed by the Wazir's house, thinking perchance to see some of his
+followers as of wont; but he saw no one and, looking upon the door, he
+read written thereon the verses aforesaid. At this sight, his senses
+failed him; fire was kindled in his vitals and he returned to his
+lodging, where he passed the day in trouble and transports of grief,
+without finding ease or patience, till night darkened upon him, when
+his yearning and love-longing redoubled. Thereupon, by way of
+concealment, he disguised himself in the ragged garb of a Fakir,[FN#42]
+and set out wandering at random through the glooms of night, distracted
+and knowing not whither he went. So he wandered on all that night and
+next day, till the heat of the sun waxed fierce and the mountains
+flamed like fire and thirst was grievous upon him. Presently, he espied
+a tree, by whose side was a thin thread of running water; so he made
+towards it and sitting down in the shade, on the bank of the rivulet,
+essayed to drink, but found that the water had no taste in his
+mouth;[FN#43] and, indeed his colour had changed and his face had
+yellowed, and his feet were swollen with travel and travail. So he shed
+copious tears and repeated these couplets,
+
+   "The lover is drunken with love of friend; *
+
+
+      On a longing that groweth his joys depend:
+
+
+   Love-distracted, ardent, bewildered, lost *
+
+
+      From home, nor may food aught of pleasure lend:
+
+
+   How can life be delightsome to one in love, *
+
+
+      And from lover parted, 'twere strange, unkenned!
+
+
+   I melt with the fire of my pine for them, *
+
+
+      And the tears down my cheek in a stream descend.
+
+
+   Shall I see them, say me, or one that comes *
+
+
+      From the camp, who th' afflicted heart shall tend?"
+
+
+
+And after thus reciting he wept till he wetted the hard dry ground; but
+anon without loss of time he rose and fared on again over waste and
+wold, till there came out upon him a lion, with a neck buried in
+tangled mane, a head the bigness of a dome, a mouth wider than the door
+thereof and teeth like elephants' tusks. Now when Uns al-Wujud saw him,
+he gave himself up for lost, and turning[FN#44] towards the Temple of
+Meccah, pronounced the professions of the faith and prepared for death.
+He had read in books that whoso will flatter the lion, beguileth
+him,[FN#45] for that he is readily duped by smooth speech and gentled
+by being glorified; so he began and said, "O Lion of the forest! O Lord
+of the waste! O terrible Leo! O father of fighters! O Sultan of wild
+beasts! Behold, I am a lover in longing, whom passion and severance
+have been wronging; since I parted from my dear, I have lost my
+reasoning gear; wherefore, to my speech do thou give ear and have ruth
+on my passion and hope and fear." When the lion heard this, he drew
+back from him and sitting down on his hindquarters, raised his head to
+him and began to frisk tail and paws; which when Uns al-Wujud saw, he
+recited these couplets,
+
+   "Lion of the wold wilt thou murther me, *
+
+
+      Ere I meet her who doomed me to slavery?
+
+
+    I am not game and I bear no fat; *
+
+
+      For the loss of my love makes me sickness dree;
+
+
+   And estrangement from her hath so worn me down *
+
+
+      I am like a shape in a shroud we see.
+
+
+   O thou sire of spoils,[FN#46] O thou lion of war, *
+
+
+      Give not my pains to the blamer's gree.
+
+
+   I burn with love, I am drowned in tears *
+
+
+      For a parting from lover, sore misery!
+
+
+   And my thoughts of her in the murk of night *
+
+
+      For love hath make my being unbe."
+
+
+
+As he had finished his lines the lion rose,—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as Uns al- Wujud
+ended his lines, the lion arose and stalked slowly up to him, with eyes
+tear-railing and licked him with his tongue, then walked on before him,
+signing to him as though saying, "Follow me." So he followed him, and
+the beast ceased not leading him on for a while till he brought him up
+a mountain, and guided him to the farther side, where he came upon the
+track of a caravan over the desert, and knew it to be that of
+Rose-in-Hood and her company. Then he took the trail and, when the lion
+saw that he knew the track for that of the party which escorted her, he
+turned back and went his way; whilst Uns al-Wujud walked along the
+foot-marks day and night, till they brought him to a dashing sea,
+swollen with clashing surge. The trail led down to the sandy shore and
+there broke off; whereby he knew that they had taken ship and had
+continued their journey by water. So he lost hope of finding his lover
+and with hot tears he repeated these couplets,
+
+   "Far is the fane and patience faileth me; *
+
+
+      How can I seek them[FN#47] o'er the abyssmal sea;
+
+
+   Or how be patient, when my vitals burn *
+
+
+      For love of them, and sleep waxed insomny?
+
+
+   Since the sad day they left the home and fled, *
+
+
+      My heart's consumed by love's ardency:
+
+
+   Sayhun, Jayhun,[FN#48] Euphrates-like my tears, *
+
+
+      Make flood no deluged rain its like can see:
+
+
+   Mine eyelids chafed with running tears remain, *
+
+
+      My heart from fiery sparks is never free;
+
+
+   The hosts of love and longing pressed me *
+
+
+      And made the hosts of patience break and flee.
+
+
+   I've risked my life too freely for their love; *
+
+
+      And risk of life the least of ills shall be.
+
+
+   Allah ne'er punish eye that saw those charms *
+
+
+      Enshrined, and passing full moon's brilliancy!
+
+
+   I found me felled by fair wide-opened eyes, *
+
+
+      Which pierced my heart with stringless archery:
+
+
+   And soft, lithe, swaying shape enraptured me *
+
+
+      As sway the branches of the willow-tree:
+
+
+   Wi' them I covet union that I win, *
+
+
+      O'er love-pains cark and care, a mastery.
+
+
+   For love of them aye, morn and eve I pine, *
+
+
+      And doubt all came to me from evil eyne."
+
+
+
+And when his lines were ended he wept, till he swooned away, and abode
+in his swoon a long while; but as soon as he came to himself, he looked
+right and left and seeing no one in the desert, he became fearful of
+the wild beasts; so he clomb to the top of a high mountain, where he
+heard the voice of a son of Adam speaking within a cave. He listened
+and lo! they were the accents of a devotee, who had forsworn the world
+and given himself up to pious works and worship. He knocked thrice at
+the cavern-door, but the hermit made him no answer, neither came forth
+to him; wherefore he groaned aloud and recited these couplets.
+
+   "What pathway find I my desire t'obtain, *
+
+
+      How 'scape from care and cark and pain and bane?
+
+
+   All terrors join to make me old and hoar *
+
+
+      Of head and heart, ere youth from me is ta'en:
+
+
+   Nor find I any aid my passion, nor *
+
+
+      A friend to lighten load of bane and pain.
+
+
+   How great and many troubles I've endured! *
+
+
+      Fortune hath turned her back I see unfain.
+
+
+   Ah mercy, mercy on the lover's heart, *
+
+
+      Doomed cup of parting and desertion drain!
+
+
+   A fire is in his heart, his vitals waste, *
+
+
+      And severance made his reason vainest vain.
+
+
+   How dread the day I came to her abode *
+
+
+      And saw the writ they wrote on doorway lain!
+
+
+   I wept, till gave I earth to drink my grief; *
+
+
+      But still to near and far[FN#49] I did but feign:
+
+
+   Then strayed I till in waste a lion sprang *
+
+
+      On me, and but for flattering words had slain:
+
+
+   I soothed him: so he spared me and lent me aid, *
+
+
+      He too might haply of love's taste complain.
+
+
+   O devotee, that idlest in thy cave, *
+
+
+      Meseems eke thou hast learned Love's might and main;
+
+
+   But if, at end of woes, with them I league, *
+
+
+      Straight I'll forget all suffering and fatigue."
+
+
+
+Hardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold! the door of the
+cavern opened and he heard one say, "Alas, the pity of it!"[FN#50] So
+he entered and saluted the devotee, who returned his salam and asked
+him, "What is thy name?" Answered the young man, "Uns al-Wujud." "And
+what caused thee to come hither?" quoth the hermit. So he told him his
+story in its entirety, omitting naught of his misfortunes; whereat he
+wept and said, "O Uns al- Wujud, these twenty years have I passed in
+this place, but never beheld I any man here, until yesterday, when I
+heard a noise of weeping and lamentation and, looking forth in the
+direction of the sound, saw many people and tents pitched on the
+sea-shore; and the party at once proceeded to build a ship, in which
+certain of them embarked and sailed over the waters. Then some of the
+crew returned with the ship and breaking it up, went their way; and I
+suspect that those who embarked in the ship and returned not, are they
+whom thou seekest. In that case, O Uns al-Wujud, thy grief must needs
+be great and sore and thou art excusable, though never yet was lover
+but suffered love-longing." Then he recited these couplets,
+
+   "Uns al-Wujud, dost deem me fancy-free, *
+
+
+      When pine and longing slay and quicken me?
+
+
+   I have known love and yearning from the years *
+
+
+      Since mother-milk I drank, nor e'er was free.
+
+
+    Long struggled I with Love, till learnt his might; *
+
+
+      Ask thou of him, he'll tell with willing gree.
+
+
+   Love-sick and pining drank I passion-cup, *
+
+
+      And well-nigh perished in mine agony.
+
+
+   Strong was I, but my strength to weakness turned, *
+
+
+      And eye-sword brake through Patience armoury:
+
+
+   Hope not to win love-joys, without annoy; *
+
+
+      Contrary ever links with contrary.
+
+
+   But fear not change from lover true; be true *
+
+
+      Unto thy wish, some day thine own 'twill be.
+
+
+   Love hath forbidden to his votaries *
+
+
+      Relinquishment as deadliest heresy."
+
+
+
+The eremite, having ended his verse, rose and, coming up to Uns
+al-Wujud, embraced him,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eremite
+having ended his verse, rose and coming up to Uns al-Wujud embraced
+him, and they wept together, till the hills rang with their cries and
+they fell down fainting. When they revived, they swore
+brotherhood[FN#51] in Allah Almighty; after which said Uns al-Wujud,
+"This very night will I pray to God and seek of Him direction[FN#52]
+anent what thou shouldst do to attain thy desire." Thus it was with
+them; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, when they brought her to the
+mountain and set her in the castle and she beheld its ordering, she
+wept and exclaimed, "By Allah, thou art a goodly place, save that thou
+lackest in thee the presence of the beloved!"[FN#53] Then seeing birds
+in the island, she bade her people set snares for them and put all they
+caught in cages within the castle; and they did so. But she sat at a
+lattice and bethought her of what had passed, and desire and passion
+and distraction redoubled upon her, till she burst into tears and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+   "O to whom now, of my desire complaining sore, shall I *
+
+
+      Bewail my parting from my fere compellθd thus to fly?
+
+
+   Flames rage within what underlies my ribs, yet hide them I *
+
+
+      In deepest secret dreading aye the jealous hostile spy:
+
+
+   I am grown as lean, attenuate as any pick of tooth,[FN#54] *
+
+
+      By sore estrangement, absence, ardour, ceaseless sob and
+
+
+      sigh.
+
+
+   Where is the eye of my beloved to see how I'm become *
+
+
+      Like tree stripped bare of leafage left to linger and to
+
+
+      die.
+
+
+   They tyrannised over me whom they confined in place *
+
+
+      Whereto the lover of my heart may never draw him nigh:
+
+
+   I beg the Sun for me to give greetings a thousandfold, *
+
+
+      At time of rising and again when setting from the sky,
+
+
+   To the beloved one who shames a full moon's loveliness, *
+
+
+      When shows that slender form that doth the willow-branch
+
+
+      outvie.
+
+
+   If Rose herself would even with his cheek, I say of her *
+
+
+      'Thou art not like it if to me my portion thou
+
+
+      deny:'[FN#55]
+
+
+   His honey-dew of lips is like the grateful water draught *
+
+
+      Would cool me when a fire in heart upflameth fierce and
+
+
+      high:
+
+
+   How shall I give him up who is my heart and soul of me, *
+
+
+      My malady my wasting cause, my love, sole leach of me?"
+
+
+
+Then, as the glooms of night closed around her, her yearning increased
+and she called to mind the past and recited also these couplets,
+
+   "'Tis dark: my transport and unease now gather might and main,
+
+
+      * And love-desire provoketh me to wake my wonted pain:
+
+
+   The pang of parting takes for ever place within my breast, *
+
+
+      And pining makes me desolate in destitution lain.
+
+
+   Ecstasy sore maltreats my soul and yearning burns my sprite, *
+
+
+      And tears betray love's secresy which I would lief contain:
+
+
+   I weet no way, I know no case that can make light my load, *
+
+
+      Or heal my wasting body or cast out from me this bane.
+
+
+   A hell of fire is in my heart upflames with lambent tongue *
+
+
+      And Laza's furnace-fires within my liver place have ta'en.
+
+
+   O thou, exaggerating blame for what befel, enough *
+
+
+      I bear with patience whatsoe'er hath writ for me the Pen!
+
+
+   I swear, by Allah, ne'er to find aught comfort for their loss;
+
+
+      * "Tis oath of passion's children and their oaths are ne'er
+
+
+      in vain.
+
+
+   O Night! Salams of me to friends and let to them be known *
+
+
+      Of thee true knowledge how I wake and waking ever wone."
+
+
+
+Meanwhile, the hermit said to Uns al-Wujud, "Go down to the palm- grove
+in the valley and fetch some fibre."[FN#56] So he went and returned
+with the palm-fibre, which the hermit took and, twisting into ropes,
+make therewith a net,[FN#57] such as is used for carrying straw; after
+which he said, "O Uns al-Wujud, in the heart of the valley groweth a
+gourd, which springeth up and drieth upon its roots. Go down there and
+fill this sack therewith; then tie it together and, casting it into the
+water, embark thereon and make for the midst of the sea, so haply thou
+shalt win thy wish; for whoso never ventureth shall not have what he
+seeketh." "I hear and obey," answered Uns al-Wujud. Then he bade the
+hermit farewell after the holy man had prayed for him; and, betaking
+himself to the sole of the valley, did as his adviser had counselled
+him; made the sack, launched it upon the water, and pushed from shore.
+Then there arose a wind, which drave him out to sea, till he was lost
+to the eremite's view; and he ceased not to float over the abysses of
+the ocean, one billow tossing him up and another bearing him down (and
+he beholding the while the dangers and marvels of the deep), for the
+space of three days. At the end of that time Fate cast him upon the
+Mount of the Bereft Mother, where he landed, giddy and tottering like a
+chick unfledged, and at the last of his strength for hunger and thirst;
+but, finding there streams flowing and birds on the branches cooing and
+fruit-laden trees in clusters and singly growing, he ate of the fruits
+and drank of the rills. Then he walked on till he saw some white thing
+afar off, and making for it, found that it was a strongly fortified
+castle. So he went up to the gate and seeing it locked, sat down by it;
+and there he sat for three days when behold, the gate opened and an
+eunuch came out, who finding Uns al-Wujud there seated, said to him,
+"Whence camest thou and who brought thee hither?" Quoth he, "From
+Ispahan and I was voyaging with merchandise when my ship was wrecked
+and the waves cast me upon the farther side of this island." Whereupon
+the eunuch wept and embraced him, saying, "Allah preserve thee, O thou
+friendly face! Ispahan is mine own country and I have there a cousin,
+the daughter of my father's brother, whom I loved from my childhood and
+cherished with fond affection; but a people stronger than we fell upon
+us in foray and taking me among other booty, cut off my yard[FN#58] and
+sold me for a castrato, whilst I was yet a lad; and this is how I came
+to be in such case."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch who
+came forth from the castle, where Rose-in-Hood was confined, told Uns
+al-Wujud all his tale and said:—"The raiders who captured me cut off my
+yard and sold me for a castrato; and this is how I came to be in such
+case."[FN#59] And after saluting him and wishing him long life, the
+eunuch carried him into the courtyard of the castle, where he saw a
+great tank of water, surrounded by trees, on whose branches hung cages
+of silver, with doors of gold, and therein birds were warbling and
+singing the praises of the Requiting King. And when he came to the
+first cage he looked in and lo! a turtle dove, on seeing him, raised
+her voice and cried out, saying, "O Thou Bounty-fraught!" Whereat he
+fell down fainting and after coming to himself, he sighed heavily and
+recited these couplets,
+
+   "O turtle dove, like me art thou distraught? *
+
+
+      Then pray the Lord and sing 'O Bounty-fraught!'
+
+
+   Would I knew an thy moan were sign of joy, *
+
+
+      Or cry of love-desire in heart inwrought,—
+
+
+   An moan thou pining for a lover gone *
+
+
+      Who left thee woe begone to pine in thought,—
+
+
+   Or if like me hast lost thy fondest friend, *
+
+
+      And severance long desire to memory brought?
+
+
+   O Allah, guard a faithful lover's lot *
+
+
+      I will not leave her though my bones go rot!"
+
+
+
+Then, after ending his verses, he fainted again; and, presently
+reviving he went on to the second cage, wherein he found a ringdove.
+When it saw him, it sang out, "O Eternal, I thank thee!" and he groaned
+and recited these couplets,
+
+   "I heard a ringdove chanting plaintively, *
+
+
+      'I thank Thee, O Eternal for this misery!'
+
+
+   Haply, perchance, may Allah, of His grace, *
+
+
+      Send me by this long round my love to see.
+
+
+   Full oft[FN#60] she comes with honeyed lips dark red, *
+
+
+      And heaps up lowe upon love's ardency.
+
+
+   Quoth I (while longing fires flame high and fierce *
+
+
+      In heart, and wasting life's vitality,
+
+
+   And tears like gouts of blood go railing down *
+
+
+      In torrents over cheeks now pale of blee),
+
+
+   'None e'er trod earth that was not born to woe, *
+
+
+      But I will patient dree mine agony,
+
+
+   So help me Allah! till that happy day *
+
+
+      When with my mistress I unite shall be:
+
+
+   Then will I spend my good on lover-wights, *
+
+
+      Who're of my tribe and of the faith of me;
+
+
+   And loose the very birds from jail set free, *
+
+
+      And change my grief for gladdest gree and glee!'"
+
+
+
+Then he went on to the third cage, wherein he found a
+mockingbird[FN#61] which, when it saw him, set up a song, and he
+recited the following couplets,
+
+   "Pleaseth me yon Hazar of mocking strain *
+
+
+      Like voice of lover pained by love in vain.
+
+
+   Woe's me for lovers! Ah how many men *
+
+
+      By nights and pine and passion low are lain!
+
+
+   As though by stress of love they had been made *
+
+
+      Morn-less and sleep-less by their pain and bane.
+
+
+   When I went daft for him who conquered me *
+
+
+      And pined for him who proved of proudest strain,
+
+
+   My tears in streams down trickled and I cried *
+
+
+      'These long-linkt tears bind like an adamant-chain:'
+
+
+   Grew concupiscence, severance long, and I *
+
+
+      Lost Patience' hoards and grief waxed sovereign:
+
+
+   If Justice bide in world and me unite *
+
+
+      With him I love and Allah veil us deign,
+
+
+   I'll strip my clothes that he my form shall sight *
+
+
+      With parting, distance, grief, how poor of plight!"
+
+
+
+Then he went to the fourth cage, where he found a Bulbul[FN#62] which,
+at sight of him, began to sway to and fro and sing its plaintive
+descant; and when he heard its complaint, he burst into tears and
+repeated these couplets.
+
+   "The Bulbul's note, whenas dawn is nigh, *
+
+
+      Tells the lover from strains of strings to fly:
+
+
+   Complaineth for passion Uns al-Wujud, *
+
+
+      For pine that would being to him deny.
+
+
+   How many a strain do we hear, whose sound *
+
+
+      Softens stones and the rock can mollify:
+
+
+   And the breeze of morning that sweetly speaks *
+
+
+      Of meadows in flowered greenery.
+
+
+   And scents and sounds in the morning-tide *
+
+
+      Of birds and zephyrs in fragrance vie;
+
+
+   But I think of one, of an absent friend, *
+
+
+      And tears rail like rain from a showery sky;
+
+
+   And the flamy tongues in my breast uprise *
+
+
+      As sparks from gleed that in dark air fly.
+
+
+   Allah deign vouchsafe to a lover distraught *
+
+
+      Someday the face of his dear to descry!
+
+
+   For lovers, indeed, no excuse is clear, *
+
+
+      Save excuse of sight and excuse of eye."
+
+
+
+Then he walked on a little and came to a goodly cage, than which was no
+goodlier there, and in it a culver of the forest, that is to say, a
+wood-pigeon,[FN#63] the bird renowned among birds as the minstrel of
+love-longing, with a collar of jewels about its neck marvellous fine
+and fair. He considered it awhile and, seeing it absently brooding in
+its cage, he shed tears and repeated these couplets,
+
+   "O culver of copse,[FN#64] with salams I greet; *
+
+
+      O brother of lovers who woe must weet!
+
+
+   I love a gazelle who is slender-slim, *
+
+
+      Whose glances for keenness the scymitar beat:
+
+
+   For her love are my heart and my vitals a-fire, *
+
+
+      And my frame consumes in love's fever-heat.
+
+
+   The sweet taste of food is unlawful for me, *
+
+
+      And forbidden is slumber, unlawfullest sweet.
+
+
+   Endurance and solace have travelled from me, *
+
+
+      And love homes in my heart and grief takes firm seat:
+
+
+   How shall life deal joy when they flee my sight *
+
+
+      Who are joy and gladness and life and sprite?"
+
+
+
+As soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse,—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as Uns
+al-Wujud had ended his verse, the wood-culver awoke from its brooding
+and cooed a reply to his lines and shrilled and trilled with its
+thrilling notes till it all but spake with human speech;[FN#65] and the
+tongue of the case talked for it and recited these couplets,
+
+   "O lover, thou bringest to thought a tide *
+
+
+      When the strength of my youth first faded and died;
+
+
+   And a friend of whose form I was 'namoured, *
+
+
+      Seductive and dight with beauty's pride;
+
+
+   Whose voice, as he sat on the sandhill-tree, *
+
+
+      From the Nay's[FN#66] sweet sound turned my heart aside;
+
+
+   A fowler snared him in net, the while *
+
+
+      'O that man would leave me at large!' he cried;
+
+
+   I had hoped he might somewhat of mercy show *
+
+
+      When a hapless lover he so espied;
+
+
+   But Allah smite him who tore me away, *
+
+
+      In his hardness of heart, from my lover's side;
+
+
+   But aye my desire for him groweth more, *
+
+
+      And my heart with the fires of disjunction is fried:
+
+
+   Allah guard a true lover, who strives with love, *
+
+
+      And hath borne the torments I still abide!
+
+
+   And, seeing me bound in this cage, with mind *
+
+
+      Of ruth, release me my love to find."
+
+
+
+Then Uns al-Wujud turned to his companion, the Ispahahi, and said,
+"What palace is this? Who built it and who abideth in it?" Quoth the
+eunuch, "The Wazir of a certain King built it to guard his daughter,
+fearing for her the accidents of Time and the incidents of Fortune, and
+lodged her herein, her and her attendants; nor do we open it save once
+in every year, when their provision cometh to them." And Uns al-Wujud
+said to himself, "I have gained my end, though I may have long to
+wait." Such was his case; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, of a truth she
+took no pleasure in eating or drinking, sitting or sleeping; but her
+desire and passion and distraction redoubled on her, and she went
+wandering about the castle-corners, but could find no issue; wherefore
+she shed tears and recited these couplets,
+
+   "They have cruelly ta'en me from him, my beloved, *
+
+
+      And made me taste anguish in prison ta'en:
+
+
+   They have fired my heart with the flames of love, *
+
+
+      Barred all sight of him whom to see I'm fain:
+
+
+   In a lofty palace they prisoned me *
+
+
+      On a mountain placed in the middle main.
+
+
+   If they'd have me forget him, right vain's their wish, *
+
+
+      For my love is grown of a stronger strain.
+
+
+   How can I forget him whose face was cause *
+
+
+      Of all I suffer, of all I 'plain?
+
+
+   The whole of my days in sorrow's spent, *
+
+
+      And in thought of him through the night I'm lain.
+
+
+   Remembrance of him cheers my solitude, *
+
+
+      While I lorn of his presence and lone remain.
+
+
+   Would I knew if, after this all, my fate *
+
+
+      To oblige the desire of my hear will deign."
+
+
+
+When her verses were ended, she ascended to the terrace-roof of the
+castle after donning her richest clothes and trinkets and throwing a
+necklace of jewels around her neck. Then binding together some dresses
+of Ba'albak[FN#67] stuff by way of rope, she tied them to the crenelles
+and let herself down thereby to the ground. And she fared on over
+wastes and waterless wilds, till she came to the shore, where she saw a
+fisherman plying here and there over the sea, for the wind had driven
+him on to the island. When he saw her, he was affrighted[FN#68] and
+pushed off again, flying from her; but she cried out and made pressing
+signs to him to return, versifying with these couplets,
+
+   "O fisherman no care hast thou to fear, *
+
+
+      I'm but an earth-born maid in mortal sphere;
+
+
+   I pray thee linger and my prayer grant *
+
+
+      And to my true unhappy tale give ear:
+
+
+   Pity (so Allah spare thee!) warmest love; *
+
+
+      Say, hast thou seen him-my beloved fere?
+
+
+   I love a lovely youth whose face excels *
+
+
+      Sunlight, and passes moon when clearest clear:
+
+
+   The fawn, that sees his glance, is fain to cry *
+
+
+      'I am his thrall' and own himself no peer:
+
+
+   Beauty hath written, on his winsome cheek, *
+
+
+      Rare lines of pregnant sense for every seer;
+
+
+   Who sights the light of love his soul is saved; *
+
+
+      Who strays is Infidel to Hell anear:
+
+
+   An thou in mercy show his sight, O rare![FN#69] *
+
+
+      Thou shalt have every wish, the dearest dear,
+
+
+   Of rubies and what likest are to them *
+
+
+      Fresh pearls and unions new, the seashell's tear:
+
+
+   My friend, thou wilt forsure grant my desire *
+
+
+      Whose heart is melted in love's hottest fire.
+
+
+
+When the fisherman heard her words, he wept and made moan and lamented;
+then, recalling what had betided himself in the days of his youth, when
+love had the mastery over him and longing and desire and distraction
+were sore upon him and the fires of passion consumed him, replied with
+these couplets,
+
+   "What fair excuse is this my pining plight, *
+
+
+      With wasted limbs and tears' unceasing blight;
+
+
+   And eyelids open in the nightly murk, *
+
+
+      And heart like fire-stick[FN#70] ready fire to smite;
+
+
+   Indeed love burdened us in early youth, *
+
+
+      And true from false coin soon we learned aright:
+
+
+   Then did we sell our soul on way of love, *
+
+
+      And drunk of many a well[FN#71] to win her sight;
+
+
+   Venturing very life to gain her grace, *
+
+
+      And make high profit perilling a mite.
+
+
+   'Tis Love's religion whoso buys with life *
+
+
+      His lover's grace, with highest gain is dight."
+
+
+
+And when he ended his verse, he moored his boat to the beach and said
+to her, "Embark, so may I carry thee whither thou wilt." Thereupon she
+embarked and he put off with her; but they had not gone far from land,
+before there came out a stern-wind upon the boat and drove it swiftly
+out of sight of shore. Now the fisherman knew not whither he went, and
+the strong wind blew without ceasing three days, when it fell by leave
+of Allah Almighty, and they sailed on and ceased not sailing till they
+came in sight of a city sitting upon the sea-shore,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+fisherman's craft, carrying Rose-in-Hood, made the city sitting upon
+the sea-shore, the man set about making fast to the land. Now the King
+of the city was a Prince of pith and puissance named Dirbas, the Lion;
+and he chanced at that moment to be seated, with his son, at a window
+in the royal palace giving upon the sea; and happening to look out
+seawards, they saw the fishing- boat make the land. They observed it
+narrowly and espied therein a young lady, as she were the full moon
+overhanging the horizon- edge, with pendants in her ears of costly
+balass-rubies and a collar of precious stones about her throat. Hereby
+the King knew that this must indeed be the daughter of some King or
+great noble and, going forth of the sea-gate of the palace, went down
+to the boat, where he found the lady asleep and the fisherman busied in
+making fast to shore. So he went up to her and aroused her, whereupon
+she awoke, weeping; and he asked her, "Whence comest thou and whose
+daughter art thou and what be the cause of thy coming hither?"; and she
+answered, "I am the daughter of Ibrahim, Wazir to King Shamikh; and the
+manner of my coming hither is wondrous and the cause thereof
+marvellous." And she told him her whole story first and last, hiding
+naught from him; then she groaned aloud and recited these couplets,
+
+"Tear-drops have chafed mine eyelids and rail down in wondrous
+
+
+     wise, * For parting pain that fills my sprite and turns to
+
+
+     springs mine eyes,
+
+
+For sake of friend who ever dwells within my vitals homed, * And
+
+
+     I may never win my wish of him in any guise.
+
+
+He hath a favour fair and bright, and brilliant is his face, *
+
+
+     Which every Turk and Arab wight in loveliness outvies:
+
+
+The Sun and fullest Moon lout low whenas his charms they sight, *
+
+
+     And lover-like they bend to him whene'er he deigneth rise.
+
+
+A wondrous spell of gramarye like Kohl bedecks his eyne, * And
+
+
+     shows thee bow with shaft on string make ready ere it flies:
+
+
+O thou, to whom I told my case expecting all excuse, * Pity a
+
+
+     lover-wight for whom Love-shafts such fate devise!
+
+
+Verily, Love hath cast me on your coast despite of me * Of will
+
+
+     now weak, and fain I trust mine honour thou wilt prize:
+
+
+For noble men, whenas perchance alight upon their bounds, *
+
+
+     Grace-worthy guests, confess their worth and raise to
+
+
+     dignities. Then,
+
+
+O thou hope of me, to lovers' folly veil afford * And be to them
+
+
+     reunion cause, thou only liefest lord!"
+
+
+
+And when she had ended her verses, she again told the King her sad tale
+and shed plenteous tears and recited these couplets bearing on her
+case,
+
+"We lived till saw we all the marvels Love can bear; * Each month
+
+
+     to thee we hope shall fare as Rajab[FN#72] fare:
+
+
+Is it not wondrous, when I saw them march amorn * That I with
+
+
+     water o' eyes in heart lit flames that flare?
+
+
+That these mine eyelids rain fast dropping gouts of blood? * That
+
+
+     now my cheek grows gold where rose and lily were?
+
+
+As though the safflower hue, that overspread my cheeks, * Were
+
+
+     Joseph's coat made stain of lying blood to wear."
+
+
+
+Now when the King heard her words he was certified of her love and
+longing and was moved to ruth for her; so he said to her, "Fear nothing
+and be not troubled; thou hast come to the term of thy wishes; for
+there is no help but that I win for thee thy will and bring thee to thy
+desire." And he improvised these couplets,
+
+     "Daughter of nobles, who thine aim shalt gain; *
+
+
+          Hear gladdest news nor fear aught hurt of bane!
+
+
+     This day I'll pack up wealth, and send it on *
+
+
+          To Shαmikh, guarded by a champion-train;
+
+
+     Fresh pods of musk I'll send him and brocades, *
+
+
+          And silver white and gold of yellow vein:
+
+
+     Yes, and a letter shall inform him eke *
+
+
+          That I of kinship with that King am fain:
+
+
+     And I this day will lend thee bestest aid, *
+
+
+          That all thou covetest thy soul assain.
+
+
+     I, too, have tasted love and know its taste *
+
+
+          And can excuse whoso the same cup drain."[FN#73]
+
+
+
+Then, ending his verse, he went forth to his troops and summoned his
+Wazir; and, causing him to pack up countless treasure, commanded him
+carry it to King Shamikh and say to him, "Needs must thou send me a
+person named Uns al-Wujud;" and say moreover "The King is minded to
+ally himself with thee by marrying his daughter to Uns al-Wujud, thine
+officer. So there is no help but thou despatch him to me, that the
+marriage may be solemnized in her father's kingdom." And he wrote a
+letter to King Shamikh to this effect, and gave it to the Minister,
+charging him strictly to bring back Uns al-Wujud and warning him, "An
+thou fail thou shalt be deposed and degraded." Answered the Wazir, "I
+hear and obey;" and, setting out forthright with the treasures, in due
+course arrived at the court of King Shamikh whom he saluted in the name
+of King Dirbas and delivered the letter and the presents. Now when King
+Shamikh read the letter and saw the name of Uns al-Wujud, he burst into
+tears and said to the Wazir "And where, or where, is Uns al-Wujud?; he
+went from us and we know not his place of abiding; only bring him to
+me, and I will give thee double the presents thou hast brought me." And
+he wept and groaned and lamented, saying these couplets,
+
+     "To me restore my dear; * I want not wealth untold:
+
+
+     Nor crave I gifts of pearls * Or gems or store of gold:
+
+
+     He was to us a moon * In beauty's heavenly fold.
+
+
+     Passing in form and soul; * With roe compare withhold!
+
+
+     His form a willow-wand, * His fruit, lures manifold;
+
+
+     But willow lacketh power * Men's hearts to have and hold.
+
+
+     I reared him from a babe * On cot of coaxing roll'd;
+
+
+     And now I mourn for him * With woe in soul ensoul'd."
+
+
+
+Then, turning to the Wazir who had brought the presents and the
+missive, he said, "Go back to thy liege and acquaint him that Uns
+al-Wujud hath been missing this year past, and his lord knoweth not
+whither he is gone nor hath any tidings of him." Answered the Minister
+of King Dirbas, "O my lord, my master said to me, 'An thou fail to
+bring him back, thou shalt be degraded from the Wazirate and shall not
+enter my city. How then can I return without him?'" So King Shamikh
+said to his Wazir Ibrahim, "Take a company and go with him and make ye
+search for Uns al-Wujud everywhere." He replied, "Hearkening and
+obedience;" and, taking a body of his own retainers, set out
+accompanied by the Wazir of King Dirbas seeking Uns al-Wujud.—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim, Wazir to
+King Shamikh, took him a body of his retainers and, accompanied by the
+Minister of King Dirbas, set out seeking Uns al-Wujud. And as often as
+they fell in with wild Arabs or others they asked of the youth, saying,
+"Tell us have ye seen a man whose name is so and so and his semblance
+thus and thus?" But they all answered, "We know him not." Still they
+continued their quest, enquiring in city and hamlet and seeking in
+fertile plain and stony hall and in the wild and in the wold, till they
+made the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother; and the Wazir of King Dirbas
+said to Ibrahim, "Why is this mountain thus called?" He answered, "Once
+of old time, here sojourned a Jinniyah, of the Jinn of China, who loved
+a mortal with passionate love; and, being in fear of her life from her
+own people, searched all the earth over for a place, where she might
+hide him from them, till she happened on this mountain and, finding it
+cut off from both men and Jinn, there being no access to it, carried
+off her beloved and lodged him therein. There, when she could escape
+notice of her kith and kin, she used privily to visit him, and
+continued so doing till she had borne him a number of children; and the
+merchants, sailing by the mountain, in their voyages over the main,
+heard the weeping of the children, as it were the wailing of a woman
+bereft of her babes, and said, 'Is there here a mother bereaved of her
+children?' For which reason the place was named the Mountain of the
+Bereaved Mother." And the Wazir of King Dirbas marvelled at his words.
+Then they landed and, making for the castle, knocked at the gate which
+was opened to them by an eunuch, who knew the Wazir Ibrahim and kissed
+his hands. The Minister entered and found in the courtyard, among the
+serving- men, a Fakir, which was Uns al-Wujud, but he knew him not and
+said, "Whence cometh yonder wight?" Quoth they, "He is a merchant, who
+hath lost his goods, but saved himself; and he is an ecstatic."[FN#74]
+So the Wazir left him and went on into the castle, where he found no
+trace of his daughter and questioned her women, who answered, "We wot
+not how or whither she went; this place misliked her and she tarried in
+it but a short time." Whereupon he wept sore and repeated these
+couplets,
+
+     "Ho thou, the house, whose birds were singing gay, *
+
+
+          Whose sills their wealth and pride were wont display!
+
+
+     Till came the lover wailing for his love, *
+
+
+          And found thy doors wide open to the way;
+
+
+     Would Heaven I knew where is my soul that erst *
+
+
+          Was homed in house, whose owners fared away!
+
+
+     'Twas stored with all things bright and beautiful, *
+
+
+          And showed its porters ranged in fair array:
+
+
+     They clothed it with brocades a bride become;[FN#75] *
+
+
+          Would I knew whither went its lords, ah, say!"
+
+
+
+After ending his verses he again shed tears, and groaned and bemoaned
+himself, exclaiming, "There is no deliverance from the destiny decreed
+by Allah; nor is there any escape from that which He hath predestined!"
+Then he went up to the roof and found the strips of Ba'albak stuff tied
+to the crenelles and hanging down to the ground, and thus it was he
+knew that she had descended thence and had fled forth, as one
+distracted and demented with desire and passion. Presently, he turned
+and seeing there two birds, a gor-crow and an owl he justly deemed this
+an omen of ill; so he groaned and recited these couplets,
+
+     "I came to my dear friends' door, of my hopes the goal, *
+
+
+          Whose sight mote assuage my sorrow and woes of soul:
+
+
+     No friends found I there, nor was there another thing *
+
+
+          To find, save a corby-crow and an ill-omened owl.
+
+
+     And the tongue o' the case to me seemed to say, *
+
+
+          'Indeed This parting two lovers fond was cruel and
+
+
+          foul!
+
+
+     So taste thou the sorrow thou madest them taste and live *
+
+
+          In grief: wend thy ways and now in thy sorrow prowl!'"
+
+
+
+Then he descended from the castle-roof, weeping, and bade the servants
+fare forth and search the mount for their mistress; so they sought for
+her, but found her not. Such was their case; but as regards Uns
+al-Wujud, when he was certified that Rose-in-Hood was indeed gone, he
+cried with a great cry and fell down in a fainting-fit, nor came to
+himself for a long time, whilst the folk deemed that his spirit had
+been withdrawn by the Compassionating One; and that he was absorbed in
+contemplation of the splendour, majesty and beauty of the Requiting
+One. Then, despairing of finding Uns al-Wujud, and seeing that the
+Wazir Ibrahim was distracted for the loss of his daughter, the Minister
+of King Dirbas addressed himself to return to his own country, albeit
+he had not attained the object of his journey, and while bidding his
+companion adieu, said to him, "I have a mind to take the Fakir with me;
+it may be Allah Almighty will incline the King's heart to me by his
+blessing, for that he is a holy man; and thereafter, I will send him to
+Ispahan, which is near our country." "Do as thou wilt," answered
+Ibrahim. So they took leave of each other and departed, each for his
+own mother land, the Wazir of King Dirbas carrying with him Uns
+al-Wujud,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir of King
+Dirbas carried with him Uns al-Wujud who was still insensible. They
+bore him with them on mule-back (he unknowing if he were carried or
+not) for three days, when he came to himself and said, "Where am I?"
+"Thou art in company with the Minister of King Dirbas," replied they
+and went and gave news of his recovering to the Wazir, who sent him
+rose-water and sherbet of sugar, of which they gave him to drink and
+restored him. Then they ceased not faring on till they drew near King
+Dirbas's capital and the King, being advised of his Wazir's coming,
+wrote to him, saying, "If Uns al-Wujud be not with thee, come not to me
+ever." Now when the Wazir read the royal mandate, it was grievous to
+him, for he knew not that Rose-in-Hood was with the King, nor why he
+had been sent in quest of Uns al-Wujud, nor the King's reason for
+desiring the alliance; whilst Uns al-Wujud also knew not whither they
+were bearing him or that the Wazir had been sent in quest of him; nor
+did the Wazir know that the Fakir he had with him was Uns al-Wujud
+himself. And when the Minister saw that the sick man was whole, he said
+to him, "I was despatched by the King on an errand, which I have not
+been able to accomplish. So, when he heard of my return, he wrote to
+me, saying, 'Except thou have fulfilled my need enter not my city.'"
+"And what is the King's need?" asked Uns al-Wujud. So the Wazir told
+him the whole tale, and he said, "Fear nothing, but go boldly to the
+King and take me with thee; and I will be surety to thee for the coming
+of Uns al-Wujud." At this the Wazir rejoiced and cried, "Is this true
+which thou sayest?" "Yes," replied he; whereupon the Wazir mounted and
+carried him to King Dirbas who, after receiving their salutations said
+to him, "Where is Uns al-Wujud?" Answered the young man, "O King, I
+know where he is." So the King called him to him and said, "Where?"
+Returned Uns al-Wujud, "He is near-hand and very near; but tell me what
+thou wouldst with him, and I will fetch him into thy presence." The
+King replied, "With joy and good gree, but the case calleth for
+privacy." So he ordered the folk to withdraw and, carrying Uns al-Wujud
+into his cabinet, told him the whole story; whereupon quoth the youth,
+"Robe me in rich raiment, and I will forthright bring Uns al-Wujud to
+thee." So they brought him a sumptuous dress, and he donned it and
+said, "I am Uns al-Wujud, the World's Delight, and to the envious a
+despite"; and presently he smote with his glances every sprite, and
+began these couplets to recite,
+
+"My loved one's name in cheerless solitude aye cheereth me * And
+
+
+     driveth off my desperance and despondency:
+
+
+I have no helper[FN#76] but my tears that ever flow in fount, *
+
+
+     And as they flow, they lighten woe and force my grief to
+
+
+     flee.
+
+
+My longing is so violent naught like it ere was seen; * My love-
+
+
+     tale is a marvel and my love a sight to see:
+
+
+I spend the night with lids of eye that never close in sleep, *
+
+
+     And pass in passion twixt the Hells and Edens heavenly.
+
+
+I had of patience fairish store, but now no more have I; * And
+
+
+     love's sole gift to me hath been aye-growing misery:
+
+
+My frame is wasted by the pain of parting from my own, * And
+
+
+     longing changed my shape and form and made me other be.
+
+
+Mine eyelids by my torrent tears are chafed, and ulcerate, * The
+
+
+      tears, whose flow to stay is mere impossibility.
+
+
+My manly strength is sore impaired for I have lost my heart; *
+
+
+     How many griefs upon my griefs have I been doomed to dree!
+
+
+My heart and head are like in age with similar hoariness * By
+
+
+     loss of Beauty's lord,[FN#77] of lords the galaxy:
+
+
+Despite our wills they parted us and doomed us parted wone, *
+
+
+     While they (our lords) desire no more than love in unity.
+
+
+Then ah, would Heaven that I wot if stress of parting done, *
+
+
+     The world will grant me sight of them in union fain and
+
+
+     free—
+
+
+Roll up the scroll of severance which others would unroll— *
+
+
+     Efface my trouble by the grace of meeting's jubilee!
+
+
+And shall I see them homed with me in cup-company, * And change
+
+
+     my melancholic mood for joy and jollity?"
+
+
+
+And when he had ended his verses the King cried aloud, "By Allah, ye
+are indeed a pair of lovers true and fain and in Beauty's heaven of
+shining stars a twain: your story is wondrous and your case
+marvellous." Then he told him all that had befalled Rose-in- Hood; and
+Uns al-Wujud said, "Where is she, O King of the age?" "She is with me
+now," answered Dirbas and, sending for the Kazi and the witnesses, drew
+up the contract of marriage between her and him. Then he honoured Uns
+al-Wujud with favours and bounties and sent to King Shamikh acquainting
+him with what had befallen, whereat this King joyed with exceeding joy
+and wrote back the following purport. "Since the ceremony of contract
+hath been performed at thy court, it behoveth that the marriage and its
+consummation be at mine." Then he made ready camels, horses and men and
+sent them in quest of the pair; and when the embassy reached King
+Dirbas, he gave the lovers much treasure and despatched them to King
+Shamikh's court with a company of his own troops. The day of their
+arrival was a notable day, never was seen a grander; for the King
+gathered together all the singing- women and players on instruments of
+music and made wedding banquets and held high festival seven days; and
+on each day he gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them sumptuous
+robes of honour. Then Uns al-Wujud went in to Rose-in-Hood and they
+embraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst she
+recited these couplets,
+
+     "Joyance is come, dispelling cark and care; *
+
+
+          We are united, enviers may despair.
+
+
+     The breeze of union blows, enquickening *
+
+
+          Forms, hearts and vitals, fresh with fragrant air:
+
+
+     The splendour of delight with scents appears, *
+
+
+          And round us[FN#78] flags and drums show gladness rare.
+
+
+     Deem not we're weeping for our stress of grief;*
+
+
+          It is for joy our tears as torrents fare:
+
+
+     How many fears we've seen that now are past! *
+
+
+          And bore we patient what was sore to bear:
+
+
+     One hour of joyance made us both forget *
+
+
+          What from excess of terror grey'd our hair."
+
+
+
+And when the verses were ended, they again embraced and ceased not from
+their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon,—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Uns al- Wujud and
+Rose-in-Hood embraced when they foregathered and ceased not from their
+embrace, till they fell down in a swoon for the delight of reunion; and
+when they came to themselves, Uns al- Wujud recited these couplets,
+
+     "How joyously sweet are the nights that unite, *
+
+
+          When my dearling deigns keep me the troth she did
+
+
+          plight;
+
+
+     When union conjoins us in all that we have, *
+
+
+          And parting is severed and sundered from sight,
+
+
+     To us comes the world with her favour so fair, *
+
+
+          After frown and aversion and might despight!
+
+
+     Hath planted her banner Good Fortune for us, *
+
+
+          And we drink of her cup in the purest delight.
+
+
+     We have met and complained of the pitiful Past, *
+
+
+          And of nights a full many that doomed us to blight.
+
+
+     But now, O my lady, the Past is forgot; *
+
+
+          The Compassionate pardon the Past for unright!
+
+
+     How sweet is existence, how glad is to be! *
+
+
+          This union my passion doth only incite."
+
+
+
+And when he ended his verses they once more embraced, drowned in the
+sea of passion; and lay down together in the private apartment
+carousing and conversing and quoting verses and telling pleasant tales
+and anecdotes. On this wise seven days passed over them whilst they
+knew not night from day and it was to them, for very stress of gaiety
+and gladness, pleasure and possession, as if the seven days were but
+one day with ne'er a morrow. Not did they know the seventh day,[FN#79]
+but by the coming of the singers and players on instruments of music;
+whereat Rose-in-Hood beyond measure wondered and improvised these
+couplets,
+
+     "In spite of enviers' jealousy, at end *
+
+
+          We have won all we hoped of the friend:
+
+
+     We've crowned our meeting with a close embrace *
+
+
+          On quilts where new brocades with sendal blend;
+
+
+     On bed of perfumed leather, which the spoils *
+
+
+          Of downy birds luxuriously distend.
+
+
+     But I abstain me from unneeded wine, *
+
+
+          When honey-dews of lips sweet musk can lend:
+
+
+     Now from the sweets of union we unknow *
+
+
+          Time near and far, if slow or fast it wend,
+
+
+     The seventh night hath come and gone, O strange! *
+
+
+          How went the nights we never reckt or kenned;
+
+
+     Till, on the seventh wishing joy they said, *
+
+
+          'Allah prolong the meet of friend with friend!'"
+
+
+
+When she had finished her song, Uns al-Wujud kissed her, more than an
+hundred times, and recited these couplets,
+
+     "O day of joys to either lover fain! *
+
+
+          The loved one came and freed from lonely pain:
+
+
+     She blest me with all inner charms she hath; *
+
+
+          And companied with inner grace deep lain:
+
+
+     She made me drain the wine of love till I, *
+
+
+          Was faint with joys her love had made me drain:
+
+
+     We toyed and joyed and on each other lay; *
+
+
+          Then fell to wine and soft melodious strain:
+
+
+     And for excess of joyance never knew, *
+
+
+          How went the day and how it came again.
+
+
+     Fair fall each lover, may he union win *
+
+
+          And gain of joy like me the amplest gain;
+
+
+     Nor weet the taste of severance' bitter fruit *
+
+
+          And joys assain them as they us assain!"
+
+
+
+Then they went forth and distributed to the folk alms and presents of
+money and raiment and rare gifts and other tokens of generosity; after
+which Rose-in-Hood bade clear the bath for her[FN#80] and, turning to
+Uns al-Wujud said to him, "O coolth of my eyes, I have a mind to see
+thee in the Hammam, and therein we will be alone together." He joyfully
+consented to this, and she let scent the Hammam with all sorts of
+perfumed woods and essences, and light the wax-candles. Then of the
+excess of her contentment she recited these couplets,
+
+     "O who didst win my love in other date *
+
+
+          (And Present e'er must speak of past estate);
+
+
+     And, oh! who art my sole sufficiency, *
+
+
+          Nor want I other friends with me to mate:
+
+
+     Come to the Hammam, O my light of eyes, *
+
+
+          And enter Eden through Gehenna-gate!
+
+
+     We'll scent with ambergris and aloes-wood *
+
+
+          Till float the heavy clouds with fragrant freight;
+
+
+     And to the World we'll pardon all her sins *
+
+
+          And sue for mercy the Compassionate;
+
+
+     And I will cry, when I descry thee there, *
+
+
+          'Good cheer, sweet love, all blessings on thee
+
+
+          wait!'"[FN#81]
+
+
+
+Whereupon they arose and fared to the bath and took their pleasure
+therein; after which they returned to their palace and there abode in
+the fulness of enjoyment, till there came to them the Destroyer of
+Delights and the Sunderer of societies; and glory be to Him who
+changeth not neither ceaseth, and to whom everything returneth! And
+they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID[FN#82]
+
+Abu Nowas one day shut himself up and, making ready a richly-furnished
+feast, collected for it meats of all kinds and of every colour that
+lips and tongue can desire. Then he went forth, to seek a minion worthy
+of such entertainment, saying, "Allah, my Lord and my Master, I beseech
+Thee to send me one who befitteth this banquet and who is fit to
+carouse with me this day!" Hardly had he made an end of speaking when
+he espied three youths handsome and beardless, as they were of the boys
+of Paradise,[FN#83] differing in complexion but fellows in incomparable
+beauty; and all hearts yearned with desire to the swaying of their
+bending shapes, even to what saith the poet,
+
+     "I passed a beardless pair without compare *
+
+
+          And cried, 'I love you, both you ferly fir!'
+
+
+     'Money'd?' quoth one: quoth I, 'And lavish too;' *
+
+
+          Then said the fair pair, 'Pere, c'est notre affaire.'"
+
+
+
+Now Abu Nowas was given to these joys and loved to sport and make merry
+with fair boys and cull the rose from every brightly blooming check,
+even as saith the bard,
+
+     Full many a reverend Shaykh feels sting of flesh, *
+
+
+          Loves pretty faces, shows at Pleasure's depot:
+
+
+     Awakes in Mosul,[FN#84] land of purity; *
+
+
+          And all the day dreams only of Aleppo.[FN#85]
+
+
+
+So he accosted them with the salutation, and they returned his greeting
+with civility and all honour and would have gone their several ways,
+but he stayed them, repeating these couplets,
+
+    "Steer ye your steps to none but me *
+
+
+         Who hath a mine of luxury:-
+
+
+    Old wine that shines with brightest blee *
+
+
+         Made by the monk in monastery;
+
+
+    And mutton-meat the toothsomest *
+
+
+         And birds of all variety.
+
+
+    Then eat of these and drink of those *
+
+
+         Old wines that bring you jollity:
+
+
+    And have each other, turn by turn, *
+
+
+         Shampooing this my tool you see."[FN#86]
+
+
+
+Thereupon the youths were beguiled by his verses and consented to his
+wishes,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu Nowas
+beguiled the youths with his wishes, saying, "We hear and obey;" and
+accompanied him to his lodging, where they found all ready that he had
+set forth in his couplets. They sat down and ate and drank and made
+merry awhile, after which they appealed to Abu Nowas to decide which of
+them was handsometh of face and shapliest of form. So he pointed to one
+of them and, having kissed him twice over, recited the following
+verses,
+
+     "I'll ransom that beauty-spot with my soup; *
+
+
+          Where's it and where is a money-dole?[FN#87]
+
+
+     Praise Him who hairless hath made that cheek *
+
+
+          And bid Beauty bide in that mole, that mole!"
+
+
+
+Then he pointed to another and, kissing his lips, repeated these
+couplets,
+
+     "And loveling weareth on his cheek a mole *
+
+
+          Like musk, which virgin camphor ne'er lets off it:
+
+
+     My peepers marvel such a contrast seeing; *
+
+
+          And cried the Mole to me, 'Now bless the
+
+
+          Prophet.'"[FN#88]
+
+
+
+Then he pointed to the third and, after kissing him half a score times
+repeated these couplets,
+
+     "Melted pure gold in silvern bowl to drain *
+
+
+          The youth, whose fingers wore a winey stain:
+
+
+     He with the drawers[FN#89] served one cup of wine, *
+
+
+          And served his wandering eyes the other twain.
+
+
+     A loveling, of the sons of Turks,[FN#90] a fawn *
+
+
+          Whose waist conjoins the double Mounts Honayn.[FN#91]
+
+
+     Could Eve's corrupting daughers[FN#92] tempt my heart *
+
+
+          Content with two-fold lure 'twould bear the bane.
+
+
+     Unto Diyar-I-Bakr ('maid-land '[FN#93] this one lures; *
+
+
+          That lures to two-mosqued cities of the plain."[FN#94]
+
+
+
+Now each of the youths had drunk two cups, and when it came to the turn
+of Abu Nowas, he took the goblet and repeated these couplets,
+
+"Drink not strong wine save at the slender dearling's hand; *
+
+
+     Each like to other in all gifts the spirt grace:
+
+
+For wine can never gladden toper's heart and soul, *
+
+
+     Unless the cup-boy show a bright and sparkling face."
+
+
+
+Then he drank off his cup and the bowl went round, and when it came to
+Abu Nowas again, joyance got the mastery of him and he repeated these
+couplets,
+
+     "For cup-friends cup succeeding cup assign, *
+
+
+          Brimming with grape-juice, brought in endliess line,
+
+
+     By hand of brown-lipped[FN#95] Beauty who is sweet *
+
+
+          At wake as apple or musk finest fine.[FN#96]
+
+
+     Drink not the wine except from hand of fawn *
+
+
+          Whose cheek to kiss is sweeter than the wine."
+
+
+
+Presently the drink got into his noddle, drunkenness mastered him and
+he knew not hand from head, so that he lolled from side to side in joy
+and inclined to the youths one and all, anon kissing them and anon
+embracing them leg overlying leg. And he showed no sense of sin or
+shame, but recited these couplets,
+
+     "None wotteth best joyance but generous youth *
+
+
+          When the pretty ones deign with him company keep:
+
+
+     This sings to him, sings to him that, when he wants *
+
+
+          A pick-me-up[FN#97] lying there all of a heap:
+
+
+     And when of a loveling he needeth a kiss, *
+
+
+          He takes from his lips or a draught or a nip;
+
+
+     Heaven bless them! How sweetly my day with them sped; *
+
+
+          A wonderful harvest of pleasure I reap:
+
+
+     Let us drink our good liquor both watered and pure, *
+
+
+          And agree to swive all who dare slumber and sleep."
+
+
+
+While they were in this deboshed state behold, there came a knocking at
+the door; so they bade him who knocked enter, and behold, it was the
+Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid. When they saw him, they all
+rose and kissed ground before him; and Abu Nowas threw off the fumes of
+the wine for awe of the Caliph, who said to him, "Holla, Abu Nowas!" He
+replied, "Adsum, at thy service, O Commander of the Faithful, whom
+Allah preserve!" The Caliph asked, "What state is this?" and the poet
+answered, "O Prince of True Believers, my state indubitably dispenseth
+with questions." Quoth the Caliph, "O Abu Nowas, I have sought
+direction of Allah Almighty and have appointed thee Kazi of pimps and
+panders." Asked he, "Dost thou indeed invest me with that high office,
+O Commander of the Faithful?"; and the Caliph answered "I do;"
+whereupon Abu Nowas rejoined, "O Commander of the Faithful, hast thou
+any suit to prefer to me?" Hereat the Caliph was wroth and presently
+turned away and left them, full of rage, and passed the night sore
+an-angered against Abu Nowas, who amid the party he had invited spent
+the merriest of nights and the jolliest and joyousest. And when
+day-break dawned and the star of morn appeared in sheen and shone, he
+broke up the sitting and, dismissing the youths, donned his court-dress
+and leaving his house set out for the palace of the Caliph. Now it was
+the custom of the Commander of the Faithful, when the Divan broke up,
+to withdraw to his sitting-saloon and summon thither his poets and
+cup-companions and musicians, each having his own place, which he might
+not overpass. So it happened that day, he retired to his saloom, and
+the friends and familiars came and seated themselves, each in his rank
+and degree. Presently, in walked Abu Nowas and was about to take his
+usual seat, when the Caliph cried to Masrur, the sworder, and bade him
+strip the poet of his clothes and bind an ass's packsaddle on his back
+and a halter about his head and a crupper under his rump and lead him
+round to all the lodgings of the slave-girls, —And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
+commanded Masrur, the sworder, to strip Abu Nowas of his court-suit and
+bind an ass's packsaddle on his back and a halter about his head, and a
+crupper under his rump and lead him round to all the lodgings of the
+slave-girls, and the chambers of the Harim, that the women might make
+mock of him; then cut off his head and bring it to him. "Hearkening and
+obedience," replied Masrur and, doing with Abu Nowas as the Caliph had
+bidden him, led him round all the chambers whose number equalled the
+days of the year; but Abu Nowas was a funny fellow, so he made all the
+girls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him something whereby
+he returned not save with a pocketful of money. And while this was
+going on behold, Ja'afar the Barmecide, who had been absent on an
+important business for the Commander of the Faithful, entered and
+recognising the poet, albeit in this plight, said to him, "Holla, Abu
+Nowas!" He said, "Here at thy service, O our lord." Ja'afar asked,
+"What offence hast thou committed to bring this punishment on thee?"
+Thereupon he answered, "None whatsoever, except that I made our lord
+the Caliph a present of the best of my poetry and he presented me, in
+return, with the best of his raiment." When the Prince of True
+Believers head this, he laughed, from a heart full of wrath,[FN#98] and
+pardoned Abu Nowas, and also gave him a myriad of money. And they also
+recount the tale of
+
+
+
+
+ABDALLAH BIN MA'AMAR WITH THE MAN OF BASSORAH AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL.
+
+A certain man of Bassorah once bought a slave-girl and reared and
+educated her right well. Moreover, he loved her very dearly and spent
+all his substance in pleasuring and merry-making with her, til he had
+naught left and extreme poverty was sore upon him. So she said to him,
+"O my master, sell me; for thou needest my price and it maketh my heart
+ache to see thy sorry and want-full plight. If thou vend me and make
+use of my value, 'twill be better for thee than keeping me by thee, and
+haply Almighty Allah will ample thee and amend thy fortune." He agreed
+to this for the straitness of his case, and carried her to the bazar,
+where the broker offered her for sale to the Governor of Bassorah, by
+name Abdallah bin Ma'amar al-Taymi, and she pleased him. So he bought
+her, for five hundred dinars and paid the sum to her master; but when
+he book the money and was about to go away, the girl burst into tears
+and repeated these two couplets,
+
+     "May coins though gainest joy in heart instil; *
+
+
+          For me remaineth naught save saddest ill:
+
+
+     I say unto my soul which sorely grieves, *
+
+
+          'Thy friend departeth an thou will nor nill.'"
+
+
+
+And when her master heard this, he groaned and replied in these
+couplets,
+
+     "Albeit this thy case lack all resource, *
+
+
+          Nor findeth aught but death's doom, pardon still;
+
+
+     Evening and morning, thoughts of thee will dole *
+
+
+          Comfort to heart all woes and griefs full fill:
+
+
+     Peace be upon thee! Meet we now no more *
+
+
+          Nor pair except at Ibn Ma'amar's will."
+
+
+
+Now when Abdullah bin Ma'amar heard these verses and saw their
+affection, he exclaimed, "By Allah, I will not assist fate in
+separating you; for it is evident to me that ye two indeed love each
+other. So take the money and the damsel, O man, and Allah bless thee in
+both; for verily parting be grievous to lovers." So they kissed his
+hand and going away, ceased not to dwell together, till death did them
+part; and glory be to Him whom death over-taketh not! And amonst
+stories is that of
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVERS OF THE BANU[FN#99] OZRAH
+
+There was once, among the Banu Ozrah, a handsome and accomplished man,
+who was never a single day out of love, and it chanced that he became
+enamoured of a beauty of his own tribe and sent her many messages; but
+she ceased not to entreat him with cruelty and disdain; till, for
+stress of love and longing and desire and distraction, he fell sick of
+a sore sickness and took to his pillow and murdered sleep. His malady
+redoubled on him and his torments increased and he was well nigh dead
+when his case became known among the folk and his passion
+notorious;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took to
+his pillow and murdered sleep. So his case became known and his passion
+notorious; and his infirmity grew upon him and his pains redoubled
+until he was well nigh dead. His family and hers were urgent with her
+to visit him, but she refused, till he was at the point of death when,
+being told of this, she relented towards him and vouchsafed him a
+visit. As soon as he saw her, his eyes ran over with tears and he
+repeated from a broken heart,
+
+     "An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, *
+
+
+          A bier upborne upon the necks of four,
+
+
+     Wilt thou not follow it, and greet the grave *
+
+
+          Where shall my corpse be graved for evermore?"
+
+
+
+Hearing this, she wept with sore weeping and said to him, "By Allah, I
+suspected not that passion had come to such a pass with thee, as to
+cast thee into the arms of death! Had I wist of this, I had been
+favourable to thy wish, and thou shouldst have had thy will." At this
+his tears streamed down even as the clouds rail rain, and he repeated
+this verse,
+
+     "She drew near whenas death was departing us, *
+
+
+          And deigned union grant when twas useless all."
+
+
+
+Then he groaned one groan and died. So she fell on him, kissing him and
+weeping and ceased not weeping until she swooned away; and when she
+came to herself, she charged her people to bury her in his grave and
+with streaming eyes recited these two couplets,
+
+     "We lived on earth a life of fair content; *
+
+
+          And tribe and house and home of us were proud;
+
+
+     But Time in whirling flight departed us, *
+
+
+          To join us now in womb of earth and shroud.[FN#100]"
+
+
+
+Then she fell again to weeping, nor gave over shedding tears and
+lamenting till she fainted away; and she lay three days, senseless.
+Then she died and was buried in his grave. This is one of the strange
+chances of love.[FN#101] And I have heard related a tale of the
+
+
+
+
+WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER
+
+It is said that Badr al-Din, Wazir of Al-Yaman, had a young brother of
+singular beauty and kept strait watch over him; so he applied himself
+to seek a tutor for him and, coming upon a Shaykh of dignified and
+reverend aspect, chaste and religious, lodged him in a house next his
+own. This lasted a long time, and he used to come daily from his
+dwelling to that of Sαhib[FN#102] Badr al-Din and teach the young
+brother. After a while, the old man's heart was taken with love for the
+youth, and longing grew upon him and his vitals were troubled, till one
+day, he bemoaned his case to the boy, who said, "What can I do, seeing
+that I may not leave my brother night or day? and thou thyself seest
+how careful he is over me." Quoth the Shaykh, "My lodging adjoineth
+thine; so there will be no difficulty, when thy brother sleepeth, to
+rise and, entering the privy, feign thyself asleep. Then come to the
+parapet[FN#103] of the terrace-roof and I will receive thee on the
+other side of the wall; so shalt thou sit with me an eye-twinkling and
+return without thy brother's knowledge." "I hear and obey," answered
+the lad; and the tutor began to prepare gifts suitable to his degree.
+Now when a while of the night was past, he entered the water-closet and
+waited until his brother lay down on his bed and took patience till he
+was drowned in sleep, when he rose and going to the parapet of the
+terrace-roof, found standing there to await him the old man, who gave
+him his hand and carried him to the sitting-chamber, where he had made
+ready various dainties for his entertainment, and they sat down to
+carouse. Now it was the night of the full moon and, as they sat with
+the wine-cup going round, her rays shone upon them, and the governor
+fell to singing. But, whilst they were thus in joy and jollity and
+mirth and merriment, such as confoundeth the wit and the sight and
+defieth description, lo! the Wazir awoke and, missing his brother,
+arose in affright and found the door open. So he went up to the roof
+and hearing a noise of talk, climbed over the parapet to the adjoining
+terrace and saw a light shining from the lodging. He looked in from
+behind the wall, and espied his brother and his tutor sitting at
+carouse; but the Shaykh became aware of him and sang cup in hand, to a
+lively measure these couplets,
+
+     "He made me drain his wine of honeyed lips, *
+
+
+          Toasting with cheeks which rose and myrtle smother:
+
+
+     Then nighted in embrace, cheek to my cheek, *
+
+
+          A loveling midst mankind without another.
+
+
+     When the full moon arose on us and shone *
+
+
+          Pray she traduce us not to the big brother."
+
+
+
+And it proved the perfect politeness of the Wazir Badr al-Din that,
+when he heard this, he said, "By Allah, I will not betray you!" And he
+went away and left them to their diversions. They also tell a tale
+concerning
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL
+
+A free boy and a slave-girl once learnt together in school, and the boy
+fell passionately in love with the girl.—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lad fell
+passionately in love with the slave-lass: so one day, when the other
+boys were heedless, he took her tablet[FN#104] and wrote on it these
+two couplets,
+
+     "What sayest thou of him by sickness waste, *
+
+
+          Until he's clean distraught for love of thee?
+
+
+     Who in the transport of his pain complains, *
+
+
+          Nor can bear load of heart in secrecy?"
+
+
+
+Now when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses written thereon
+and understanding them, wept for ruth of him; then she wrote thereunder
+these two couplets,
+
+     "An if we behold a lover love-fordone *
+
+
+          Desiring us, our favours he shall see:
+
+
+     Yea, what he wills of us he shall obtain, *
+
+
+          And so befal us what befalling be."
+
+
+
+Now it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the tablet,
+unnoticed, read what was written thereon. So he was moved to pity of
+their case and wrote on the tablet beneath those already written these
+two couplets addressed to the girl,
+
+     "Console thy lover, fear no consequence; *
+
+
+          He is daft with loving lowe's insanity;
+
+
+     But for the teacher fear not aught from him; *
+
+
+          Love-pain he learned long before learnt ye."
+
+
+
+Presently it so happened that the girl's owner entered the school about
+the same time and, finding the tablet, read the above verses indited by
+the boy, the girl and the schoolmaster; and wrote under them these two
+couplets,
+
+     "May Allah never make you parting dree *
+
+
+          And be your censurer shamed wearily!
+
+
+     But for the teacher ne'er, by Allah, eye *
+
+
+          Of mine beheld a bigger pimp than he!"
+
+
+
+Then he sent for the Kazi and witnesses and married them on the spot.
+Moreover, he made them a wedding-feast and treated them with exceeding
+munificence; and they ceased not abiding together in joy and happiness,
+till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of
+societies. And equally pleasant is the story of
+
+
+
+
+AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH
+
+It is related Al-Mutalammis[FN#105] once fled from Al-Nu'uman bin
+Munzir[FN#106] and was absent so long that folk deemed him dead. Now he
+had a beautiful wife, Umaymah by name, and her family urged her to
+marry again; but she refused, for that she loved her husband
+Al-Mutalammis very dearly. However, they were urgent with her, because
+of the multitude of her suitors, and importuned with her till at last
+she consented, albe reluctantly; and they espoused her to a man of her
+own tribe. Now on the night of the wedding, Al-Mutalammis came back
+and, hearing in the camp a noise of pipes and tabrets and seeing signs
+of a wedding festival, asked some of the children what was the
+merry-making, to which they replied, "They have married Umaymah wife of
+Al-Mutalammis, to such an one, and he goes in to her this night." When
+he heard this, he planned to enter the house amongst the mob of women
+and saw the twain seated on the bridal couch.[FN#107] By and by, the
+bridegroom came up to her, whereupon she sighed heavily and weeping,
+recited this couplet,
+
+"Would Heaven I knew (but many are the shifts of joy and woe) *
+
+
+     In what far distant land thou art, my Mutalammis, oh!"
+
+
+
+Now Al-Mutalammis was a renowned poet; so he answered her saying;
+
+"Right near at hand, Umaymah mine! when'er the caravan *
+
+
+     Halted, I never ceased for thee to pine, I would thou know."
+
+
+
+When the bridegroom heard this, he guess how the case stood and went
+forth from them in hast improvising,
+
+"I was in bestest luck, but now my luck goes contrary: *
+
+
+     A hospitable house and room contain your loves, you two!"
+
+
+
+And he returned not but left the twain to their privacy. So Al-
+Mutalammis and his wife abode together in all comfort and solace of
+life and in all its joys and jollities till death parted them. And
+glory be to Him at whose command the earth and the heavens shall arise!
+And among other tales is that of
+
+
+
+
+THE CALIPH HARUM AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid loved the Lady Zubaydah with exceeding love
+and laid out for her a pleasaunce, wherein he made a great tank and set
+thereabouts a screen of trees and led thither water from all sides;
+hence the trees grew and interlaced over the basin so densely, that one
+could go in and wash, without being seen of any, for the thickness of
+the leafage. It chanced, one day, that Queen Zubaydah entered the
+garden and, coming to the swimming-bath,—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, "O auspicious King, that Queen Zubaydah
+entered the garden one day and, coming to the swimming- bath, gazed
+upon its goodliness; and the sheen of the water and the overshading of
+the trees pleased her. Now it was a day of exceeding heat; so she
+doffed her clothes and, entering the tank, which was not deep enough to
+cover the whole person, fell to pouring the water over herself from an
+ewer of silver. It also happened that the Caliph heard she was in the
+pool; so he left his palace and came down to spy upon her through the
+screen of the foliage. He stood behind the trees and espied her mother-
+nude, showing everything that is kept hidden. Presently, she became
+aware of him and turning, saw him behind the trees and was ashamed that
+he should see her naked. So she laid her hands on her parts, but the
+Mount of Venus escaped from between them, by reason of its greatness
+and plumpness; and the Caliph at once turned and went away, wondering
+and reciting this couplet,
+
+     "I looked on her with loving eyne *
+
+
+          And grew anew my old repine:"
+
+
+
+But he knew not what to say next; so he sent for Abu Nowas and said to
+him, "Make me a piece of verse commencing with this line." "I hear and
+obey," replied the poet and in an eye- twinkling extemporised these
+couplets,
+
+     "I looked on her with longing eyne *
+
+
+          And grew anew my old repine
+
+
+     For the gazelle, who captured me *
+
+
+          Where the two lotus-trees incline:
+
+
+     There was the water poured on it *
+
+
+          From ewer of the silvern mine;
+
+
+     And seen me she had hidden it *
+
+
+          But twas too plump for fingers fine.
+
+
+     Would Heaven that I were on it, *
+
+
+          An hour, or better two hours, li'en."[FN#108]
+
+
+
+Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful smiled and made him a handsome
+present and he went away rejoicing. And I have heard another story of
+
+
+
+
+HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS
+
+The Prince of True Believers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was exceeding
+restless one night; so he rose and walked about his palace, till he
+happened upon a handmaid overcome with wine. Now he was prodigiously
+enamoured of this damsel; so he played with her and pulled her to him,
+whereupon her zone fell down and her petticoat-trousers were loosed and
+he besought her of amorous favour. But she said to him, "O Commander of
+the Faithful wait till to-morrow night, for I am unprepared for thee,
+knowing not of thy coming." So he left her and went away. But, when the
+morrow showed its light and the sun shone bright, he sent a page to her
+saying, "The Commander of the Faithful is about to visit thine
+apartment;" but she replied, "Day doth away with the promise of night."
+So he said to his courtiers, "Make me somewhat of verse, introducing
+these words, The Promise of Night is effaced by Day.'" Answered they,
+"We hear and obey," and Al- Rakαshi[FN#109] came forward and recited
+the following couplets,
+
+     "By Allah, couldst thou but feel my pain, *
+
+
+          Thy rest had turned and had fled away.
+
+
+     Hath left me in sorrow and love distraught, *
+
+
+          Unseen and unseeing, that fairest may:
+
+
+     She promised me grace, then jilted and said, *
+
+
+          The promise of night is effaced by day!'"
+
+
+
+Then Abu Mus'ab came forward and recited these couplets,
+
+     "When wilt thou be wise and love-heat allay *
+
+
+          That from food and sleeping so leads astray?
+
+
+     Suffices thee not ever weeping eye, *
+
+
+          And vitals on fire when thy name they say?
+
+
+     He must smile and laugh and in pride must cry *
+
+
+          The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
+
+
+
+Last came Abu Nowas and recited the following couplets,
+
+     "As love waxt longer less met we tway *
+
+
+          And fell out, but ended the useless fray;
+
+
+     One night in the palace I found her fou'; *
+
+
+          Yet of modesty still there was some display:
+
+
+     The veil from her shoulders had slipt; and showed *
+
+
+          Her loosened trousers Love's seat and stay:
+
+
+     And rattled the breezes her huge hind cheeks *
+
+
+          And the branch where two little pomegranates lay:
+
+
+     Quoth I, Give me tryst;' whereto quoth she *
+
+
+          To-morrow the fane shall wear best array:'
+
+
+     Next day I asked her, Thy word?' Said she *
+
+
+          The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
+
+
+
+The Caliph bade give a myriad of money each to Al-Rakashi and Abu
+Mus'ab, but bade strike off the head of Abu Nowas, saying, "Thou wast
+with us yesternight in the palace." Said he, "By Allah, I slept not but
+in my own house! I was directed to what I said by thine own words as to
+the subject of the verse; and indeed quoth Almighty Allah (and He is
+the truest of all speakers): As for poets (devils pursue them!) dost
+thou not see that they rove as bereft of their senses through every
+valley and that they say that which they do not?'"[FN#110] So the
+Caliph forgave him and gave him two myriads of money. And another tale
+is that of
+
+
+
+
+MUS'AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE
+
+It is told of Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr[FN#111] that he met in Al- Medinah
+Izzah, who was one of the shrewdest of women, and said to her, "I have
+a mind to marry Ayishah[FN#112] daughter of Talhah, and I should like
+thee to go herwards and spy out for me how she is made." So she went
+away and returning to Mus'ab, said, "I have seen her, and her face is
+fairer than health; she hath large and well-opened eyes and under them
+a nose straight and smooth as a cane; oval cheeks and a mouth like a
+cleft pomegranate, a neck as a silver ewer and below it a bosom with
+two breasts like twin- pomegranates and further down a slim waist and a
+slender stomach with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory, and
+back parts like a hummock of sand; and plumply rounded thighs and
+calves like columns of alabaster; but I saw her feet to be large, and
+thou wilt fall short with her in time of need." Upon this report he
+married her,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Day
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Izzah this
+wise reported of Ayishah bint Talhah, Mus'ab married her and went in to
+her. And presently Izzah invited Ayishah and the women of the tribe
+Kuraysh to her house, when Ayishah sang these two couplets with Mus'ab
+standing by,
+
+     "And the lips of girls, that are perfume sweet; *
+
+
+          So nice to kiss when with smiles they greet:
+
+
+     Yet ne'er tasted I them, but in thought of him; *
+
+
+          And by thought the Ruler rules worldly seat."
+
+
+
+The night of Mus'ab's going in unto her, he departed not from her, till
+after seven bouts; and on the morrow, a freewoman of his met him and
+said to him, "May I be thy sacrifice! Thou art perfect, even in this."
+And a certain woman said, "I was with Ayishah, when her husband came in
+to her, and she lusted for him; so he fell upon her and she snarked and
+snorted and made use of all wonder of movements and marvellous new
+inventions, and I the while within hearing. So, when he came out from
+her, I said to her, How canst thou do thus with thy rank and nobility
+and condition, and I in thy house?' Quoth she, Verily a woman should
+bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of excitement
+and rare buckings and wrigglings and motitations.[FN#113] What
+dislikest thou of this?' And I answered I would have this by nights.'
+Rejoined she, Thus is it by day and by night I do more than this; for
+when he seeth me, desire stirreth him up and he falleth in heat; so he
+putteth it out to me and I obey him, and it is as thou seest.'" And
+there also hath reached me an account of
+
+
+
+
+ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL
+
+Abu al-Aswad bought a native-born slave-girl, who was blind of an eye,
+and she pleased him; but his people decried her to him; whereat he
+wondered and, turning the palms of his hands upwards,[FN#114] recited
+these two couplets,
+
+     "They find me fault with her where I default ne'er find, *
+
+
+          Save haply that a speck in either eye may show:
+
+
+     But if her eyes have fault, of fault her form hath none, *
+
+
+          Slim-built above the waist and heavily made below."
+
+
+
+And this is also told of
+
+
+
+
+HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls, one
+from Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed his
+hands, whilst the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern[FN#115]
+stand up. Quoth the Cufite, "I see thou wouldst keep the whole of the
+stock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share of it." And the other
+answered, "I have been told by Mαlik, on the authority of Hishαm ibn
+Orwah,[FN#116] who had it of his (grand) father, that the Prophet said,
+Whoso quickeneth the dead, the dead belongeth to him and is his.' But
+the Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in
+her own hand and said, "Al-A'amash telleth us, on the authority of
+Khaysamah, who had it of Abdallah bin Mas'ud, that the Prophet
+declared, Game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth
+it.'" And this is also related of
+
+
+
+
+THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a Meccan,
+a Medinite and an Irakite. The Medinah girl put her hand to his yard
+and handled it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan sprang up and drew it
+to herself. Quoth the other, "What is this unjust aggression? A
+tradition was related to me by Mαlik[FN#117] after Al-Zuhri, after
+Abdallah ibn Sαlim, after Sa'νd bin Zayd, that the Apostle of Allah
+(whom Allah bless and keep!) said: Whoso enquickeneth a dead land, it
+is his.' And the Meccan answered, "It is related to us by Sufyαn, from
+Abu Zanαd, from Al-A'araj, from Abu Horayrah, that the Apostle of Allah
+said: The quarry is his who catcheth it, not his who starteth it.'" But
+the Irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said,
+"This is mine, till your contention be decided." And they tell a tale
+of
+
+
+
+
+THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE
+
+There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married
+to a wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him because she was
+sweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her and held aloof from her. One
+night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, "Dig in such
+a spot of the ass's round in the mill, and thou shalt find a hoard."
+When he awoke, he told his wife the vision and bade her keep the
+secret; but she told her neighbour,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the miller's wife
+told the secret to the neighbour whom she loved, thinking to win his
+favour; and he agreed with her to come to her by night. So he came and
+they dug in the mill and found the treasure and took it forth. Then he
+asked her, "How shall we do with this?" and she answered; "We will
+divide it into two halves and will share it equally between us, and do
+thou leave thy wife and I will cast about to rid me of my husband. Then
+shalt thou marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will join the two
+halves of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands."
+Quoth he, "I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other man
+other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world.
+I reck, therefore, it were right that the money be all in my hands, so
+thou give thy whole mind to getting free of thy husband and coming to
+me." Quoth she, "I fear even as thou fearest, nor will I yield up my
+part to thee; for it was I directed thee to it." When he heard this,
+greed of gain prompted him to kill her; so he slew her and threw her
+body into the empty hoard-hole; but day overtook him and hindered him
+from covering it up; he therefore took the money and went his way. Now
+after a while the miller awoke and, missing his wife, went into the
+mill, where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. It went
+on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but the
+more he bashed it, the more it drew back; for it was affrighted at the
+dead woman and could not go forward. Thereupon the Miller, unknowing
+what hindered the donkey, took out a knife and goaded it again and
+again, but still it would not budge. Then he was wroth with it, knowing
+not the cause of its obstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks,
+and it fell down dead. But when the sun rose, he saw his donkey lying
+dead and likewise his wife in the place of the treasure, and great was
+his rage and sore his wrath for the loss of his hoard and the death of
+his wife and his ass. All this came of his letting his wife into his
+secret and not keeping it to himself.[FN#118] And I have heard this
+tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER
+
+A certain simpleton was once walking along, haling his ass after him by
+the halter, when a pair of sharpers saw him and one said to his fellow,
+"I will take that ass from yonder wight." Asked the other, "How wilt
+thou do that?" "Follow me and I will show thee how," answered the
+first. So the cony-catcher went up to the ass and, loosing it from the
+halter, gave the beast to his fellow; then he haltered his own head and
+followed Tom Fool till he knew the other had got clean off with the
+ass, when he stood still. The oaf haled at the halter, but the rascal
+stirred not; so he turned and seeing the halter on a man's neck, said
+to him, "What art thou?" Quoth the sharper, "I am thine ass and my
+story is a wonderous one and tis this. Know that I have a pious old
+mother and come in to her one day, drunk; and she said to me: O my son,
+repent to the Almighty of these thy transgressions.' But I took my
+staff and beat her, whereupon she cursed me and Allah changed me into
+an ass and caused me fall into thy hands, where I have remained till
+this moment. However, to-day, my mother called me to mind and her heart
+yearned towards me; so she prayed for me and the Lord restored me to my
+former shape amongst the sons of Adam." Cried the silly one, "There is
+no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
+Great! Allah upon thee, O my brother, acquit me of what I have done
+with thee in the way of riding and so forth." Then he let the
+cony-catcher go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern as
+with wine. His wife asked him, "What aileth thee and where is the
+donkey?"; and he answered, "Thou knowest not what was this ass; but I
+will tell thee." So he told her the story, and she exclaimed, "Alack
+and alas for the punishment we shall receive from Almighty Allah! How
+could we have used a man as a beast of burden, all this while? And she
+gave alms by way of atonement and prayed pardon of Heaven.[FN#119] Then
+the man abode awhile at home, idle and feckless, till she said to him,
+"How long wilt thou sit at home doing naught? Go to the market and buy
+us an ass and ply thy work with it." Accordingly, he went to the market
+and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own ass for
+sale. So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear, said to
+it, "Woe to thee, thou ne'er-do-well! Doubtless thou hast been getting
+drunk again and beating thy mother! But, by Allah, I will never buy
+thee more."[FN#120] and he left it and went away. And they tell a tale
+concerning
+
+
+
+
+THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid went up one noon-tide to his couch, to lie
+down; and mounting, found upon the bed-clothes semen freshly emitted;
+whereat he was startled and troubled with sore trouble. So he called
+the Lady Zubaydah and said to her, "What is that spilt on the bed?" She
+looked at it and replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is semen."
+Quoth he, "Tell me truly what this meaneth or I will lay violent hands
+on thee forthright." Quoth she, "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,
+indeed I know not how it came there and I am guiltless of that whereof
+you suspectest me." So he sent for the Kazi AbÏŠ YÏŠsuf and acquainted
+him of the case. The Judge raised his eyes to the ceiling and, seeing a
+crack therein, said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, in
+very sooth the bat hath seed like that of a man,[FN#121] and this is
+bat's semen." Then he called for a spear and thrust it into the
+crevice, whereupon down fell the bat. In this manner the Caliph's
+suspicions were dispelled,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-ninth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Kazi Abu
+Yusuf took the spear and thrust it into the crevice, down fell the bat,
+and thus the Caliph's suspicions were dispelled and the innocence of
+Zubaydah was made manifest; whereat she gave loud and liberal vent to
+her joy and promised Abu Yusuf a magnificent reward. Now there were
+with her certain delicious fruits, out of their season, and she knew of
+others in the garden; so she asked Abu Yusuf, "O Imam of the Faith,
+which wouldst thou rather have of the two kinds of fruits, those that
+are here or those that are not here?" And he answered, "Our code
+forbiddeth us to pronounce judgement on the absent; whenas they are
+present, we will give our decision." So she let bring the two kinds of
+fruits before him; and he ate of both. Quoth she, "What is the
+difference between them?" and quoth he, "As often as I think to praise
+one kind, the adversary putteth in its claim." The Caliph laughed at
+his answer[FN#122] and made him a rich present; and Zubaydah also gave
+him what she had promised him, and he went away, rejoicing. See, then
+the virtues of this Imαm and how his hands were manifest the truth and
+the innocence of the Lady Zubaydah. And amongst other stories is that
+of
+
+
+
+
+THE CALIPH AL-HAKIM[FN#123] AND THE MERCHANT
+
+The Caliph Al-Hαkim bi-Amri'llah was riding out in state procession one
+day, when he passed along a garden, wherein he saw a man, surrounded by
+negro-slaves and eunuchs. He asked him for a draught of water, and the
+man gave him to drink, saying, "Belike, the Commander of the Faithful
+will honour me by alighting in this my garden." So the Caliph
+dismounted and with his suite entered the garden; whereupon the said
+man brought out to them an hundred rugs and an hundred leather mats and
+an hundred cushions; and set before them an hundred dishes of fruits,
+an hundred bowls of sweetmeats and an hundred jars of sugared sherbets;
+at which the Caliph marvelled with much amaze and said to his host, "O
+man, verily this thy case is wondrous: didst thou know of our coming
+and make this preparation for us?" He replied, "No by Allah, O
+Commander of the Faithful, I knew not of thy coming and I am a merchant
+of the rest of thy subjects; but I have an hundred concubines; so, when
+the Commander of the Faithful honoured me by alighting with me, I sent
+to each of them, bidding her send me her morning-meal in the garden. So
+they sent me each of her furniture and the surplus of her meat and
+drink: and every day each sendeth me a dish of meat and another of
+cooling marinades, also a platter of fruits and a bowl of sweetmeats
+and a jar of sherbet. This is my noon-day dinner, nor have I added
+aught thereto for thee." Then the Commander of the Faithful, Al-Hakim
+bi-Amri'llah prostrated himself in thanksgiving to the Almighty
+(extolled and exalted be His name!) and said, "Praise be Allah, who
+hath been so bountiful to one of our lieges, that he entertaineth the
+Caliph and his host, without making ready for them; nay, he feedeth
+them with the surplusage of his day's provision!" Then he sent for all
+the dirhams in the treasury, that had been struck that year (and they
+were in number three thousand and seven hundred thousand); nor did he
+mount until the money came, when he gave it to the merchant, saying,
+"Use this as thy state may require; and thy generosity deserveth more
+than this." Then he took horse and rode away. And I have heard a story
+concerning
+
+
+
+
+KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN[FN#124] AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL
+
+The Just King, Kisrα Anϊshirwαn, one day rode forth to the chase and,
+in pursuit of a deer, became separated from his suite. Presently, he
+caught sight of a hamlet near hand and being sore athirst, he made for
+it and presenting himself at the door of a house that lay by the
+wayside, asked for a draught of water. So a damsel came out and looked
+at him; then, going back into the house, pressed the juice from a
+single sugar-cane into a bowl and mixed it with water; after which she
+strewed on the top some scented stuff, as it were dust, and carried it
+tot he King. Thereupon he seeing in it what resembled dust, drank it,
+little by little, till he came to the end; when said he to her, "O
+damsel, the drink is good, and how sweet it had been but for this dust
+in it that troubleth it." Answered she, "O guest, I put in that powder
+for a purpose;" and he asked, "And why didst thou thus?"; so she
+replied, "I saw thee exceedingly thirsty and feared that thou wouldst
+drain the whole at one draught and that this would thee mischief; and
+but for this dust that troubled the drink so hadst thou done." The Just
+King wondered at her words, knowing that they came of her wit and good
+sense, and said to her, "From how many sugar canes didst thou express
+this draught?" "One," answered she; whereat Anushirwan marvelled and,
+calling for the register of the village taxes, saw that its assessment
+was but little and bethought him to increase it, on his return to his
+palace, saying in himself, "A village where they get this much juice
+out of one sugar-cane, why is it so lightly taxed?" He then left the
+village and pursued his chase; and, as he came back at the end of the
+day, he passed alone by the same door and called again for drink;
+whereupon the same damsel came out and, knowing him at a look, went in
+to fetch him water. It was some time before she returned and Anushirwan
+wondered thereat and said to her, "Why hast thou tarried?"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Ninetieth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Anushirwan
+hurried the damsel and asked her, "Why hast thou tarried?" she
+answered, "Because a single sugar-cane gave not enough for thy need; so
+I pressed three; but they yielded not to much as one did before."
+Rejoined he, "What is the cause of that?"; and she replied, "The cause
+of it is that when the Sultan's[FN#125] mind is changed against a folk,
+their prosperity ceaseth and their good waxeth less." So Anushirwan
+laughed and dismissed from his mind that which he had purposed against
+the villagers. Moreover, he took the damsel to wife then and there,
+being pleased with her much wit and acuteness and the excellence of her
+speech. And they tell another tale of the
+
+
+
+
+WATER-CARRIER[FN#126] AND THE GOLDSMITH'S WIFE
+
+There was once, in the city of Bokhara, a water-carrier, who used to
+carry water to the house of a goldsmith and had done this thirty years.
+Now that goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty and loveliness,
+brilliancy and perfect grace; and she was withal renowned for piety,
+chastity and modesty. One day the water- carrier came, as of custom,
+and poured the water into the cisterns. Now the woman was standing in
+the midst of the court; so he went close up to her and taking her hand,
+stroked it and pressed it, then went away and left her. When her
+husband came home from the bazar, she said to him, "I would have thee
+tell me what thing thou hast done in the market this day, to anger
+Almighty Allah." Quoth he, "I have done nothing to offend the Lord."
+"Nay," rejoined she, "but, by Allah, thou hast indeed done something to
+anger Him; and unless thou tell me the whole truth, I will not abide in
+thy house, and thou shalt not see me, nor will I see thee." So he
+confessed, "I will tell thee the truth of what I did this day. It so
+chanced that, as I was sitting in my shop, as of wont, a woman came up
+to me and bade me make her a bracelet of gold. Then she went away and I
+wrought her a bracelet and laid it aside. But when she returned and I
+brought her out the bracelet, she put forth her hand and I clasped the
+bracelet on her wrist; and I wondered at the whiteness of her hand and
+the beauty of her wrist, which would captivate any beholder; and I
+recalled what the poet saith,
+
+     Her fore-arms, dight with their bangles, show *
+
+
+          Like fire ablaze on the waves a-flow;
+
+
+     As by purest gold were the water girt, *
+
+
+          And belted around by a living lowe.'
+
+
+
+So I took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it." Said the woman,
+"Great God! Why didst thou this ill thing? Know that the water-carrier,
+who hath come to our house these thirty years, nor sawst thou ever any
+treason in him took my hand this day and pressed and squeezed it." Said
+her husband, "O woman, let us crave pardon of Allah! Verily, I repent
+of what I did, and do thou ask forgiveness of the Lord for me." She
+cried, "Allah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy
+keeping."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the goldsmith's
+wife cried out, "Allah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy
+keeping!" And on the next day, the water-carrier came in to the
+jeweller's wife and, throwing himself at her feet, grovelled in the
+dust and besought pardon of her, saying, "O my lady, acquit me of that
+which Satan deluded me to do; for it was he that seduced me and led me
+astray." She answered, "Go thy ways, the sin was not in thee, but in my
+husband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and Allah hath
+retaliated upon him in this world." And it related that the goldsmith,
+when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used her, said, "Tit
+for tat, and blow for blow!; had I done more the water-carrier had done
+more";—which became a current byword among the folk. Therefore it
+behoveth a wife to be both outward and inward with her husband;
+contenting herself with little from him, if he cannot give her much,
+and taking pattern by Ayishah the Truthful and Fatimah the virgin
+mother (Allah Almighty accept of them the twain!), that she may be of
+the company of the righteous ancestry.[FN#127] And I have heard the
+following tale of
+
+
+
+
+KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN
+
+King Khusrau[FN#128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one day, as
+he sat in his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came a fisherman,
+with a great fish, and he laid it before the King, who was pleased and
+ordered the man four thousand dirhams.[FN#129] Thereupon Shirin said to
+the King, "Thou hast done ill." Asked he, "And why?", and she answered,
+"Because if, after this, though give one of thy courtiers a like sum,
+he will disdain it and say, He hath but given me the like of what he
+gave the fisherman.' And if thou give him less, the same will say, He
+despiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the fisherman.'" Rejoined
+Khusrau, "Thou art right, but it would dishonour a king to go back on
+his gift; and the thing is done." Quoth Shirin, "If thou wilt, I will
+contrive thee a means to get it back from him." Quoth he, "How so?";
+and she said, "Call back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him
+if the fish be male or female. If he say, Male,' say thou, We want a
+female,' and if he say, Female,' say, We want a male.'" So the King
+sent for the fisherman, who was a man of wit and astuteness, and said
+to him, "Is this fish male or female?" whereupon the fisherman kissed
+the ground and answered, "This fish is an hermaphrodite,[FN#130]
+neither male nor female." Khusrau laughed at his clever reply and
+ordered him other four thousand dirhams. So the fisherman went to the
+treasurer and, taking his eight thousand dirhams, put them in a sack he
+had with him. Then, throwing it over his shoulder, he was going away,
+when he dropped a dirham; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped
+down to pick it up. Now the King and Shirin were looking on, and the
+Queen said, "O King, didst thou note the meanness of the man, in that
+he must needs stoop down to pick up the one dirham, and could not bring
+himself to leave it for any of the King's servants?" When the King
+heard these words, he was exceeding wroth with the fisherman and said,
+"Thou art right, O Shirin!" So he called the man back and said to him,
+"Thou low-minded carle! Thou art no man! How couldst thou put the bag
+with all this money off thy back and bend thee groundwards to pick up
+the one dirham and grudge to leave it where it fell?" Thereupon the
+fisherman kissed the earth before him and answered, "May Allah prolong
+the King's life! Indeed, I did not pick up the dirham off the ground
+because of its value in my eyes; but I raised it off the earth because
+on one of its faces is the likeness of the King and on the other his
+name; and I feared lest any should unwittingly set foot upon it, thus
+dishonouring the name and presentment of the King, and I be blamed for
+this offence." The King wondered at his words and approved of his wit
+and shrewdness, and ordered him yet another four thousand dirhams.
+Moreover, he bade cry abroad in his kingdom, saying, "It behoveth none
+to be guided by women's counsel; for whoso followeth their advice,
+loseth, with his one dirham, other twain."[FN#131] And here is the tale
+they tell of
+
+
+
+
+YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE AND THE POOR MAN
+
+Yahya bin Khαlid the Barmecide was returning home, one day, from the
+Caliph's palace, when he saw, at the gate of his mansion, a man who
+rose as he drew near and saluted him, saying, "O Yahya, I am in sore
+need of that which is in they hand, and I make Allah my intermediary
+with thee." So Yahya caused a place to be set aside for him in his
+house and bade his treasurer carry him a thousand dirhams every day and
+ordered that his diet be of the choicest of his own meat. The man abode
+in this case a whole month, at the end of which time, having received
+in all thirty thousand dirhams and fearing lest Yahya should take the
+money from him, because of the greatness of the sum, he departed by
+stealth.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man, taking
+with him the money, departed by stealth. But when they told Yahya of
+this, he said, "By Allah, though he had tarried with me to the end of
+his days, yet had I not stinted him of my largesse nor cut off from him
+the bounties of my hospitality!" For, indeed, the excellences of the
+Barmecides were past count nor can their virtues be committed to
+description, especially those of Yahya bin Khalid, for he was an
+ocean[FN#132] of noble qualities, even as saith the poet of him,
+
+     "I asked of Bounty, Art thou free?' Quoth she, *
+
+
+          No, I am slave to Yahyα Khαlid-son!'
+
+
+     Boughten?' asked I. Allah forfend,' quoth she, *
+
+
+          By heirship, sire to sire's transmission!'"
+
+
+
+And the following is related of
+
+
+
+
+MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL
+
+Ja'afar bin Musα al-Hαdi[FN#133] once had a slave-girl, a lutist,
+called Al-Badr al-Kabνr, than whom there was not in her time a fairer
+of face nor shapelier of shape nor a more elegant of manners nor a more
+accomplished in the art of singing and striking the strings; she was
+indeed perfect in beauty and extreme in every charm. Now Mohammed
+al-Amνn,[FN#134] son of Zubaydah, heard of her and was urgent with
+Ja'afar to sell her to him; but he replied, "Thou knowest it beseemeth
+not one of my rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on concubines;
+but were she not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift, not
+grudge her to thee." And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this went to
+Ja'afar's house, to make merry; and the host set before him that which
+it behoveth to set before true friends and bade the damsel Al-Badr
+al-Kabir sing to him and gladden him. So she tuned the lute and sang
+with a ravishing melody; whilst Mohammed al-Amin fell to drinking and
+jollity and bade the cupbearers ply Ja'afar with much wine, till they
+made him drunken, when he took the damsel and carried her to his own
+house, but laid not a finger on her. And when the morrow dawned he bade
+invite Ja'afar; and when he came, he set wine before him and made the
+girl sing to him, from behind the curtain. Ja'afar knew her voice and
+was angered at this, but, of the nobleness of his nature and the
+magnanimity of his mind he showed no change. Now when the carousal was
+at an end, Al-Amin commanded one of his servants to fill the boat,
+wherein Ja'afar had come, with dirhams and dinars and all manner of
+jewels and jacinths and rich raiment and goods galore. So he laid
+therein a thousand myriads of money and a thousand fine pearls, each
+worth twenty thousand dirhams; nor did he give over loading the barge
+with all manner of things precious and rare, till the boatmen cried out
+for help, saying, "The boat can't hold any more;" whereupon he bade
+them carry all this to Ja'afar's palace. Such are the exploits of the
+magnanimous, Allah have mercy on them! And a tale is related of
+
+
+
+
+THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SA'ID BIN SALIM AL-BAHILI
+
+Quoth Sa'νd bin Sαlim al'Bαhilν,[FN#135] I was once in very narrow
+case, during the days of Harun al-Rashid, and debts accumulated upon
+me, burdening my back, and these I had no means of discharging. I was
+at my wits' end what to do, for my doors were blocking up with
+creditors and I was without cease importuned for payment by claimants,
+who dunned me in crowds till at last I was sore perplexed and troubled.
+So I betook myself to Abdallah bin Mαlik al-Khuza'ν[FN#136] and
+besought him to extend the hand of aid with his judgement and direct me
+of his good counsel to the door of relief; and he said, None can save
+thee from this thy strait and sorrowful state save the Barmecides.'
+Quoth I, Who can brook their pride and put up patiently with their
+arrogant pretensions?' and quoth he, Thou wilt put up with all this for
+the bettering of thy case.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-third Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah ibn
+Malik al-Khuza'i said to Sa'id bin Salim, "Thou wilt put up with all
+this for the bettering of thy case." "So I left him suddenly (continued
+Sa'id) and went straight to Al-Fazl and Ja'afar, sons of Yahyα bin
+Khαlid, to whom I related my circumstances; whereto they replied, Allah
+give thee His aid, and render thee by His bounties independent of His
+creatures and vouchsafe thee abundant weal and bestow on thee what
+shall suffice thee, without the need of any but Himself; for whatso He
+willeth that He can, and He is gracious with His servants and knoweth
+their wants.' So I went out from the twain and returned to Abdallah,
+with straitened breast and mind perplexed and heavy of heart, and
+repeated to him what they had said. Quoth he, Thou wouldst do well to
+abide with us this day, that we may see what Allah Almighty will
+decree.' So I sat with him awhile, when lo! up came my servant, who
+said to me, O my lord, there are at our door many laden mules and with
+them a man, who says he is the agent of Al-Fazl and Ja'afar bin Yahya.'
+Quoth Abdallah, I trust that relief is come to thee: rise up and go see
+what is the matter.' So I left him and, hastening to my house, found at
+the door a man who gave me a note wherein was written the following:
+After thou hadst been with us and we heard thy case, we betook
+ourselves to the Caliph and informed him that ill condition had reduced
+thee to the humiliation of begging; where upon he ordered us to supply
+thee with a thousand thousand dirhams from the Treasury. We represented
+to him: The debtor will spend this money in paying off creditors and
+wiping off debt; whence then shall he provide for his subsistence? So
+he ordered thee other three hundred thousand, and each of us hath also
+sent thee, of his proper wealth, a thousand thousand dirhams: so that
+thou hast now three thousand thousand and three hundred thousand
+dirhams wherewithal to order and amend thine estate.'" See, then, the
+munificence of these magnificos: Almighty Allah have mercy on them! And
+a tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+THE WOMAN'S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND
+
+A man brought his wife a fish one Friday and, bidding her to cook it
+against the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his craft
+and business. Meanwhile in came her friend who bade her to a wedding at
+his house; so she agreed and, laying the fish in a jar of water, went
+off with him and was absent a whole week till the Friday
+following;[FN#137] whilst her husband sought her from house to house
+and enquired after her; but none could give him any tidings of her. Now
+on the next Friday she came home and he fell foul of her; but she
+brought out to him the fish alive from the jar and assembled the folk
+against him and told them her tale.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman brought
+out the fish alive from the water-jar and assembled the folk against
+her husband, and told them her tale. He also told his; but they
+credited him not and said, "It cannot be that the fish should have
+remained alive all this while." So they proved him mad and imprisoned
+him and mocked at him, where upon he shed tears in floods and recited
+these two couplets,
+
+     "Old hag, of high degree in filthy life, *
+
+
+          Whose face her monstrous lewdness witnesses.
+
+
+     When menstuous she bawds; when clean she whores; *
+
+
+          And all her time bawd or adulteress is."
+
+
+
+And a tale is related of the
+
+
+
+
+THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS[FN#138]
+
+There was in times of yore and in ages long gone before, a virtuous
+woman among the children of Israel, who was pious and devout and used
+every day to go out to the place of prayer, first entering a garden,
+which adjoined thereto, and there making the minor ablution. Now there
+were in this garden two old men, its keepers, and both Shaykhs fell in
+love with her and sought her favours; but she refused, whereupon said
+they, "Unless thou yield thy body to us, we will bear witness against
+thee of fornication." Quoth she, "Allah will preserve me from your
+frowardness!" Then they opened the garden-gate and cried out, and the
+folk came to them from all places, saying "What aileth you?" Quoth
+they, "We found this damsel in company with a youth who was doing
+lewdness with her; but he escaped from our hands." Now it was the wont
+of the people in those days to expose adulterer and adulteress to
+public reproach for three days, and after stone them. So they cried her
+name in the public streets for three days, while the two elders came up
+to her daily and, laying their hands on her head, said, "Praised be
+Allah who hath sent down on thee His righteous indignation!" Now on the
+fourth day, when they bore her away to stone her, they were followed by
+a lad named Daniel, who was then only twelve years old, and this was to
+be the first of his miracles (upon our Prophet and upon him the
+blessing and peace!). And he ceased not following them to the place of
+execution, till he came up with them and said to them, "Hasten not to
+stone her, till I judge between them." So they set him a chair and he
+sat down and summoned the old men separately. (Now he was the first
+ever separated witnesses.) Then said he to the first, "What sawest
+thou?"[FN#139] So he repeated to him his story, and Daniel asked, "In
+what part of the garden did this befal?" and he answered, "On the
+eastern side, under a pear-tree." Then he called the other old man and
+asked him the same question, and he replied, "On the western side of
+the garden, under an apple-tree." Meanwhile the damsel stood by, with
+her hands and eyes raised heavenwards, imploring the Lord for
+deliverance. Then Allah Almighty sent down His blasting leven-fire upon
+the elders and consumed them, and on this wise the Lord made manifest
+the innocence of the damsel. Such was the first of the miracles of the
+Prophet Daniel, on whom be blessing and peace! And they relate a tale
+of
+
+
+
+
+JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWL
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, went out one day, with
+Abu Ya'KÏŠb the cup-companion[FN#140] and Ja'afar the Barmecide and Abu
+Nowas, into the desert, where they fell in with an old man, propt
+against his ass. The Caliph bade Ja'afar learn of him whence he came;
+so he asked him, "Whence comest thou?" and he answered, "From
+Bassorah."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ja'afar
+asked the man, "Whence comest thou?"; he answered "From Bassorah."
+Quoth Ja'afar, "And whither goest thou?" Quoth the other, "To Baghdad."
+Then Ja'afar enquired "And what wilt thou do there?" and the old man
+replied, "I go to seek medicine for my eye." Said the Caliph, "O
+Ja'afar, make thou sport with him," and answered Ja'afar, "I shall hear
+what I shall exceedingly mislike."[FN#141] But Al-Rashid rejoined, "I
+charge thee on my authority, jest with him." Thereupon Ja'afar said to
+the Badawi, "If I prescribe thee a medicine that shall profit thee,
+what wilt thou give me in return?" Quoth the other, "Allah Almighty
+will requite the kindness with what is better for thee than any
+requital of mine." Continued Ja'afar, "Now lend me an ear and I will
+give thee a prescription, which I have given to none but thee." "What
+is that?" asked the Badawi; and Ja'afar answered, "Take three ounces of
+wind-breaths and the like of sunbeams and the same of moonshine and as
+much of lamp-light; mix them well together and let them lie in the wind
+three months. Then place them three months in a mortar without a bottom
+and pound them to a fine powder and after trituration set them in a
+cleft platter, and let it stand in the wind other three months; after
+which use of this medicine three drachms every night in thy sleep, and,
+Inshallah! thou shalt be healed and whole." Now when the Badawi heard
+this, he stretched himself out to full length on the donkey's back and
+let fly a terrible loud fart[FN#142] and said to Ja'afar, "Take this
+fart in payment of thy prescription. When I have followed it, if Allah
+grant me recovery, I will give thee a slave-girl, who shall serve thee
+in they lifetime a service, wherewith Allah shall cut short thy term;
+and when thou diest and the Lord hurrieth thy soul to hell-fire, she
+shall blacken thy face with her skite, of her mourning for thee, and
+shall keen and beat her face, saying O frosty-beard, what a fool thou
+wast?'"[FN#143] thereupon Harun al-Rashid laughed till he fell
+backward, and ordered the Badawi three thousand silver pieces. And a
+tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+THE CALIPH OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE YOUNG BADAWI
+
+The Sharif Husayn bin Rayyαn relateth that the Caliph Omar bin
+Al-Khattαb was sitting one day judging the folk and doing justice
+between his subjects, attended by the best and wisest of his
+counsellors, when there came up to him a youth comely and cleanly
+attired, upon whom two very handsome youths had laid hold and were
+haling by the collar till they set him in the presence. Whereupon the
+Commander of the Faithful, Omar, looked at him and them and bade them
+loose him; then, calling him near to himself, asked the twain, "What is
+your case with him?" They answered, "O Prince of True Believers, we are
+two brothers by one mother and as followers of verity known are we. We
+had a father, a very old man of good counsel, honoured by the tribes,
+sound of baseness renowned for goodliness, who reared us tenderly in
+childhood, and loaded us with favours in manhood;"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two youths
+said to the Commander of the Faithful, Omar son of Al- Khattab, "Our
+father was a man honoured by the tribes, sound of baseness and renowned
+for goodliness, who reared us delicately in childhood and loaded us
+with favours in manhood; in fine, a sea of noble and illustrious
+qualities, worthy of the poet's praise,
+
+     Is Aub's-Sakr of Shaybαn[FN#144]?' they asked; *
+
+
+          Quoth I, Nay, by my life, of him's Shaybαn:
+
+
+     How many a sire rose high by a noble son, *
+
+
+          As Allah's prophet glorified Adnan!'[FN#145]
+
+
+
+Now he went forth this day to his garden, to refresh himself amongst
+its trees and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man slew him
+wrongously and swerved from the road of righteousness; wherefore we
+demand of thee the retribution of his crime and call upon thee to pass
+judgement upon him, according to the commandment of Allah." Then Omar
+cast a terrible look at the accused youth and said to him, "Verily thou
+hearest the complaint these two young men prefer; what hast thou in
+reply to aver?" But he was brave of heart and bold of speech, having
+doffed the robe of pusillanimity and put off the garb of cowardry; so
+he smiled and spake in the most eloquent and elegant words; and, after
+paying the usual ceremonial compliments to the Caliph, said, ""By
+Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I have indeed given ear to their
+complaint, and they have told the truth in that which they tell, so far
+as they have set out what befel; and the commandment of Allah is a
+decreed decree.[FN#146] but I will forthright state my case between
+they hands, and it is for thee to give commands. Know then, O Prince of
+the Faithful, that I am a very Arab of the Arabies,[FN#147] the noblest
+of those that are beneath the skies. I grew up in the dwellings of the
+wold and fell, till evil times my tribe befel, when I came to the
+outskirts of this town, with my family and whatso goods I own: and, as
+I went along one of the paths leading to its gardens, orchards and
+garths, with my she-camels highly esteemed and by me most precious
+deemed, and midst them a stallion of noble blood and shape right good,
+a plenteous getter of brood, by whom the females abundantly bore and
+who walked among them as though a kingly crown he wore, one of the
+she-camels broke away; and, running to the garden of these young men's
+father, where the trees showed above the wall, put forth her lips and
+began to feed as in stall. I ran to her, to drive her away, when
+behold, there appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man and grey,
+whose eyes sparkled with angry ray, holding in his right a stone to
+throw and swaying to and fro, with a swing like a lion ready for a
+spring. He cast the stone at my stallion, and it killed him for it
+struck a vital part. When I saw the stallion drop dead beside me, I
+felt live coals of anger kindled in my heart; so I took up the very
+same stone and throwing it at the old man, it was the cause of his bane
+and ban: thus his own wrongful act returned to him anew, and the man
+was slain of that wherewith he slew. When the stone struck him, he
+cried out with a great cry and shrieked out a terrible shriek,
+whereupon I hastened from the spot; but these two young men hurried
+after me and laid hands on me and before thee carried me." Quoth Omar
+(Almighty Allah accept of him!), "Thou hast confessed what thou
+committedest, and of acquittal there is no possible occasion; for
+urgent is the law of retaliation and they cried for mercy but it was
+not a time to escape."[FN#148] the youth answered, "I hear and obey the
+judgement of the Imam, and I consent to all required by the law of
+Al-Islam; but I have a young brother, whose old father, before his
+decease, appointed to him wealth in great store and gold galore, and
+committed his affair to me before Allah, saying: I give this into thy
+hand for thy brother; keep it for him with all thy might.' So I took
+the money and buried it; nor doth any know of it but I. Now, if thou
+adjudge me to be justiced forthright, the money will lost and thou
+shalt be the cause of its loss; wherefore the child will sue thee for
+his due on the day when the Creator shall judge between His creatures.
+But, if thou wilt grant me three days' delay, I will appoint some
+guardian to administer the affairs of the boy and return to answer my
+debt; and I have one who will be my surety for the fulfillment of this
+my promise." So the Commander of the Faithful bowed his head awhile,
+then raised it and looking round upon those present, said, "Who will
+stand surety by me for his return to this place?" And the youth looked
+at the faces of those who were in company and pointing to Abu
+Zarr,[FN#149] in preference to all present, said, "This man shall
+answer for me and be my bail."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the youth
+pointed to Abu Zarr and said, "This man shall answer for me and be my
+bail," Omar (Allah accept of him!) said, O Abu Zarr, dost thou hear
+these words and wilt thou be surety to me for the return of this
+youth?" He answered, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, I will be
+surety for him for three days." So the Caliph accepted his guarantee
+and let the young man go. Now when the appointed time passed and the
+days of grace were nearly or quite at end yet the youth came not, the
+Caliph took seat in his council, with the Companions surrounding him,
+like the constellations about the moon, Abu Zarr and the plaintiffs
+being also present; and the avengers said, "Where is the defendant, O
+Abu Zarr, and how shall he return, having once fled? But we will not
+stir from our places till thou bring him to us, that we may take of him
+our blood revenge." Replied Abu Zarr, "By the truth of the All-Wise
+King, if the three days of grace expire and the young man returneth
+not, I will fulfill my warranty and surrender my person to the Imam;"
+and added Omar (whom Allah accept!), "By the Lord, if the young man
+appear not, I will assuredly execute on Abu Zarr that which is
+prescribed by the law of Al-Islam!"[FN#150] thereupon the eyes of the
+bystanders ran over with tears; those who looked on groaned aloud and
+great was the clamour. Then the chiefs of the Companions urged the
+plaintiffs to accept the blood-wit and deserve the thanks of the folk;
+but they both refused and would accept nothing save the talion.
+However, as the folk were swaying to and fro like waves and loudly
+bemoaning Abu Zarr, behold, up came the young Badawi; and, standing
+before the Imam, saluted him right courteously (with sweat-beaded face
+and shining with the crescent's grace) and said to him, "I have given
+the lad in charge to his mother's brothers and have made them
+acquainted with all that pertaineth to his affairs and let them into
+the secrets of his monies; after which I braved the heats of noon and
+have kept my word as a free- born man." Thereupon the folk marvelled,
+seeing his good faith and loyalty and his offering himself to death
+with so stout a heart; and one said to him, "How noble a youth art thou
+and how loyal to thy word of honour and thy devoir!" Rejoined he, "Are
+ye not convinced that when death presenteth itself, none can escape
+from it? And indeed, I have kept my word, that it be not said, Good
+faith is gone from among mankind.' " Said Abu Zarr, "By Allah, O
+Commander of the Faithful, I became warrant for this young man, without
+knowing to what tribe he belonged, nor had I seen him before that day;
+but, when he turned away from all who were present and singled me out,
+saying, This man shall answer for me and be my bail,' I thought it not
+right to refuse him, and generosity forbade to disappoint his desire,
+there being no harm in compliance therewith, that it be not bruited
+abroad, Benevolence is gone from among mankind." Then said the two
+young men, "O Commander of the Faithful, we forgive this youth our
+father's blood, seeing that he hath changed desolation into
+cheerfulness; that it be not said, Humanity is gone from among
+mankind." So the Caliph rejoiced in the acquittance of the youth and
+his truth and good faith; moreover, he magnified the generosity of Abu
+Zarr, extolling it over all his companions, and approved the resolve of
+the two young men for its benevolence, giving them praise with thanks
+and applying to their case the saying of the poet,
+
+     "Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; *
+
+
+          Ne'er is kindness lost betwixt God and men."
+
+
+
+Then he offered to pay them, from the Treasury, the blood-wit for their
+father; but they refused, saying, "We forgave him only of our desire
+unto Allah,[FN#151] the Bountiful, the Exalted; and he who is thus
+intentioned followeth not his benefits with reproach or with
+mischief."[FN#152] and amongst the tales they relate is that of
+
+
+
+
+THE CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS[FN#153] OF EGYPT
+
+It is told that the Caliph Al-Maamun, son of Harun al-Rashid, when he
+entered the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull down the
+Pyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when he went about
+to do this, he could not succeed, albeit his best was done. He expended
+a mint of money in the attempt,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred Ninety-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun
+attempting to pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money, but
+succeeded only in opening up a small tunnel in one of them, where in it
+is said he found treasure to the exact amount of the monies he had
+spent in the works, neither more nor less; whereat he marvelled and
+taking what he found there, desisted from his determination. Now the
+Pyramids are three, and they are one of the Wonders of the World; nor
+is there on the face of earth aught like them for height and fashion
+and mysteries[FN#154]; for they are built of huge rocks, and the
+builders proceeded by piercing one block of stone and setting therein
+upright rods of iron[FN#155]; after which they pierced a second block
+of stone and lowered it upon the first. Then they poured melted lead
+upon the clamps and set the blocks in geometrical order, till the
+building was complete. Now the height of each pyramid was an hundred
+cubits, of the normal measure of the day, and it had four faces, each
+three hundred cubits long from the base and thence battering upwards to
+a point. The ancients say that, in the western Pyramid, are thirty
+chambers of parti-coloured syenite, full of precious gems and treasures
+galore and rare images and utensils and costly weapons which are
+anointed with egromantic unguents, so that they may not rust until the
+day of Resurrection.[FN#156] Therein, also, are vessels of glass which
+bend and break not, containing various kinds of compound drugs and
+sympathetic waters. In the second Pyramid are the records of the
+priests, written on tablets of syenite, to each priest his tablet,
+whereon are engraved the wonders of his craft and his feats; and on the
+walls are the human figures like idols, working with their hands at all
+manner of mechanism and seated on stepped thrones. Moreover, to each
+Pyramid there is a guardian treasurer who keepeth watch over it and
+wardeth it, to all eternity, against the ravages of time and the shifts
+of events; and indeed the marvels of these Pyramids astound all who
+have sight and insight. Many are the poems that describe them, thou
+shalt thereby profit no small matter, and among the rest, quoth one of
+them,
+
+     "If Kings would see their high emprize preserved, *
+
+
+          Twill be by tongues of monuments they laid:
+
+
+     Seest not the Pyramids? These two endure *
+
+
+          Despite what change Time and Change have made."
+
+
+
+And quoth another,
+
+     "Look on the Pyramids, and hear the twain *
+
+
+          Recount their annals of the long-gone Past:
+
+
+     Could they but speak, high marvels had they told *
+
+
+          Of what Time did to man from first to last."
+
+
+
+And quoth a third,
+
+     "My friend I prithee tell me, 'neath the sky *
+
+
+          Is aught with Egypt's Pyramids can compare?
+
+
+     Buildings which frighten Time, albe what dwells *
+
+
+          On back of earth in fear of Time must fare:
+
+
+     If on their marvels rest my sight no more, *
+
+
+          Yet these I ever shall in memory bear."
+
+
+
+And quoth a fourth,
+
+     "Where is the man who built the Pyramids? *
+
+
+          What was his tribe, what day and where his tomb?
+
+
+     The monuments survive the men who built *
+
+
+          Awhile, till overthrown by touch of Doom."
+
+
+
+And men also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT
+
+There was once a thief who repented to Almighty Allah with sincere
+penitence; so he opened himself a shop for the sale of stuffs, where he
+continued to trade awhile. It so chanced one day that he locked his
+shop and went home, and in the night there came to the bazar an artful
+thief disguised in the habit of the merchant, and pulling out keys from
+his sleeve, said to the watchman of the market, "Light me this
+wax-candle." The watchman took the taper and went to light it,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the watchman took
+the taper and went to light it, whilst the thief opened the shop and
+lit another candle he had by him. When the watchman came back, he found
+him seated in the shop, account- books inhand, and reckoning with his
+fingers; nor did he cease to do thus till point of day, when he said to
+the man, "Fetch me a camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods
+for me." So the man fetched him a camel, and the thief took four
+bales[FN#157] of stuffs and gave them to the cameleer, who loaded them
+on his beast. Then he gave the watchman two dirhams and went away after
+the camel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the owner of
+the shop. Now when the morning dawned and day broke the merchant came
+and the watchman began greeting him with blessings, because of the two
+dirhams; but the shop-keeper wondered at his words as one not knowing
+what he meant. When he opened his shop, he saw the droppings of the wax
+and the account-book lying on the floor, and looking round, found four
+bales of stuffs missing. So he asked the watchman what had happened and
+he told him what has passed in the night and what had been said to the
+cameleer, whereupon the merchant bade him fetch the man and asked him,
+"Whither didst thou carry the stuffs this morning?" Answered the
+driver, "To such a landing-place, and I stowed them on board such a
+vessel." Said the merchant, "Come with me thither;" so the camel-driver
+carried him to the landing-place and said to him, "This be the barque
+and this be her owner." Quoth the merchant to the seaman, "Whither
+didst thou carry the merchant and the stuff?" Answered the boat-master,
+"To such a place, where he fetched a camel-driver and, setting the
+bales on the camel, went his ways I know not whither." "Fetch me the
+cameleer who carried the goods," said the merchant; so he fetched him
+and the merchant said to him, "Whither didst thou carry the bales of
+goods from the ship?" "To such a Khan," answered he; and the merchant
+rejoined, "Come thither with me and show it to me." So the camel-man
+went with him to a place far distant from the shore and showed him the
+Khan where he had set down the stuffs, and at the same time the false
+merchant's magazine, which he opened and found therein his four bales
+bound up as they had been packed. The thief had laid his cloak over
+them; so the merchant took the cloak as well as the bales and delivered
+them to the camel- driver, who laid them on his camel; after which he
+locked the magazine and went away with the cameleer. On the way, he was
+confronted with the thief who followed him, till he had shipped the
+bales, when he said to him, "O my brother (Allah have thee in His holy
+keeping!), thou hast indeed recovered thy goods and naught of them is
+lost; so give me back my cloak." The merchant laughed and, giving him
+back his cloak, let him go unhindered; whereupon both went their ways.
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was exceedingly
+restless one night; so he said to his Wazir Ja'afar, "I am sleepless
+to-night and my breast is straitened and I know not what to do." Now
+his castrato MasrÏŠr was standing before him, and he laughed: whereupon
+the Caliph said "At whom laughest thou? Is it to make mock of me or
+hath madness seized thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander
+of the Faithful,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundredth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Harun al- Rashid
+said to Masrur the Sworder, "Dost thou laugh to make mock of me or hath
+madness seized thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander of
+the Faithful, I swear by thy kinship to the Prince of Apostles, I did
+it not of my free will; but I went out yesterday to walk within sight
+of the palace and, coming to the bank of the Tigris, saw there the folk
+collected; so I stopped and found a man, Ibn al-Kαribν hight, who was
+making them laugh; but just now I recalled what he said, and laughter
+got the better of me; and I crave pardon of thee, O Commander of the
+Faithful!" Quoth the Caliph, "Bring him to me forthright;" so Masrur
+repaired in all haste to Ibn al-Karibi and said to him, "Answer the
+summons of the Commander of the Faithful," whereto he replied, "I hear
+and obey." "But on condition," added Masrur, "that, if he give thee
+aught, thou shalt have a quarter and the rest shall be mine." Replied
+the droll, "Nay, thou shalt have half and I half." Rejoined Masrur,
+"Not so, I will have three- quarters." Lastly said Ibn al-Karibi, "Thou
+shalt have two- thirds and I the other third;" to which Masrur agreed,
+after much higgling and haggling, and they returned to the palace
+together. Now when Ibn al-Karibi came into the Caliph's presence he
+saluted him as men greet the Caliphate, and stood before him; whereupon
+said Al-Rashid to him, "If thou do not make me laugh, I will give thee
+three blows with this bag." Quoth Ibn al-Karibi in his mind, "And a
+small matter were blows with that bag, seeing that beating with whips
+hurteth me not;" for he thought the bag was empty. Then he began to
+deal out his drolleries, such as would make the dismallest jemmy
+guffaw, and gave vent to all manner of buffooneries; but the Caliph
+laughed not neither smiled, whereat Ibn al-Karibi marvelled and was
+chagrined and affrighted. Then said the Commander of the Faithful, "Now
+hast thou earned the beating," and gave him a blow with the bag,
+wherein were four pebbles each two rotols in weight. The blow fell on
+his neck and he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact with
+Masrur, said, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful! Hear two words from
+me." Quoth the Caliph, "Say on," and quoth Ibn al- Karibi, "Masrur made
+it a condition with me and I a covenant with him, that whatsoever
+largesse might come to me of the bounties of the Commander of the
+Faithful, one-third thereof should be mine and the rest his; nor did he
+agree to leave me so much as one- third, save after much higgling and
+haggling. I have had my share and here standeth he, ready to receive
+his portion; so pay him the two other blows." Now when the Caliph heard
+this, he laughed until he fell on his back; then calling Masrur, he
+gave him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, the one-third sufficeth me: give him the two-thirds."— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and First Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out,
+"O Commander of the Faithful! The one-third sufficeth me; give him the
+two-thirds." So the Caliph laughed at them and ordered them a thousand
+dinars each, and they went away, rejoicing at the largesse. And of the
+tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+THE DEVOTEE PRINCE
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, had a son who, from the
+time he attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world and walked in
+the way[FN#158] of ascetics and devotees. He was wont to go out to the
+graveyards and say, "Ye once ruled the world, but that saved you not
+from death, and now are ye come to your sepulchres! Would Heaven I knew
+what ye said and what is said to you!"[FN#159] and he wept as one
+weepeth who is troubled with fear and apprehension, and repeated the
+worlds of the poet,
+
+     "Affright me funerals at every time; *
+
+
+          And wailing women grieve me to the soul!"
+
+
+
+Now it chanced one day, as he sat among the tombs, according to his
+custom, his father passed by in all his state, surrounded by his Wazirs
+and Lords of the realm and the Officers of his household, who seeing
+the Caliph's son with a gown of woollen stuff on his body and a twist
+of wool on his head by way of turband, said to one another, "Verily
+this youth dishonoureth the Commander of the Faithful among Kings: but,
+if he reproved him, he would leave his present way of life." The Caliph
+heard these words; so quoth he to his son, "O my dear child, of a truth
+thou disgracest me by thy present way of life." The young man looked at
+him and made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird perched on the
+battlements of the palace, and said to it, "O thou bird, I conjure thee
+by Him who created thee, alight upon my hand." Whereupon straightway it
+swooped down and perched on his finger. Then quoth he, "Return to thy
+place;" and it did so. Presently he said, "Alight on the hand of the
+Commander of the Faithful;" but it refused there to perch, and he cried
+to his father, "It is thou that disgracest me amongst the Holy[FN#160]
+Ones, by the love of the world; and now I am resolved to part from
+thee, never to return to thee, save in the world to come." Then he went
+down to Bassorah, where he took to working with those which wrought in
+clay,[FN#161] receiving, as his day's hire, but a dirham and a
+danik;[FN#162] and with the danik he fed himself and gave alms of the
+dirham. (Quoth AbÏŠ Amir of Bassorah) "There fell down a wall in my
+house; so I went forth to the station of the artisans to find a man who
+should repair it for me, and my eyes fell on a handsome youth of a
+radiant countenance. So I saluted him and asked him, O my friend, dost
+thou seek work?' Yes,' answered he; and I said, Come with me and build
+a wall.' He replied, On certain conditions I will make with thee.'
+Quoth I What are they, O my friend?'; and quoth he, My wage must be a
+dirham and a danik, and again when the Mu'ezzin calleth to prayer, thou
+shalt let me go pray with the congregation.' It is well,' answered I
+and carried him to my lace, where he fell to work, such work as I never
+saw the like of. Presented I named to him the morning-meal; but he
+said, No;' and I knew that he was fasting.[FN#163] When he heard the
+call to prayer, he said to me, Thou knowest the condition?' Yes,'
+answered i. So he loosed his girdle and, applying himself to the lesser
+ablution, made it after a fashion than which I never saw a
+fairer;[FN#164] then he went to the mosque and prayed with the
+congregation and returned to his work. He did the same upon the call to
+mid- afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to work again
+thereafterward, I said to him, O my friend, verily the hours of labour
+are over; a workman's day is but till the time of afternoon-prayer.'
+But he replied, Praise to the Lord, my service is till the night.' And
+he ceased not to work till nightfall, when I gave him two dirhams;
+whereupon he asked What is this!'; and I answered, By Allah, this is
+but part of thy wage, because of thy diligence in my service.' But he
+threw them back to me saying, I will have no more than was agreed upon
+between us twain.' I urged him to take them, but could not prevail upon
+him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he went away. And when
+morning dawned, I went to the station but found him not; so I enquired
+for him and was told, He cometh thither only on Sabbaths.' Accordingly,
+when Saturday came, I betook me to the market and finding him there,
+said to him, Bismillah, do me the favour to come and work for me.' Said
+he, Upon the conditions thou wottest;' and I answered Yes!' Then
+carrying him to my house I stood to watch him where he could not see
+me; and he took a handful of puddled clay and laid it on the wall,
+when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon other; and I said,
+On this wise are Allah's holy ones.' he worked out his day and did even
+more than before; and when it was night, I gave him his hire, and he
+took it and walked away. Now when the third Saturday came round, I went
+to the place of standing, but found him not; so I asked after him and
+they told me, He is sick and lying in the shanty of such a woman.' Now
+this was an old wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel of reeds in
+the burial- ground. So I fared thither and found him stretched on the
+floor which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming
+like the new moon with light. I saluted him and he returned my salam;
+and I sat down at his head weeping over his fair young years and
+absence from home and submission to the will of his Lord. Then said I
+to him, Hast thou any need?' Yes,' answered he; and I said, What is
+it?' He replied, Come hither to-morrow in the forenoon and thou wilt
+find me dead. Wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof: but
+shroud me in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what
+thou shalt find in the bosom-pocket, which keep with thee. Then, when
+thou hast prayed over me and laid me in the dust, go to Baghdad and
+watch for the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, till he come forth, when do thou
+give him what thou shalt find in the breast of my gown and bear him my
+salutation.' Then he ejaculated the profession of the Faith and
+glorified his God in the most eloquent of words, reciting these
+couplets,
+
+     Carry the trust of him whom death awaits *
+
+
+          To Al-Rashid and God reward thy care!
+
+
+     And say An exile who desired thy sight *
+
+
+          Long loving, from afar sends greeting fair.
+
+
+     Nor hate nor irk (No!) him from thee withdrew, *
+
+
+          Kissing thy right to Heaven brought him near.[FN#165]
+
+
+     But what estranged his soul, O sire, from thee *
+
+
+          Is that thy worldly joys it would not share!'
+
+
+
+Then he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of Allah'—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth then
+betook himself to asking pardon of Allah and to invoking prayer and
+praise upon the Apostle and the Lord of the Just and repeating verses
+of the Koran; after which he recited these couplets,
+
+     "O sire, be not deceived by worldly joys; *
+
+
+          For life must pass, and joy must learn to mourn;
+
+
+     When thou art told of folk in evil plight, *
+
+
+          Think thou must answer for all hearts forlorn;
+
+
+     And when thou bear thy dead towards the tombs, *
+
+
+          Know thou wilt likewise on that way be bourne."
+
+
+
+Continued Abu the Basri, "Now when the youth had ended his charge and
+his verses I left him and went home. On the morrow, I returned, at the
+appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of Allah be upon
+him! So I washed him and, unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby
+worth thousands of gold pieces and said to myself, By Allah, this youth
+was indeed weaned from worldly things!' After I had buried him, I made
+my way to Baghdad and, going to the Caliph's palace, waited till he
+came forth, when I addressed him in one of the streets and gave him the
+ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a fainting- fit. His
+attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and said to them, Release
+him and bring him courteously to the palace.' They did his bidding, and
+when he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his chamber said
+to me, How doth the owner of this ruby?' Quoth I, Verily, he is dead;'
+and told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, The
+son hath gained; but the sire hath lost.' Then he called out, saying,
+Ho, such an one!'; and behold there came out to him a lady who, when
+she saw me, would have withdrawn; but he cried to her, Come, and mind
+him not.' So she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which
+when she saw and she knew, she shrieked a great shriek and fell down in
+a swoon. As soon as she came to herself, she said, O Commander of the
+Faithful, what hath Allah done with my son?'; and he said to me, Do
+thou tell her his case' (as he could not speak for weeping).
+Accordingly, I repeated the story to her, and she began to shed tears
+and say in a faint and wailing voice, How I have longed for thy sight,
+O solace of mine eyes![FN#166] Would I might have given thee to drink,
+when thou hadst none to slake thy thirst! Would I might have cheered
+thee, whenas thou foundest never a cheerer!' And she poured forth tears
+and recited these couplets,
+
+     I weep for one whose lot a lonely death befel; *
+
+
+          Without a friend to whom he might complain and moan:
+
+
+     And after glory and glad union with his friends, *
+
+
+          He woke to desolation, friendless, lorn and lone;
+
+
+     What Fortune hides a while she soon to all men shall show; *
+
+
+          Death never spared a man; no, not a single one:
+
+
+     O absent one, my Lord decreed thee strangerhood, *
+
+
+          Far from thy nearest friends and to long exile gone:
+
+
+     Though Death forbid my hope of meeting here again, *
+
+
+          On Doom-day's morrow we shall meet again, my
+
+
+son![FN#167]
+
+
+
+Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?' Quoth he,
+Yes, and indeed, before I succeeded to this office, he was wont to
+visit the learned and company with the devout; but, when I became
+Caliph, he grew estranged from me and withdrew himself apart.[FN#168]
+Then said I to his mother, Verily this thy son hath cut the world and
+devoted his life to Almighty Allah, and it may be that hard times shall
+befal him and he be smitten with trial of evil chance; wherefore do
+thou given him this ruby, which he may find useful in hour of need.' So
+she gave it him, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her bidding.
+Then he left to us the things of our world and removed himself from us;
+nor did he cease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of
+Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!), pious and pure.' Then said he,
+Come, show me his grave.' So, I travelled with him to Bassorah and
+showed him his son's grave; and when he saw it, he wept and lamented,
+till he fell down in a swoon; after which he recovered and asked pardon
+of the Lord, saying, We are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!';
+and involved blessings on the dead. Then he asked me to become his
+companion, but I said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, verily, in
+thy son's case is for me the most momentous of admonitions!' And I
+recited these couplets,
+
+     "Tis I am the stranger, visited by none; *
+
+
+          I am the stranger though in town my own:
+
+
+     Tis I am the stranger! Lacking kith and son, *
+
+
+          And friend to whom I mote for aidance run.
+
+
+     I house in mosques which are my only home; *
+
+
+          My heart there wones and shall for ever wone:
+
+
+     Then laud ye Allah, Lord of Worlds, as long *
+
+
+          As soul and body dwell in union!'"
+
+
+
+And a famous tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+THE UNWISE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT
+
+Quoth one of the learned, "I passed once by a school, wherein a
+schoolmaster was teaching children; so I entered, finding him a
+good-looking man and a well-dressed; when he rose to me and made me sit
+with him. Then I examined him in the Koran and in syntax and prosody
+and lexicography; and behold, he was perfect in all required of him, so
+I said to him, Allah strengthen thy purpose! Thou art indeed versed in
+all that is requisite,' thereafter I frequented him a while,
+discovering daily some new excellence in him, and quoth I to myself,
+This is indeed a wonder in any dominie; for the wise are agreed upon a
+lack of wit in children's teachers.' Then I separated myself from him
+and sought him and visited him only every few days, till coming to see
+him one day as of wont, I found the school shut and made enquiry of his
+neighbors, who replied, Some one is dead in his house.' So I said in my
+mind, It behoveth me to pay him a visit of condolence,' and going to
+his house, knocked at the door, when a slave-girl came out to me and
+asked, What dost thou want?' and I answered, I want thy master.' She
+replied, He is sitting alone, mourning;' and I rejoined, Tell him that
+his friend so and so seeketh to console him.' She went in and told him;
+and he said, Admit him.' So she brought me in to him, and I found him
+seated alone and his head bound with mourning fillets. So I said to
+him, Allah requite thee amply! this is a path all must perforce tread,
+and it behoveth thee to take patience;' adding, But who is dead unto
+thee?' He answered, One who was dearest of the folk to me, and best
+beloved.' Perhaps thy father?' No!' Thy brother?' "No!' "One of thy
+kindred?' No!' Then asked I, What relation was the dead to thee?'; and
+he answered, My lover.' Quoth I to myself, This is the first proof to
+swear by his lack of wit.' So I said to him, Assuredly there be others
+than she and fairer;' and he made answer, I never saw her, that I might
+judge whether or no there be others fairer than she.' Quoth I to
+myself, This is another proof positive.' Then I said to him, And how
+couldst thou fall in love with one thou hast never seen?' He replied
+Know that I was sitting one day at the window, when lo! there passed by
+a man, singing the following distich,
+
+     Umm Amr',[FN#169] thy boons Allah repay! *
+
+
+          Give back my heart be't where it may!'"
+
+
+
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the schoolmaster
+continued, " When I heard the man humming these words as he passed
+along the street, I said to myself Except this Umm Amru were without
+equal in the world, the poets had not celebrated her in ode and
+canzon.' So I fell in love with her; but, two days after, the same man
+passed, singing the following couplet,
+
+     Ass and Umm Amr' went their way; *
+
+
+          Nor she, nor ass returned for aye.'
+
+
+
+Thereupon I knew she was dead and mourned for her. This was three days
+ago, and I have been mourning ever since. So I left him, (concluded the
+learned one) and fared forth, having assured myself of the weakness of
+the gerund-grinder's wit." And they tell another and a similar tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE FOOLISH DOMINIE[FN#170]
+
+Once upon a time, a schoolmaster was visited by a man of letters who
+entered a school and, sitting down by the host's side, entered into
+discourse with him and found him an accomplished theologian, poet
+grammarian, philologist and poet; intelligent, well bred and pleasant
+spoken; whereat he wondered, saying in himself, "It cannot be that a
+man who teacheth children in a school, should have a perfect wit." Now
+when he was about to go away, the pedant said to him, "Thou are my
+guest to-night;" and he consented to receive hospitality and
+accompanied him to his house, where he made much of him and set food
+before him. They ate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of
+the night was past when the host spread his guest a bed and went up to
+his Harim. The stranger lay down and addressed himself to sleep, when,
+behold, there arose a great clamour in the women's rooms. He asked what
+was the matter and they said, "A terrible thing hath befallen the
+Shaykh and he is at the last gasp." Said he, "Take me up to him"; so
+they took him up to the pedagogue whom he found lying insensible, with
+his blood streaming down. He sprinkled water on his face and when he
+revived, he asked him, "What hath betided thee? When thou leftest me,
+thou wast in all good cheer and whole of body," and he answered, "O my
+brother, after I left thee, I sat meditating on the creative works of
+Almighty Allah, and said to myself: In every thing the Lord hath
+created for man, there is an use; for He (to Whom be glory!) made the
+hands to seize, the feet to walk, the eyes to see, the ears to hear and
+the penis to increase and multiply; and so on with all the members of
+the body, except these two ballocks; there is no use in them.' So I
+took a razor I had by me and cut them off; and there befel me what thou
+seest." So the guest left him and went away, saying, "He was in the
+right who said, Verily no schoolmaster who teacheth children can have a
+perfect wit, though he know all the sciences.'" And they tell a
+pleasant tale of the
+
+
+
+
+ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER
+
+There was once, among the menials[FN#171] of a certain mosque, a man
+who knew not how to write or even to read and who gained his bread by
+gulling folk. One day, it occurred to him to open a school and teach
+children; so he got together writing-tablets and written papers and
+hung them up in a high place. Then he greatened his turband[FN#172] and
+sat down at the door of the school; and when the people, who passed by,
+saw his huge head- gear and tablets and scrolls, they thought he must
+be a very learned pedagogue; so they brought him their children; and he
+would say to this, "Write," and to that "Read"; and thus the little
+ones taught each other. Now one day, as he sat as of wont, at the door
+of the school, behold, up came a woman letter in hand, and he said in
+his mind, "This woman doubtless seeketh me, that I may read her the
+missive she hath in her hand: how shall I do with her, seeing I cannot
+read writing?" And he would fain have gone down and fled from her; but,
+before he could do this, she overtook him and said to him, "Whither
+away?" Quoth he, "I purpose to pray the noon-prayer and return." Quoth
+she, "Noon is yet distant, so read me this letter." He took the letter
+and turning it upside down, fell to looking at it, now shaking his head
+till his turband quivered, then dancing his eyebrows and anon showing
+anger and concern. Now the letter came from the woman's husband, who
+was absent; and when she saw the dominie do on this wise, she said to
+herself, "Doubtless my husband is dead, and this learned doctor of law
+and religion is ashamed to tell me so." So she said to him, "O my lord,
+if he be dead, tell me;" but he shook his head and held his peace. Then
+said she, "Shall I rend my raiment?" "Rend!" replied he. "Shall I beat
+my face?" asked she; and he answered, "Beat!" So she took the letter
+from his hand and returned home fell a-weeping, she and her children.
+Presently, one of her neighbours heard her sobbing and asking what
+aileth her, was answered, "Of a truth she hath gotten a letter, telling
+her that her husband is dead." Quoth the man, "This is a falsehood; for
+I had a letter from him but yesterday, advising me that he is whole and
+in good health and will be with her after ten days." So he rose
+forthright and going in to her, said, "Where is the letter which came
+to thee?" She brought it to him, and he took it and read it; and lo! it
+ran as follows, "After the usual salutations, I am well and in good
+health and whole and will be with you all after ten days. Meanwhile, I
+send you a quilt and an extinguisher."[FN#173] So she took the letter
+and, returning to the schoolmaster, said to him, "What induced thee to
+deal thus with me?" And she repeated to him what her neighbour had told
+her of her husband's well- being and of his having sent her a quilt and
+an extinguisher. Answered he, "Thou art in the right, O good woman; for
+I was, at the time"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the pedagogue
+replied, "Verily I was at that time fashed and absent- minded and,
+seeing the extinguisher wrapped up in the quilt, I thought that he was
+dead and they had shrouded him." The woman, not smoking the cheat,
+said, "Thou art excused," and taking the letter, went her ways.[FN#174]
+And they relate a story of
+
+
+
+
+THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.
+
+A certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of
+his lieges. Presently, he came to a great village which he entered
+unattended and being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked
+for water. There came out to him a fair woman with a gugglet, which she
+gave him, and he drank. When he looked at her, he was ravished with her
+and besought her favours. Now she knew him; so she led him into the
+house and, making him sit down, brought out a book and said to him,
+"Look therein whilst I order my affair and return to thee." So he
+looked into the book, and behold, it treated of the Divine prohibition
+against advoutry and of the punishments which Allah hath prepared for
+those who commit adulterous sin. When he read this, his flesh quaked
+and his hair bristled and he repented to Almighty Allah: then he called
+the woman and, giving her the book, went away. Now her husband was
+absent and when he returned, she told him what had passed, whereat he
+was confounded and said in himself, "I fear lest the King's desire have
+fallen upon her." And he dared not have to do with her and know her
+carnally after this. When some time had past, the wife told her
+kinsfolk of her husband's conduct, and they complained of him to the
+King, saying, "Allah advance the King! This man hired of us a piece of
+land for tillage, and tilled it awhile; then left it fallow and neither
+tilled it nor forsook it, that we might let it to one who would till
+it. Indeed, harm is come to the field, and we fear its corruption, for
+such land as that if it be not sown, spoileth." Quoth the King to the
+man, "What hindereth thee from sowing thy land?" Answered he, "Allah
+advance the King! It reached me that the lion entered the field
+wherefore I stood in awe of him and dared not draw near it, since
+knowing that I cannot cope with the lion, I stand in fear of him." The
+King understood the parable and rejoined, saying, "O man, the lion trod
+and trampled not thy land, and it is good for seed so do thou till it
+and Allah prosper thee in it, for the lion hath done it no hurt." Then
+he bade give the man and his wife a handsome present and sent them
+away.[FN#175] And amongst the stories is that of
+
+
+
+
+ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI'S STORY OF THE RUKH.[FN#176]
+
+There was once a man of the people of West Africa who had journeyed far
+and wide and traversed many a desert and a tide. He was once cast upon
+an island, where he abode a long while and, returning thence to his
+native country, brought with him the quill of a wing feather of a young
+Rukh, whilst yet in egg and unhatched; and this quill was big enough to
+hold a goat skin of water, for it is said that the length of the Rukh
+chick's wing, when he cometh forth of the egg, is a thousand fathoms.
+The folk marvelled at this quill, when they saw it, and the man who was
+called Abd al-Rahman the Moor (and he was known, to boot, as the
+Chinaman, for his long sojourn in Cathay), related to them the
+following adventure, one of many of his traveller's tales of marvel. He
+was on a voyage in the China seas—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abd al- Rahman,
+the Moorman, the Chinaman, was wont to tell wondrous tales amongst
+which was the following. He was on a voyage in the China seas with a
+company of merchants, when they sighted an island from afar; so they
+steered for it and, making fast thereto, saw that it was large and
+spacious. The ship's crew went ashore to get wood and water, taking
+with them hatchets and ropes and water skies (the travellers
+accompanying them), and presently espied a great dome, white and
+gleaming, an hundred cubits long. So they made towards it and drawing
+near, found that it was an egg of the Rukh and fell on it with axes and
+stones and sticks till they uncovered the young bird and found the
+chick as it were a firm set hill. So they plucked out one of the wing
+feathers, but could not do so, save by helping one another, for all the
+quills were not full grown, after which they took what they could carry
+of the young bird's flesh and cutting the quill away from the vane,
+returned to the ship. Then they set sail and putting out to sea,
+voyaged with a fair wind all that night, till the sun rose; and while
+everything went well, they saw the Rukh come flying after them, as he
+were a vast cloud, with a rock in his talons, like a great heap bigger
+than the ship. As soon as he poised himself in air over the vessel, he
+let fall the rock upon it; but the craft, having great way on her,
+outwent the rock, which fell into the sea with a loud crash and a
+horrible. So Allah decreed their deliverance and saved them from doom;
+and they cooked the young bird's flesh and ate it. Now there were
+amongst them old white bearded men; and when they awoke on the morrow,
+they found that their beards had turned black, nor did any who had
+eaten of the young Rukh grow gray ever after. Some said the cause of
+the return of youth to them and the ceasing of hoariness from them was
+that they had heated the pot with arrow wood, whilst others would have
+it that it came of eating the Rukh chick's flesh; and this is indeed a
+wonder of wonders.[FN#177] And a story is related of
+
+
+
+
+ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND.
+
+Al-Nu'uman Bin Al-Munzir, King of the Arabs of Irak, had a daughter
+named Hind, who went out one Pasch, which is a feast day of the
+Nazarenes, to the White Church, to take the sacrament; she was eleven
+years old and was the loveliest woman of her age and time; and it so
+chanced that on the same day came to Hirah[FN#178] a young man called
+'Adν bin Zayd[FN#179] with presents from the Chosroλ to Al-Nu'uman, and
+he also went to the White Church, to communicate. He was tall of
+stature and fair of favour, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and
+had with him a company of his people. Now there was with Hind bint
+al-Nu'uman a slave girl named Mαriyah, who was enamoured of Adi, but
+had not been able to foregather with him. So, when she saw him in the
+church, she said to Hind, "Look at yonder youth. By Allah, he is
+handsomer than all thou seest!" Hind asked, "And who is he?" and
+Mariyah answered, "Adi bin Zayd." Quoth Al-Nu'uman's daughter, "I fear
+lest he know me, if I draw nearer to look on him." Quoth Mariyah, "How
+should he know thee when he hath never seen thee?" So she drew near him
+and found him jesting with the youths his companions; and indeed he
+surpassed them all, not only in his personal charms but in the
+excellence of his speech, the eloquence of his tongue and the richness
+of his raiment. When the Princess saw him, she was ravished with him,
+her reason was confounded and her colour changed; and Mariyah, seeing
+her inclination to him, said to her, "Speak him." So she spoke to him
+and went away. Now when he looked upon her and heard her speech, he was
+captivated by her and his wit was dazed; his heart fluttered, and his
+colour changed so that his companions suspected him, and he whispered
+one of them to follow her and find out who she was. The young man went
+after her and returning informed him that she was princess Hind,
+daughter of Al-Nu'uman. So Adi left the church, knowing not whither he
+went, for excess of love, and reciting these two couplets,
+
+     "O friends of me, one favour more I pray: *
+
+
+          Unto the convents[FN#180] find more your way:
+
+
+      Turn me that so I face the land of Hind; *
+
+
+          Then go, and fairest greetings for me say."
+
+
+
+Then he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless and without
+appetite for the food of sleep.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Adi ended
+his verses he went to his lodging and lay that night restless and
+without appetite for the food of sleep. Now on the morrow Mariyah
+accosted him and he received her kindly, though before he would not
+incline to her, and said to her, "What is thy will?" Quoth she, "I have
+a want of thee;" and quoth he, "Name it, for by Allah, thou shalt not
+ask me aught, but I will give it thee!" So she told him that she loved
+him, and her want of him was that he would grant her a lover's privacy;
+and he agreed to do her will, on condition that she would serve him
+with Hind and devise some device to bring them together. Then he took
+her into a vintner's tavern in one of the by streets of Hirah, and lay
+with her; after which she returned to Hind and asked her, "Dost thou
+not long to see Adi?" She answered, "How can this be? Indeed my longing
+for him makes me restless, and no repose is left me since yesterday."
+Quoth Mariyah, "I will appoint him to be in such a place, where thou
+canst look on him from the palace." Quoth Hind, "Do what thou wilt,"
+and agreed with her upon the place. So Adi came, and the Princess
+looked out upon him; and, when she saw him, she was like to topple down
+from the palace top and said, "O Mariyah, except thou bring him in to
+me this night, I shall die." So saying, she fell to the ground in a
+fainting fit, and her serving women lifted her up and bore her into the
+palace; whilst Mariyah hastened to Al-Nu'uman and discovered the whole
+matter to him with perfect truth, telling him that indeed she was mad
+for the love of Adi; and except he marry her to him she must be put to
+shame and die of love for him, which would disgrace her father among
+the Arabs, adding at the end, "There is no cure for this but wedlock."
+The King bowed his head awhile in thought and exclaimed again and
+again, "Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!" Then
+said he "Woe to thee! How shall the marriage be brought about, seeing I
+mislike to open the matter?" And she said, "He is yet more ardently in
+love and yet more desireful of her than she is of him; and I will so
+order the affair that he shall be unaware of his case being known to
+thee; but do not betray thyself, O King." Then she went to Adi and,
+after acquainting him with everything said, "Make a feast and bid the
+King thereto; and, when the wine hath gotten the better of him, ask of
+him his daughter, for he will not refuse thee." Quoth Adi, "I fear lest
+this enrage him against me and be the cause of enmity between us." But
+quoth she, "I came not to thee, till I had settled the whole affair
+with him." Then she returned to Al- Nu'uman and said to him, "Seek of
+Adi that he entertain thee in his house." Replied the King, "There is
+no harm in that;" and after three days, besought Adi to give him and
+his lords the morning meal in his house. He consented and the King went
+to him; and when the wine had taken effect on Al-Nu'uman, Adi rose and
+sought of him his daughter in wedlock. He consented and married them
+and brought her to him after three days; and they abode at Al-Nu'uman's
+court, in all solace of life and its delight—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Adi abode with
+Hind bint Al-Nu'uman bin Munzir three years in all solace of life and
+its delight, after which time the King was wroth with Adi and slew him.
+Hind mourned for him with grievous mourning and built her an hermitage
+outside the city, whither she retired and became a religious, weeping
+and bewailing her husband till she died. And her hermitage is seen to
+this day in the suburbs of Hirah. They also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+DI'IBIL AL-KHUZA'I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID.
+
+Quoth Di'ibil al Khuzα'i[FN#181], "I was sitting one day at the gate of
+Al Karkh,[FN#182] when a damsel came past. Never saw I a fairer faced
+or better formed than she, walking with a voluptuous swaying gait and
+ravishing all beholders with her lithe and undulating pace. Now as my
+eyes fell on her, I was captivated by her and my vitals trembled and
+meseemed my heart flew forth of my breast; so I stood before her and I
+accosted her with this verse,
+
+     'The tears of these eyes find easy release; *
+
+
+          But sleep flies these eyelids without surcease.'
+
+
+
+Whereon she turned her face and looking at me, straightway made answer
+with this distich,
+
+     'A trifle this an his eyes be sore, *
+
+
+          When her eyes say 'yes' to his love's caprice!'
+
+
+
+I was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the fluency of her
+speech and rejoined with this verse,
+
+     'Say, cloth heart of my fair incline to him *
+
+
+          Whose tears like a swelling stream increase?'
+
+
+
+And she answered me without hesitation, thus,
+
+     'If thou crave our love, know that love's a loan; *
+
+
+          And a debt to be paid by us twain a piece.'
+
+
+
+Never entered my ears aught sweeter than her speech nor ever saw I
+brighter than her face: so I changed rhyme and rhythm to try her, in my
+wonder at her words, and repeated this couplet,
+
+     'Will Fate with joy of union ever bless our sight, *
+
+
+          And one desireful one with other one unite.'
+
+
+
+She smiled at this (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than
+her lips), and answered me, without stay or delay, in the following
+distich,
+
+     "Pray, tell me what hath Fate to do betwixt us twain? *
+
+
+          Thou'rt Elate: so bless our eyne with union and
+
+
+          delight.'
+
+
+
+At this, I sprang up and fell to kissing her hands and cried, 'I had
+not thought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such occasion. Do thou
+follow me, not of bidding or against thy will, but of the grace of thee
+and thy favour to me.' Then I went on and she after me. Now at that
+time I had no lodging I deemed fit for the like of her; but Muslim bin
+al-Walνd[FN#183] was my fast friend, and he had a handsome house. So I
+made for his abode and knocked at the door, whereupon he came out, and
+I saluted him, saying, 'Tis for time like this that friends are
+treasured up'; and he replied, 'With love and gladness! Come in you
+twain.' So we entered but found money scarce with him: however, he gave
+me a kerchief, saying, 'Carry it to the bazar and sell it and buy food
+and what else thou needest.' I took the handkerchief, and hastening to
+the market, sold it and bought what we required of victuals and other
+matters; but when I returned, I found that Muslim had retired, with her
+to an underground chamber.[FN#184] When he heard my step he hurried out
+and said to me, 'Allah requite thee the kindness thou hast done me, O
+Abu Ali and reward thee in time to come and reckon it of thy good deeds
+on the Day of Doom!' So saying, he took from me the food and wine and
+shut the door in my face. His words enraged me and I knew not what to
+do, but he stood behind the door, shaking for mirth; and, when he saw
+me thus, he said to me, 'I conjure thee on my life, O Abu Ali, tell who
+it was composed this couplet?,
+
+     'I lay in her arms all night, leaving him *
+
+
+          To sleep foul-hearted but clean of staff.'
+
+
+
+At this my rage redoubled, and I replied, 'He who wrote this other
+couplet',
+
+     'One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, *
+
+
+          Exceeding in mighty height Manaf.'[FN#185]
+
+
+
+Then I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of his
+action and his lack of honour; and he was silent, never uttering a
+word. But, when I had finished, he smiled and said, 'Out on thee, O
+fool! Thou hast entered my house and sold my kerchief and spent my
+silver: so, with whom art thou wroth, O pimp?'[FN#186] Then he left me
+and went away to her, whilst I said, 'By Allah, thou art right to twit
+me as nincompoop and pander!' Then I left his door and went away in
+sore concern, and I feel its trace in my heart to this very day; for I
+never had my will of her nor, indeed, ever heard of her more." And
+amongst other tales is that about
+
+
+
+
+ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT.
+
+Quoth Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, "It so chanced that, one day
+feeling weary of being on duty at the Palace and in attendance upon the
+Caliph, I mounted horse and went forth, at break of dawn, having a mind
+to ride out in the open country and take my pleasure. So I said to my
+servants, 'If there come a messenger from the Caliph or another, say
+that I set out at day break, upon a pressing business, and that ye know
+not whither I am gone.' Then I fared forth alone and went round about
+the city, till the sun waxed hot, when I halted in a great thoroughfare
+known as Al Haram,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak bin Ibrahim
+the Mausili continued: "When the sun waxed hot I halted in a great
+thoroughfare known as Al-Haram, to take shelter in the shade and found
+it in a spacious wing of a house which projected over the street. And I
+stood there but a little while before there came up a black slave,
+leading an ass bestridden by a damsel; and under her were housings set
+with gems and pearls and upon her were the richest of clothes, richness
+can go no farther; and I saw that she was elegant of make with
+languorous look and graceful mien. I asked one of the passers by who
+she was, and he said, 'She is a singer,' so I fell in love with her at
+first sight: hardly could I keep my seat on horseback. She entered the
+house at whose gate I stood; and, as I was planning a device to gain
+access to her, there came up two men young and comely who asked
+admission and the housemaster gave them leave to enter. So they
+alighted and I also and they entered and I with them, they supposing
+that the master of the house had invited me; and we sat awhile, till
+food was brought and we ate. Then they set wine before us, and the
+damsel came out, with a lute in her hand. She sang and we drank, till I
+rose to obey a call of nature. Thereupon the host questioned the two
+others of me, and they replied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth
+he, 'This is a parasite[FN#187]; but he is a pleasant fellow, so treat
+him courteously.' Then I came back and sat down in my place, whilst the
+damsel sang to a pleasing air these two couplets,
+
+     'Say to the she gazelle, who's no gazelle, *
+
+
+          And Kohl'd ariel who's no ariel.[FN#188]
+
+
+     Who lies with male, and yet no female is, *
+
+
+          Whose gait is female most unlike the male.'
+
+
+
+She sang it right well, and the company drank and her song pleased
+them. Then she carolled various pieces to rare measures, and amongst
+the rest one of mine, which consisted of this distich,
+
+     'Bare hills and campground desolate *
+
+
+          And friends who all have ganged their gait.
+
+
+     How severance after union leaves *
+
+
+          Me and their homes in saddest state!'
+
+
+
+Her singing this time was even better than the first; then she chanted
+other rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine with
+the following two couplets,
+
+     'Say to angry lover who turns away, *
+
+
+          And shows thee his side whatso thou
+
+
+     'Thou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, *
+
+
+          Albe 'twas haply thy sport and play.'
+
+
+
+I prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her;
+whereupon one of the two men accosted me and said, 'Never saw we a more
+impudent lick platter than thou. Art thou not content with sponging,
+but thou must eke meddle and muddle? Of very sooth, in thee is the
+saying made true, Parasite and pushing wight.' So I hung down my head
+for shame and made him no answer, whilst his companion would have
+withheld him from me, but he would not be restrained. Presently, they
+rose to pray, but I lagged behind a little and, taking the lute,
+screwed up the sides and brought it into perfect tune. Then I stood up
+in my place to pray with the rest; and when we had ended praying, the
+same man fell again to blaming me and reviling me and persisted in his
+rudeness, whilst I held my peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute
+and touching it, knew that it had been altered, and said, 'Who hath
+touched my lute?' Quoth they, 'None of us hath touched it.' Quoth she,
+'Nay, by Allah, some one hath touched it, and he is an artist, a past
+master in the craft; for he hath arranged the strings and tuned them
+like one who is a perfect performer.' Said I, 'It was I tuned it;' and
+said she, 'Then, Allah upon thee, take it and play on it!' So I took
+it; and, playing a piece so difficult and so rare, that it went nigh to
+deaden the quick and quicken the dead, I sang thereto these couplets,
+
+     'I had a heart, and with it lived my life: *
+
+
+          'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe:
+
+
+     I never won the blessing of her love; *
+
+
+          God would not on His slave such boon bestow:
+
+
+     If what I've tasted be the food of Love, *
+
+
+          Must taste it all men who love food would know.'"
+
+
+
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak of Mosul
+thus continued: "Now when I had finished my verse, there was not one of
+the company but sprang from his place and sat down like schoolboys
+before me, saying, 'Allah upon thee, O our lord, sing us another song.'
+'With pleasure,' said I, and playing another measure in masterly
+fashion, sang thereto these couplets,
+
+'Ho thou whose heart is melted down by force of Amor's fire, *
+
+
+     And griefs from every side against thy happiness conspire:
+
+
+Unlawful is that he who pierced my vitals with his shaft, * My
+
+
+     blood between my midriff and my breast bone[FN#189] he
+
+
+     desire,
+
+
+'Twas plain, upon our severance day, that he had set his mind *
+
+
+     On an eternal parting, moved by tongue of envious liar:
+
+
+He sheds my blood he ne'er had shed except by wound of love, *
+
+
+     Will none demand my blood of him, my wreck of him require?'
+
+
+
+When I had made an end of this song, there was not one of them but rose
+to his feet and threw himself upon the ground for excess of delight.
+Then I cast the lute from my hand, but they said, 'Allah upon thee, do
+not on this wise, but let us hear another song, so Allah Almighty
+increase thee of His bounty!' Replied I, 'O folk, I will sing you
+another song and another and another and will tell you who I am. I am
+Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, and by Allah, I bear myself proudly to
+the Caliph when he seeketh me. Ye have today made me hear abuse from an
+unmannerly carle such as I loathe; and by Allah, I will not speak a
+word nor sit with you, till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from
+among you!' Quoth the fellow's companion to him, 'This is what I warned
+thee against, fearing for thy good name.' So they hent him by the hand
+and thrust him out; and I took the lute and sang over again the songs
+of my own composing which the damsel had sung. Then I whispered the
+host that she had taken my heart and that I had no patience to abstain
+from her. Quoth he 'She is thine on one condition.' I asked, 'What is
+that?' and he answered, 'It is that thou abide with me a month, when
+the damsel and all belonging to her of raiment and jewellery shall be
+thine.' I rejoined, 'It is well, I will do this.' So I tarried with him
+a whole month, whilst none knew where I was and the Caliph sought me
+everywhere, but could come by no news of me; and at the end of this
+time, the merchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that
+pertained to her of things of price and an eunuch to attend upon her.
+So I brought all that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord of the
+whole world, for exceeding delight in her; then I rode forthright to
+Al-Maamun. And when I stood in the presence, he said, 'Woe to thee, O
+Ishak, where hast thou been?' So I acquainted him with the story and he
+said, 'Bring me that man at once.' Thereupon I told him where he lived
+and he sent and fetched him and questioned him of the case; when he
+repeated the story and the Caliph said to him, 'Thou art a man of right
+generous mind, and it is only fitting that thou be aided in thy
+generosity.' Then he ordered him an hundred thousand dirhams and said
+to me, 'O Ishak, bring the damsel before me.' So I brought her to him,
+and she sang and delighted him; and being greatly gladdened by her he
+said to me, 'I appoint her turn of service every Thursday, when she
+must come and sing to me from behind the curtain.' And he ordered her
+fifty thousand dirhams, so by Allah, I profited both myself and others
+by my ride." And amongst the tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS.
+
+Quoth Al-'Utbν[FN#190], "I was sitting one day with a company of
+educated men, telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned upon
+legends of lovers and each of us said his say thereanent. Now there was
+in our company an old man, who remained silent, till all had spoken and
+had no more to say, when quoth he, 'Shall I tell you a thing, the like
+of which you never heard; no, never?' 'Yes,' quoth we; and he said,
+'Know, then, that I had a daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it
+not; while the youth loved a singing girl, who in her turn loved my
+daughter. One day, I was present at an assembly, wherein were also the
+youth'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Tenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+continued: 'One day, I was present at an assembly wherein were also the
+youth and the singing girl and she chanted to us these couplets,
+
+     'Prove how Love bringeth low * Lover those tears that run
+
+
+     Lowering him still the more * When pity finds he none.'
+
+
+
+Cried the youth, 'By Allah, thou hast said well, O my mistress.' Dost
+thou incite me to die?' Answered the girl from behind the curtain,
+'Yes, if thou be a true lover.' So he laid his head on a cushion and
+closed his eyes; and when the cup came round to him, we shook him and
+behold, he was dead.[FN#191] Therewith we all flocked to him, and our
+pleasure was troubled and we grieved and broke up at once. When I came
+home, my people took in bad part my returning before the appointed
+time, and I told them what had befallen the youth, thinking that
+thereby I should greatly surprise them. My daughter heard my words and
+rising, went from the sitting chamber into another, whither I followed
+her and found her lying with her head on a cushion, even as I had told
+of the young man. So I shook her and lo! she was dead. Then we laid her
+out and set forth next morning to bury her, whilst the friends of the
+young man set forth in like guise to bury him. As we were on the way to
+the burial place, we met a third funeral and asking whose it was, were
+told that it was that of the singing girl who, hearing of my daughter's
+death, had done even as she did and was dead. So we buried them all
+three on one day, and this is the rarest tale that ever was heard of
+lovers." And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND.
+
+They recount that in the City Kaukabαn of Al-Yaman there was a man of
+the Fazlν tribe who had left Badawi life, and become a townsman for
+many years and was a merchant of the most opulent merchants. His wife
+had deceased when both were young; and his friends were instant with
+him to marry again, ever quoting to him the words of the poet,
+
+     "Go, gossip! re-wed thee, for Prime draweth near:
+
+
+      A wife is an almanac—good for the year."
+
+
+
+So being weary of contention, Abu Hasan entered into negotiations with
+the old women who procure matches, and married a maid like Canopus when
+he hangeth over the seas of Al-Hind. He made high festival therefor,
+bidding to the wedding banquet kith and kin, Olema and Fakirs; friends
+and foes and all his acquaintances of that countryside. The whole house
+was thrown open to feasting: there were rices of five several colours,
+and sherbets of as many more; and kids stuffed with walnuts and almonds
+and pistachios and a camel colt[FN#192] roasted whole. So they ate and
+drank and made mirth and merriment; and the bride was displayed in her
+seven dresses and one more, to the women, who could not take their eyes
+off her. At last, the bridegroom was summoned to the chamber where she
+sat enthroned; and he rose slowly and with dignity from his divan; but
+in so doing, for that he was over full of meat and drink, lo and
+behold! he let fly a fart, great and terrible. Thereupon each guest
+turned to his neighbour and talked aloud and made as though he had
+heard nothing, fearing for his life. But a consuming fire was lit in
+Abu Hasan's heart; so he pretended a call of nature; and, in lieu of
+seeking the bride chamber, he went down to the house court and saddled
+his mare and rode off, weeping bitterly, through the shadow of the
+night. In time he reached Lαhej where he found a ship ready to sail for
+India; so he shipped on board and made Calicut of Malabar. Here he met
+with many Arabs, especially Hazramνs[FN#193], who recommended him to
+the King; and this King (who was a Kafir) trusted him and advanced him
+to the captainship of his body guard. He remained ten years in all
+solace and delight of life; at the end of which time he was seized with
+home sickness; and the longing to behold his native land was that of a
+lover pining for his beloved; and he came near to die of yearning
+desire. But his appointed day had not dawned; so, after taking the
+first bath of health, he left the King without leave, and in due course
+landed at Makallα of Hazramaut. Here he donned the rags of a religious;
+and, keeping his name and case secret, fared for Kaukaban afoot;
+enduring a thousand hardships of hunger, thirst and fatigue; and
+braving a thousand dangers from the lion, the snake and the Ghul. But
+when he drew near his old home, he looked down upon it from the hills
+with brimming eyes, and said in himself, "Haply they might know thee;
+so I will wander about the outskirts, and hearken to the folk. Allah
+grant that my case be not remembered by them!" He listened carefully
+for seven nights and seven days, till it so chanced that, as he was
+sitting at the door of a hut, he heard the voice of a young girl
+saying, "O my mother, tell me the day when I was born; for such an one
+of my companions is about to take an omen[FN#194] for me." And the
+mother answered, "Thou was born, O my daughter, on the very night when
+Abu Hasan farted." Now the listener no sooner heard these words than he
+rose up from the bench, and fled away saying to himself, "Verily thy
+fart hath become a date, which shall last for ever and ever; even as
+the poet said,
+
+     'As long as palms shall shift the flower; *
+
+
+          As long as palms shall sift the flour.'[FN#195]
+
+
+
+And he ceased not travelling and voyaging and returned to India; and
+there abode in self exile till he died; and the mercy of Allah be upon
+him![FN#196] And they tell another story of
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.
+
+Kαsim, son of Adi, was wont to relate that a man of the Banϊ Tamνm
+spake as follows: "I went out one day in search of an estray and,
+coming to the waters of the Banu Tayy, saw two companies of people near
+one another, and behold, those of one company were disputing among
+themselves even as the other. So I watched them and observed, in one of
+the companies, a youth wasted with sickness, as he were a worn-out
+dried-up waterskin. And as I looked on him, lo! he repeated these
+couplets,
+
+     'What ails the Beauty she returneth not? *
+
+
+          Is't Beauty's irk or grudging to my lot?
+
+
+     I sickened and my friends all came to call; *
+
+
+          What stayed thee calling with the friendly knot?
+
+
+     Hadst thou been sick, I had come running fast *
+
+
+          To thee, nor threats had kept me from the spot:
+
+
+     Mid them I miss thee, and I lie alone; *
+
+
+          Sweetheart, to lose thy love sad loss I wot!'
+
+
+
+His words were heard by a damsel in the other company who hastened
+towards him, and when her people followed her, she fought them off.
+Then the youth caught sight of her and sprang up and ran towards her,
+whilst the people of his party ran after him and laid hold of him.
+However he haled and freed himself from them, and she in like manner
+loosed herself; and, when they were free, each ran to other and meeting
+between the two parties, embraced and fell dead upon the ground."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred ante Eleventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the young man
+and the maid met between the two parties and embraced and both fell
+dead upon the ground; whereat came there out an old man from one of the
+tents and stood over them exclaiming, 'Verily, we are Allah's and unto
+Him we are returning!' Then weeping sore he said, 'Allah have ruth on
+you both! by the Almighty, though you were not united in your lives, I
+will at least unite you after your deaths.' And he bade lay them out:
+so they washed them and shrouded them in one shroud and dug for them
+one grave and prayed one prayer over them both and buried them in one
+tomb; nor was there man or woman in the two parties but I saw weeping
+over them and buffeting their faces. Then I questioned the Shaykh of
+them, and he said, 'She was my daughter and he my brother's son; and
+love brought them to the pass thou seest.' I exclaimed, 'Allah amend
+thee! but why didst thou not marry them to each other?' Quoth he, 'I
+feared shame[FN#197] and dishonour; and now I am fallen into both.' "
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE MAD LOVER.
+
+Quoth Abu 'l-Abbαs al-Mubarrad,[FN#198] "I set out one day with a
+company to Al-Bαrid on an occasion and, coming to the monastery of
+Hirakl,[FN#199] we alighted in its shade. Presently a man came out to
+us and said, 'There are madmen in the monastery,[FN#200] and amongst
+them one who speaketh wisdom; if ye saw him, ye would marvel at his
+speech.' So we arose all and went into the monastery' where we saw a
+man seated on a skin mat in one of the cells, with bare head and eyes
+intently fixed upon the wall. We saluted him, and he returned our
+salaam, without looking at us, and one said to us, 'Repeat some verses
+to him; for, when he heareth verse, he speaketh.' So I repeated these
+two couplets,
+
+     'O best of race to whom gave Hawwa[FN#201] boon of birth, *
+
+
+          Except for thee the world were neither sweet nor fair!
+
+
+     Thou'rt he, whose face, by Allah shown to man, *
+
+
+          Doth ward off death, decay and hoary hair.'
+
+
+
+When he heard from me this praise of the Apostle he turned towards us
+and repeated these lines,
+
+     'Well Allah wotteth I am sorely plagued: *
+
+
+          Nor can I show my pain to human sight.
+
+
+     Two souls have I, one soul is here contained, *
+
+
+          While other woneth in another site.
+
+
+     Meseems the absent soul's like present soul, *
+
+
+          And that she suffers what to me is dight.'
+
+
+
+Then he asked us. 'Have I said well or said ill? And we answered, 'Thou
+hast said the clean contrary of ill, well and right well.' Then he put
+out his hand to a stone, that was by him and took it up; whereupon
+thinking he would throw it at us we fled from him; but he fell to
+beating upon his breast therewith violent blows and said to us, 'Fear
+not, but draw near and hear somewhat from me and receive it from me.'
+So we came back, and he repeated these couplets,
+
+'When they made their camels yellow white kneel down at dawning
+
+
+     grey * They mounted her on crupper and the camel went his
+
+
+     way,
+
+
+Mine eye balls through the prison wall beheld them, and I cried *
+
+
+     With streaming eyelids and a heart that burnt in dire dismay
+
+
+O camel driver turn thy beast that I farewell my love! * In
+
+
+     parting and farewelling her I see my doomed day
+
+
+I'm faithful to my vows of love which I have never broke, * Would
+
+
+     Heaven I kenned what they have done with vows that vowed
+
+
+     they!'
+
+
+
+Then he looked at me and said, 'Say me, dost thou know what they
+did?'[FN#202] Answered I, 'Yes, they are dead; Almighty Allah have
+mercy on them!' At this his face changed and he sprang to his feet and
+cried out, 'How knowest thou they be dead?;' and I replied, 'Were they
+alive they had not left thee thus.' Quoth he, 'By Allah, thou art
+right, and I care not to live after them.' Then his side muscles
+quivered and he fell on his face; and we ran up to him and shook him
+and found him dead, the mercy of the Almighty be on him! At this we
+marvelled and mourned for him and, sore mourning, laid him out and
+buried him".—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Mubarrad thus
+continued: "When the man fell we mourned over him with sore mourning
+and laid him out and buried him. And when I returned to Baghdad and
+went in to the Caliph al-Mutawakkil, he saw the trace of tears on my
+face and said to me, 'What is this?' So I told him what had passed and
+it was grievous to him and he cried, 'What moved thee to deal thus with
+him?[FN#203] By Allah, if I thought thou didst not repent it and regret
+him I would punish thee therefor!' And he mourned for him the rest of
+the day." And amongst the tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM.
+
+Quoth Abu Bakr Mohammed ibn Al-Anbαri[FN#204]: "I once left Anbαr on a
+journey to 'Amϊrνyah,[FN#205] where there came out to me the prior of
+the monastery and superior of the monkery, Abd al-Masνh hight, and
+brought me into the building. There I found forty religious, who
+entertained me that night with fair guest rite, and I left them after
+seeing among them such diligence in adoration and devotion as I never
+beheld the like of in any others. Next day I farewelled them and fared
+forth and, after doing my business at 'Amuriyah, I returned to my home
+at Anbar. And next year I made pilgrimage to Meccah and as I was
+circumambulating the Holy House I saw Abd al-Masih the monk also
+compassing the Ka'abah, and with him five of his fellows, the
+shavelings. Now when I was sure that it was indeed he, I accosted him,
+saying, 'Art thou not Abd al-Masih, the Religious?' and he replied,
+'Nay, I am Abdallah, the Desirous.'[FN#206] Therewith I fell to kissing
+his grey hairs and shedding tears; then, taking him by the hand, I led
+him aside into a corner of the Temple and said to him, 'Tell me the
+cause of thy conversion to al-Islam;' and he made reply, 'Verily, 'twas
+a wonder of wonders, and befell thus. A company of Moslem devotees came
+to the village wherein is our convent, and sent a youth to buy them
+food. He saw, in the market, a Christian damsel selling bread, who was
+of the fairest of women; and he was struck at first sight with such
+love of her, that his senses failed him and he fell on his face in a
+fainting fit. When he revived, he returned to his companions and told
+them what had befallen him, saying, 'Go ye about your business; I may
+not go with you.' They chided him and exhorted him, but he paid no heed
+to them; so they left him whilst he entered the village and seated
+himself at the door of the woman's booth.[FN#207] She asked him what he
+wanted, and he told her that he was in love with her whereupon she
+turned from him; but he abode in his place three days without tasting
+food, keeping his eyes fixed on her face. Now whenas she saw that he
+departed not from her, she went to her people and acquainted them with
+his case, and they set on him the village boys, who stoned him and
+bruised his ribs and broke his head; but, for all this, he would not
+budge. Then the villagers took counsel together to slay him; but a man
+of them came to me and told me of his case, and I went out to him and
+found him lying prostrate on the ground. So I wiped the blood from his
+face and carried him to the convent, and dressed his wounds; and there
+he abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as he could walk, he left
+the monastery"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah the
+Religious continued: "So I carried him to the convent and dressed his
+wounds, and he abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as he could
+walk, he left the monastery and returned to the door of the woman 's
+booth, where he sat gazing on her as before. When she saw him she came
+out to him and said, 'By Allah thou movest me to pity! wilt thou enter
+my faith that I may marry thee?' He cried, 'Allah forbid that I should
+put off the faith of Unity and enter that of Plurality!'[FN#208] Quoth
+she, 'Come in with me to my house and take thy will of me and wend thy
+ways in peace.' Quoth he, 'Not so, I will not waste the worship of
+twelve years for the lust of an eye-twinkle.' Said she, 'Then depart
+from me forthwith;' and he said, 'My heart will not suffer me to do
+that;' whereupon she turned her countenance from him. Presently the
+boys found him out and began to pelt him with stones; and he fell on
+his face, saying, 'Verily, Allah is my protector, who sent down the
+Book of the Koran; and He protecteth the Righteous![FN#209] At this I
+sallied forth and driving away the boys, lifted his head from the
+ground and heard him say, 'Allah mine, unite me with her in Paradise!'
+Then I carried him to the monastery, but he died, before I could reach
+it, and I bore him without the village and I dug for him a grave and
+buried him. And next night when half of it was spent, the damsel cried
+with a great cry (and she in her bed); so the villagers flocked to her
+and questioned her of her case. Quoth she, 'As I slept, behold the
+Moslem man came in to me and taking me by the hand, carried me to the
+gate of Paradise; but the Guardian denied me entrance, saying, 'Tis
+forbidden to unbelievers.' So I embraced Al Islam at his hands and,
+entering with him, beheld therein pavilions and trees, such as I cannot
+describe to you. Moreover, he brought me to a pavilion of jewels and
+said to me, 'Of a truth this is my pavilion and thine, nor will I enter
+it save with thee; but, after five nights thou shalt be with me
+therein, if it be the will of Allah Almighty.' Then he put forth his
+hand to a tree which grew at the door of the pavilion and plucked there
+from two apples and gave them to me, saying, 'Eat this and keep the
+other, that the monks may see it.' So I ate one of them and never
+tasted I aught sweeter.' "—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman
+continued: "'So he plucked two apples and gave them to me, saying, 'Eat
+this and keep the other that the monks may see it.' So I ate one of
+them and never tasted I aught sweeter. Then he took my hand and fared
+forth and carried me back to my house; and, when I awoke, I found the
+taste of the apple in my mouth and the other in my hand.' So saying she
+brought out the apple, and in the darkness of the night it shone as it
+were a sparkling star. So they carried her (and the apple with her) to
+the monastery, where she repeated her vision and showed it to us; never
+saw we its like among all the fruits of the world. Then I took a knife
+and cut the apple into pieces according as we were folk in company; and
+never knew we aught more delicious than its savour nor more delightsome
+than its scent; but we said, 'Haply this was a devil that appeared unto
+her to seduce her from her faith.' Thereupon her people took her and
+went away; but she abstained from eating and drinking and on the fifth
+night she rose from her bed, and going forth the village to the grave
+of her Moslem lover threw herself upon it and died, her family not
+knowing what was come of her. But, on the morrow, there came to the
+village two Moslem elders, clad in hair cloth, and with them two women
+in like garb, and said, 'O people of the village, with you is a woman
+Saint, a Waliyah of the friends of Allah, who died a Moslemah; and we
+will take charge of her in lieu of you.' So the villagers sought her
+and found her dead on the Moslem's grave; and they said, 'This was one
+of us and she died in our faith; so we will take charge of her.'
+Rejoined the two old men, 'Nay, she died a Moslemah and we claim her.'
+And the dispute waxed to a quarrel between them, till one of the
+Shaykhs said, 'Be this the test of her faith: the forty monks of the
+monastery shall come and try to lift her from the grave. If they
+succeed, then she died a Nazarene; if not, one of us shall come and
+lift her up and if she be lifted by him, she died a Moslemah.' The
+villagers agreed to this and fetched the forty monks, who heartened one
+another, and came to her to lift her, but could not. Then we tied a
+great rope round her middle and haled at it; but the rope broke in
+sunder, and she stirred not; and the villagers came and did the like,
+but could not move her from her place.[FN#210] At last, when all means
+failed, we said to one of the two Shaykhs, 'Come thou and lift her.' So
+he went up to the grave and, covering her with his mantle, said, 'In
+the name of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate, and of the
+Faith of the Apostle of Allah, on whom be prayers and peace!' Then he
+lifted her and, taking her in his bosom, betook himself with her to a
+cave hard by, where they laid her, and the two women came and washed
+her and shrouded her. Then the two elders bore her to her Moslem
+lover's grave and prayed over her and buried her by his side and went
+their ways. Now we were eye witnesses of all this; and, when we were
+alone with one another, we said, 'In sooth, the truth is most worthy to
+be followed;'[FN#211] and indeed the verity hath been made manifest to
+us, nor is there a proof more patent of the truth of al-Islam than that
+we have seen this day with our eyes.' So I and all the monks became
+Moslems and on like wise did the villagers; and we sent to the people
+of Mesopotamia for a doctor of the law, to instruct us in the
+ordinances of al-Islam and the canons of the Faith. They sent us a
+learned man and a pious, who taught us the rites of prayer and the
+tenets of the faith; and we are now in ease abounding; so to Allah be
+the praise and the thanks!" And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN.
+
+Quoth Amrϊ bin Masa'dah:[FN#212] "Abϊ Isα, son of al-Rashνd and brother
+to al-Maamun, was enamoured of one Kurrat al-Ayn, a slave girl
+belonging to Ali bin Hishαm,[FN#213] and she also loved him; but he
+concealed his passion, complaining of it to none neither discovering
+his secret to anyone, of his pride and magnanimity; for he had used his
+utmost endeavour to purchase her of her master, but he had failed. At
+last when his patience was at an end and his passion was sore on him
+and he was helpless in the matter, he went in to al-Maamun, one day of
+state after the folk had retired, and said to him, 'O Commander of the
+Faithful, if thou wilt this day make trial of thine Alcaydes by taking
+them unawares, thou wilt know the generous from the mean and note each
+one's place, after the quality of his mind.' But, in saying this he
+purposed only to sit with Kurrat al-Ayn in her lord's house. Quoth
+al-Maamun, 'Right is thy recking,' and bade make ready a barge, called
+'the Flyer,' wherein he embarked with Abu Isa and a party of his chief
+officers. The first mansion he visited unexpectedly was that of Hamνd
+al-Tawil of Tϊs, whom he found seated"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Maamun
+embarked with his chief officers and fared on till they reached the
+mansion of Hamνd al-Tawil of Tϊs; and, unexpectedly entering they found
+him seated on a mat and before him singers and players with lutes and
+flageolets and other instruments of music in their hands. So Al Maamun
+sat with him awhile and presently he set before him dishes of nothing
+but flesh meat, with no birds among them. The Caliph would not taste
+thereof and Abu Isa said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, we have
+taken the owner of this place unawares, and he knew not of thy coming;
+but now let us go to another place which is prepared for thee and
+fitted for thee." Thereupon the Caliph arose and betook himself with
+his brother Abu Isa and his suite, to the abode of Ali son of Hisham
+who, on hearing of their approach, came out and received them with the
+goodliest of reception, and kissed the earth before the King. Then he
+brought them into his mansion and opened to them a saloon than which
+seer never saw a goodlier. Its floors, pillars and walls were of many
+coloured marbles, adorned with Greek paintings: and it was spread with
+matting of Sind[FN#214] whereon were carpets and tapestry of Bassorah
+make, fitted to the length and breadth of the room. So the Caliph sat
+awhile, examining the house and its ceilings and walls, then said,
+"Give us somewhat to eat." So they brought him forthwith nearly an
+hundred dishes of poultry besides other birds and brewises, fritters
+and cooling marinades. When he had eaten, he said, "Give us some thing
+to drink, O Ali;" and the host set before him, in vessels of gold and
+silver and crystal, raisin wine boiled down to one third with fruits
+and spices; and the cupbearers were pages like moons, clad in garments
+of Alexandrian stuff interwoven with gold and bearing on their breasts
+beakers of crystal, full of rose water mingled with musk. So al-Maamun
+marvelled with exceeding marvel at all he saw and said, "Ho thou, Abu
+al-Hasan!" Whereupon Ali sprang to the Caliph's carpet and kissing it,
+said, "At thy service, O Commander of the Faithful!" and stood before
+him. Quoth al-Maamun, "Let us hear some pleasant and merry song."
+Replied Ali, "I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful," and said
+to one of his eunuchs, "Fetch the singing women." So the slave went out
+and presently returned, followed by ten castratos, bearing ten stools
+of gold, which they set down in due order; and after these came ten
+damsels, concubines of the master, as they were shining full moons or
+gardens full of bloom, clad in black brocade, with crowns of gold on
+their heads; and they passed along the room till they sat down on the
+stools, when sang they sundry songs. Al-Maamun looked at one of them;
+and, being captivated by her elegance and fair favour, asked her, "What
+is thy name, O damsel?"; and she answered, "My name is Sajαhν,[FN#215]
+O Commander of the Faithful," and he said, "Sing to us, O Sajahi!" So
+she played a lively measure and sang these couplets,
+
+     "I walk, for fear of interview, the weakling's walk *
+
+
+          Who sees two lion whelps the fount draw nigh:
+
+
+     My cloak acts sword, my heart's perplex'd with fright, *
+
+
+          Lest jealous hostile eyes th' approach descry:
+
+
+     Till sudden hapt I on a delicate maid *
+
+
+          Like desert-doe that fails her fawns to espy."
+
+
+
+Quoth the Caliph, "Thou hast done well, O damsel! whose are these
+lines?" She answered, "Written by Amru bin Ma'di Karib al
+-Zubaydi,[FN#216] and the air is Ma'abid's."[FN#217] Then the Caliph
+and Abu Isa and Ali drank and the damsels went away and were succeeded
+by other ten, all clad in flowered silk of Al-Yaman, brocaded with
+gold, who sat down on the chairs and sang various songs. The Caliph
+looked at one of the concubines, who was like a wild heifer of the
+waste, and said to her, "What is thy name, O damsel?" She replied, "My
+name is Zabiyah,[FN#218] 0 Commander of the Faithful;" and he, "Sing to
+us Zabiyah;" so she warbled like a bird with many a trill and sang
+these two couplets,
+
+     "Houris, and highborn Dames who feel no fear of men, *
+
+
+          Like Meccan game forbidden man to slam:[FN#219]
+
+
+     Their soft sweet voices make you deem them whores, *
+
+
+          But bars them from all whoring Al-Islam."
+
+
+
+When she had finished, al-Maamun cried, "favoured of Allah art
+thou!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the slave
+girl finished her song, al-Maamun cried, "Favoured of Allah art thou!
+Whose is this verse?" and she answered, "Jarνr's[FN#220] and the air is
+By Ibn Surayj." Then the Caliph and his company drank, whilst the girls
+went away and there came forth yet other ten, as they were rubies,
+robed in red brocade inwoven with gold and purfled with pearls and
+jewels whilst all their heads were bare. They sat down on the stools
+and sang various airs; so the Caliph looked at one of them, who was
+like the sun of the day, and asked her, "What is thy name, O damsel?";
+and she answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, my name is Fαtin."
+"Sing to us, O Fatin," quoth he; whereat she played a lively measure
+and sang these couplets,
+
+     "Deign grant thy favours; since 'tis time I were engraced; *
+
+
+          Tnough of severance hath it been my lot to taste.
+
+
+     Thou'rt he whose face cloth every gift and charm unite, *
+
+
+          Yet is my patience spent for that 'twas sore misplaced:
+
+
+     I've wasted life in loving thee; and would high Heaven *
+
+
+          Grant me one meeting hour for all this wilful waste."
+
+
+
+"Well sung, O Fatin!'' exclaimed the Caliph; "whose verse is this?" And
+she answered, "Adi bin Zayd's, and the air is antique." Then all three
+drank, whilst the damsels retired and were succeeded by other ten
+maidens, as they were sparkling stars, clad in flowered silk
+embroidered with red gold and girt with jewelled zones. They sat down
+and sang various motives; and the Caliph asked one of them, who was
+like a wand of willow, "What is thy name, O damsel?"; and she answered,
+"My name is Rashaa,[FN#221] 0 Commander of the Faithful." "Sing to us,
+O Rashaa," quoth he; so she played a lively measure and sang these
+couplets,
+
+     "And wand-like Houri, who can passion heal *
+
+
+          Like young gazelle that paceth o'er the plain:
+
+
+     I drain this wine cup on the toast, her cheek, *
+
+
+          Each cup disputing till she bends in twain
+
+
+     Then sleeps the night with me, the while I cry *
+
+
+          'This is the only gain my Soul would gain!' "
+
+
+
+Said the Caliph, "Well done, O damsel! Sing us something more." So she
+rose and kissing the ground before him, sang the following distich,
+
+     "She came out to gaze on the bridal at ease *
+
+
+          In a shift that reeked of ambergris."
+
+
+
+The Caliph was highly pleased with this couplet and, when the slave
+girl saw how much it delighted him, she repeated it several times. Then
+said al-Maamun, "Bring up 'the Flyer,'" being minded to embark and
+depart: but Ali bin Hisham said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, I
+have a slave girl, whom I bought for ten thousand diners; she hath
+taken my heart in whole and part, and I would fain display her to the
+Commander of the Faithful. If she please him and he will accept of her,
+she is his: and if not, let him hear something from her." Said the
+Caliph, "Bring her to me;" and forth came a damsel, as she were a
+branchlet of willow, with seducing eyes and eyebrows set like twin
+bows; and on her head she wore a crown of red gold crusted with pearls
+and jewelled, under which was a fillet bearing this couplet wrought in
+letters of chrysolite,
+
+     "A Jinniyah this, with her Jinn, to show *
+
+
+          How to pierce man's heart with a stringless bow!"
+
+
+
+The handmaiden walked, with the gait of a gazelle in flight and fit to
+damn a devotee, till she came to a chair, whereon she seated
+herself.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the hand maiden
+walked with the gait of a gazelle in flight, fit to damn a devotee,
+till she came to a chair whereon she seated herself. And Al-Maamun
+marvelled at her beauty and loveliness; but, when Abu Isa saw her, his
+heart throbbed with pain, his colour changed to pale and wan and he was
+in evil case. Asked the Caliph, "O Abu Isa, what aileth thee to change
+thus?"; and he answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is because of
+a twitch that seizeth me betimes." Quoth the Caliph, "Hast thou known
+yonder damsel before to day?" Quoth he, "Yes, O Commander of the
+Faithful, can the moon be concealed?" Then said al-Maamun to her, "What
+is thy name, O damsel?"; and she replied, "My name is Kurrat al-Ayn. O
+Commander of the Faithful," and he rejoined, "Sing to us, O Kurrat
+al-Ayn." So she sang these two couplets,
+
+     "The loved ones left thee in middle night, *
+
+
+          And fared with the pilgrims when dawn shone bright:
+
+
+     The tents of pride round the domes they pitched, *
+
+
+          And with broidered curtains were veiled fro' sight."
+
+
+
+Quoth the Caliph, "Favoured of Heaven art thou, O Kurrat al-Ayn! Whose
+song is that?"; whereto she answered "The words are by Di'ibil
+al-Khuza'i, and the air by Zurzϊr al-Saghνr." Abu Isa looked at her and
+his tears choked him; so that the company marvelled at him. Then she
+turned to al-Maamun and said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, wilt
+thou give me leave to change the words?" Said he, "Sing what thou
+wilt;" so she played a merry measure and carolled these couplets,
+
+     "If thou should please a friend who pleaseth thee *
+
+
+          Frankly, in public practise secrecy.
+
+
+     And spurn the slanderer's tale, who seldom[FN#222] *
+
+
+          seeks Except the severance of true love to see.
+
+
+     They say, when lover's near, he tires of love, *
+
+
+          And absence is for love best remedy:
+
+
+     Both cures we tried and yet we are not cured, *
+
+
+          Withal we judge that nearness easier be:
+
+
+     Yet nearness is of no avail when he *
+
+
+          Thou lovest lends thee love unwillingly."
+
+
+
+But when she had finished, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the Faithful,"
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kurrat
+al-Ayn had finished her verse, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, though we endure disgrace, we shall be at ease.[FN#223] Dost
+thou give me leave to reply to her?" Quoth the Caliph, "Yes, say what
+thou wilt to her." So he swallowed his tears and sang these two
+distichs,
+
+     "Silent I woned and never owned my love; *
+
+
+          But from my heart I hid love's blissful boon;
+
+
+     Yet, if my eyes should manifest my love, *
+
+
+          'Tis for my nearness to the shining moon."
+
+
+
+Then Kurrat al-Ayn took the lute and played a lively tune and rejoined
+with these couplets,
+
+     "An what thou claimest were the real truth, *
+
+
+          With only Hope content thou hadst not been
+
+
+     Nor couldest patient live without the girl *
+
+
+          So rare of inner grace and outward mien.
+
+
+     But there is nothing in the claim of thee *
+
+
+          At all, save tongue and talk that little mean."
+
+
+
+When Abu Isa heard this he fell to weeping and wailing and evidencing
+his trouble and anguish. Then he raised his eyes to her and sighing,
+repeated these couplets,
+
+     "Under my raiment a waste body lies, *
+
+
+          And in my spirit all comprising prize.
+
+
+     I have a heart, whose pain shall aye endure, *
+
+
+          And tears like torrents pour these woeful eyes.
+
+
+     Whene'er a wise man spies me, straight he chides *
+
+
+          Love, that misleads me thus in ways unwise:
+
+
+     O Lord, I lack the power this dole to bear: *
+
+
+          Come sudden Death or joy in bestest guise!"
+
+
+
+When he had ended, Ali bin Hisham sprang up and kissing his feet, said,
+"O my lord, Allah hearing thy secret hath answered thy prayer and
+consenteth to thy taking her with all she hath of things rare and fair,
+so the Commander of the Faithful have no mind to her." Quoth Al Maamun,
+"Had we a mind to her, we would prefer Abu Isa before ourselves and
+help him to his desire." So saying, he rose and embarking, went away,
+whilst Abu Isa tarried for Kurrat al-Ayn, whom he took and carried to
+his own house, his breast swelling with joy. See then the generosity of
+Ali son of Hisham! And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+AL-AMIN SON OF AL-RASHID AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI.
+
+Al-Amin,[FN#224] brother of al-Maamun, once entered the house of his
+uncle Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi, where he saw a slave girl playing upon the
+lute; and, she being one of the fairest of women, his heart inclined to
+her. Ibrahim, seeing how it was with him, sent the girl to him, with
+rich raiment and precious ornaments. When he saw her, he thought that
+his uncle had lain with her; so he was loath to have to do with her,
+because of that, and accepting what came with her sent her back to
+Ibrahim. His uncle learnt the cause of this from one of al-Amin's
+eunuchs; so he took a shift of watered silk and worked upon its skirt,
+in letters of gold, these two couplets,
+
+     "No! I declare by Him to whom all bow, *
+
+
+          Of nothing 'neath her petticoat I trow:
+
+
+     Nor meddle with her mouth; nor aught did I *
+
+
+          But see and hear her, and it was enow!"
+
+
+
+Then he clad her in the shift and, giving her a lute, sent her back
+again to his nephew. When she came into al-Amin's presence, she kissed
+ground before him and tuning the lute, sang thereto these two couplets,
+
+     "Thy breast thou baredst sending back the gift; *
+
+
+          Showing unlove for me withouten shift:
+
+
+     An thou bear spite of Past, the Past forgive, *
+
+
+          And for the Caliphate cast the Past adrift."
+
+
+
+When she had made an end of her verse, Al-Amin looked at her and,
+seeing what was upon her skirt, could no longer control him self, And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Amin
+looked at the damsel and saw what was upon her skirt, he could no
+longer control himself, but drew near unto her and kissed her and
+appointed her a separate lodging in his palace. Moreover, he thanked
+his uncle for this and bestowed on him the government of Rayy. And a
+tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+AL-FATH BIN KHAKAN AND THE CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL.
+
+Al-Mutawakkil[FN#225] was once taking medicine, and folk sent him by
+way of solace all sorts of presents and rarities and things costly and
+precious. Amongst others, al-Fath bin Khαkαn[FN#226] sent him a virgin
+slave, high breasted, of the fairest among women of her time, and with
+her a vase of crystal, containing ruddy wine, and a goblet of red gold,
+whereon were graven in black these couplets,
+
+     "Since our Imam came forth from medicine, *
+
+
+          Which made him health and heartiness rewin,
+
+
+     There is no healing draught more sovereign *
+
+
+          Than well boiled wine this golden goblet in:
+
+
+     Then let him break the seal for him secured; *
+
+
+          'Tis best prescription after medicine[FN#227]
+
+
+
+Now when the damsel entered, the physician Yohannα[FN#228] was with the
+Caliph, and as he read the couplets, he smiled and said, "By Allah, O
+Commander of the Faithful, Fath is better versed than I in the art of
+healing: so let not the Prince of True Believers gainsay his
+prescription." Accordingly, the Caliph followed the recipe contained in
+the poetry and was made whole by the blessing of Allah and won his
+every wish. And among tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+THE MAN'S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN CONCERNING THE RELATIVE
+EXCELLENCE OF MALE AND FEMALE.
+
+Quoth a certain man of learning, "I never saw amongst woman kind one
+wittier, and wiser, better read and by nature more generously bred; and
+in manners and morals more perfected than a preacher of the people of
+Baghdad, by name Sitt al-Mashα'ikh.[FN#229] It chanced that she came to
+Hamah city in the year of the Flight five hundred and sixty and
+one[FN#230]; and there delivered salutary exhortations to the folk from
+the professorial chair. Now there used to visit her house a number of
+students of divinity and persons of learning and polite letters, who
+would discuss with her questions of theology and dispute with her on
+controversial points. I went to her one day, with a friend of mine, a
+man of years and education; and when we had taken our seats, she set
+before us a dish of fruit and seated herself behind a curtain. Now she
+had a brother, a handsome youth, who stood behind us, to serve us. And
+when we had eaten we fell to disputing upon points of divinity, and I
+propounded to her a theological question bearing upon a difference
+between the Imams, the Founders of the Four Schools. She proceeded to
+speak in answer, whilst I listened; but all the while my friend fell to
+looking upon her brother's face and admiring his beauties without
+paying any heed to what she discoursed. Now as she was watching him
+from behind the curtain; when she had made an end of her speech, she
+turned to him and said, 'Methinks thou be of those who give men the
+preference over women!' He replied, 'Assuredly,' and she asked, 'And
+why so?'; whereto he answered, 'For that Allah hath made the masculine
+worthier than the feminine,'" —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+replied, " 'For that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the
+feminine; and I like the excelling and mislike the excelled.' She
+laughed and presently said, 'Wilt thou deal fairly with me in debate,
+if I battle the matter with thee?' and he rejoined, 'Yes.' Then quoth
+she, 'What is the evidence of the superiority of the male to the
+female?' Quoth he, 'It is of two kinds, traditional and reasonable. The
+authoritative part deriveth from the Koran and the Traditions of the
+Apostle. As for the first we have the very words of Almighty Allah,
+'Men shall have the pre-eminence above women because of those
+advantages wherein Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the
+other;[FN#231] and again, 'If there be not two men, let there be one
+man and two women;'[FN#232] and again, when treating of inheritance,
+'If there be brothers and sisters let a male have as much as the
+portion of two females.'[FN#233] Thus Allah (extolled and exalted be
+He!) hath in these places preferred the male over the female and
+teacheth that a woman is as the half of a man, for that he is worthier
+than she. As for the Sunnah traditions, is it not reported of the
+Prophet (whom Allah save and assain!) that he appointed the blood money
+for a woman to be half that of a man. And as for the evidence of
+reason, the male is the agent and active and the female the patient and
+passive.'[FN#234] Rejoined she, 'Thou hast said well, O my lord, but,
+by Allah, thou hast proved my contention with thine own lips and hast
+advanced evidence which telleth against thee, and not for thee. And
+thus it is: Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) preferred the male
+above the female solely because of the inherent condition and essential
+quality of masculinity; and in this there is no dispute between us. Now
+this quality of male-hood is common to the child, the boy, the youth,
+the adult and the old man; nor is there any distinction between them in
+this. If, then, the superior excellence of male masculant belong to him
+solely by virtue of manhood, it behoveth that thy heart incline and thy
+sole delight in the graybeard, equally with the boy; seeing that there
+is no distinction between them, in point of male-hood. But the
+difference between thee and me turneth upon the accident of qualities
+that are sought as constituting the pleasure of intercourse and its
+enjoyment; and thou hast adduced no proof of the superiority of the
+youth over the young girl in this matter of non-essentials.' He made
+answer, 'O reverend lady, knowest thou not that which is peculiar to
+the youth of limber shape and rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and
+sweetness of speech? Youths are, in these respects superior to women;
+and the proof of this is what they traditionally report of the Prophet
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!) that he said, 'Stay not thy gaze upon
+the beardless, for in them is a momentary eye glance at the black eyed
+girls of Paradise.' Nor indeed is the superiority of the lad over the
+lass hidden to any of mankind, and how well saith Abu Nowas,[FN#235]
+
+     'The least of him is the being free *
+
+
+          From monthly courses and pregnancy.'
+
+
+
+And the saying of another poet,
+
+     'Quoth our Imam, Abu Nowas, who was *
+
+
+          For mad debauch and waggishness renowned:
+
+
+     'O tribe that loves the cheeks of boys, take fill *
+
+
+          Of joys in Paradise shall ne'er be found!'
+
+
+
+So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and wish to enhance her
+value by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to a youth,'"
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+continued, "'So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and wish
+to enhance her value by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to
+a youth, because of the illustrious qualities that belong to the male,
+even as saith the poet,
+
+     'Boy like of backside, in the deed of kind, *
+
+
+          She sways, as sways the wand like boughs a-wind.'
+
+
+
+An youths, then, were not better and fairer than girls, why should
+these be likened to them? And know also (Almighty Allah preserve thee!)
+that a youth is easy to be led, adapting himself to every rede,
+pleasant of converse and manners, inclining to assent rather than
+dissent, especially when his side face is newly down'd and his upper
+lip is first embrowned, and the purple lights of youth on his cheeks
+abound, so that he is like the full moon sound; and how goodly is the
+saying of Abu Tammαm[FN#236],
+
+     'The slanderers said 'There's hair upon his cheeks'; *
+
+
+          Quoth I, 'Exceed not, that's no blemish there.'
+
+
+     When he could bear that haling of his hips *
+
+
+          And pearl-beads shaded by mustachio hair;[FN#237]
+
+
+     And Rose swore solemn, holiest oath that is, *
+
+
+          From that fair cheek she nevermore would fare
+
+
+     I spoke with eyelids without need of speech, *
+
+
+          And they who answered me his eyebrows were.
+
+
+     He's even fairer than thou knewest him, *
+
+
+          And cheek down guards from all would overdare.
+
+
+     Brighter and sweeter now are grown his charms, *
+
+
+          Since down robes lip and cheek before were bare.
+
+
+     And those who blame me for my love of him, *
+
+
+          When him they mention say of him, 'Thy Fair'!'
+
+
+
+And quoth al-Hariri[FN#238] and quoth excellently well,
+
+     'My censors say, 'What means this pine for him? *
+
+
+          Seest not the flowing hair on cheeks a flowing?'
+
+
+     I say, 'By Allah, an ye deem I dote, *
+
+
+          Look at the truth in those fine eyes a-showing!
+
+
+     But for the down that veils his cheek and chin, *
+
+
+          His brow had dazed all eyes no sight allowing:
+
+
+     And whoso sojourns in a growthless land, *
+
+
+          How shall he move from land fair growths a-growing?'
+
+
+
+And quoth another,
+
+     'My blamers say of me, 'He is consoled,' And lie! *
+
+
+          No consolation comes to those who pine and sigh.
+
+
+     I had no solace when Rose bloomed alone on cheek, *
+
+
+          Now Basil blooms thereon and now consoled am I.'
+
+
+
+And again,
+
+     'Slim waisted one, whose looks with down of cheek *
+
+
+          In slaughtering mankind each other hurtle
+
+
+     With the Narcissus blade he sheddeth blood, *
+
+
+          The baldrick of whose sheath is freshest
+
+
+          myrtle.'[FN#239]
+
+
+
+And again,
+
+     'Not with his must I'm drunk, but verily *
+
+
+          Those curls turn manly heads like newest wine[FN#240]
+
+
+     Each of his beauties envies each, and all *
+
+
+          Would be the silky down on side face li'en.'
+
+
+
+Such are the excellencies of the youth which women do not own, and they
+more than suffice to give those the preference over these.' She
+replied, 'Allah give thee health! verily, thou hast imposed the debate
+upon thyself; and thou hast spoken and hast not stinted and hast
+brought proofs to support every assertion. But, 'Now is the truth
+become manifest;'[FN#241] so swerve thou not from the path thereof;
+and, if thou be not content with a summary of evidence, I will set it
+before thee in fullest detail. Allah upon thee, where is the youth
+beside the girl and who shall compare kid and wild cow? The girl is
+soft of speech, fair of form, like a branchlet of basil, with teeth
+like chamomile-petals and hair like halters wherefrom to hang hearts.
+Her cheeks are like blood-red anemones and her face like a pippin: she
+hath lips like wine and breasts like pomegranates twain and a shape
+supple as a rattan-cane. Her body is well formed and with sloping
+shoulders dight; she hath a nose like the edge of a sword shining
+bright and a forehead brilliant white and eyebrows which unite and eyes
+stained by Nature's hand black as night. If she speak, fresh young
+pearls are scattered from her mouth forthright and all hearts are
+ravished by the daintiness of her sprite; when she smileth thou wouldst
+ween the moon shone out her lips between and when she eyes thee, sword
+blades flash from the babes of her eyes. In her all beauties to
+conclusion come, and she is the centre of attraction to traveller and
+stay-at-home. She hath two lips of cramoisy, than cream smoother and of
+taste than honey sweeter,'" —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the preacher
+woman thus pursued her theme in the praise of fair maids, "'She hath
+two lips of cramoisy, than cream smoother and than honey sweeter;'
+adding, 'And she hath a bosom, as it were a way two hills between which
+are a pair of breasts like globes of ivory sheen; likewise, a stomach
+right smooth, flanks soft as the palm-spathe and creased with folds and
+dimples which overlap one another, and liberal thighs, which like
+columns of pearl arise, and back parts which billow and beat together
+like seas of glass or mountains of glance, and two feet and hands of
+gracious mould like unto ingots of virgin gold. So, O miserable! where
+are mortal men beside the Jinn? Knowest thou not that puissant princes
+and potent Kings before women ever humbly bend and on them for delight
+depend? Verily, they may say, 'We rule over necks and rob hearts.'
+These women! how many a rich man have they not paupered, how many a
+powerful man have they not prostrated and how many a superior man have
+they not enslaved! Indeed, they seduce the sage and send the saint to
+shame and bring the wealthy to want and plunge the fortune favoured
+into penury. Yet for all this, the wise but redouble in affection of
+them and honour; nor do they count this oppression or dishonour. How
+many a man for them hath offended his Maker and called down on him self
+the wrath of his father and mother! And all this because of the
+conquest of their love over hearts. Knowest thou not, O wretched one,
+that for them are built pavilions, and slave girls are for
+sale;[FN#242] that for them tear floods rail and for them are collected
+jewels of price and ambergris and musk odoriferous; and armies are
+arrayed and pleasaunces made and wealth heaped up and smitten off is
+many a head? And indeed he spoke sooth in the words, 'Whoso saith the
+world meaneth woman.' Now as for thy citation from the Holy Traditions,
+it is an argument against thee and not for thee in that the Prophet
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!) compareth the beardless with the black
+eyed girls of Paradise. Now, doubtless, the subject of comparison is
+worthier than the object there with compared; so, unless women be the
+worthier and the goodlier, wherefore should other than they be likened
+to them? As for thy saying that girls are likened to boys, the case is
+not so, but the contrary: boys are likened to girls; for folk say,
+Yonder boy is like a girl. As for what proof thou quotest from the
+poets, the verses were the product of a complexion unnatural in this
+respect; and as for the habitual sodomites and catamites, offenders
+against religion, Almighty Allah hath condemned them in His Holy
+Book,[FN#243] herein He denounceth their filthy practices, saying, 'Do
+ye approach unto the males among mankind[FN#244] and leave your wives
+which your Lord hath created for you? Surely ye are a people who
+transgress!' These it is that liken girls to boys, of their exceeding
+profligacy and ungraciousness and inclination to follow the fiend and
+own lusts, so that they say, 'She is apt for two tricks,'[FN#245] and
+these are all wanderers from the way of right and the righteous. Quoth
+their chief Abu Nowas,
+
+     'Slim waist and boyish wits delight *
+
+
+          Wencher, as well as Sodomite,'[FN#246]
+
+
+
+As for what thou sayest of a youth's first hair on cheek and lips and
+how they add to his beauty and loveliness, by Allah, thou strayest from
+the straight path of sooth and sayest that which is other than the
+truth; for whiskers change the charms of the comely into ugliness
+(quoting these couplets),
+
+     'That sprouting hair upon his face took wreak *
+
+
+          For lovers' vengeance, all did vainly seek.
+
+
+     I see not on his face a sign fuli- *
+
+
+          genous, except his curls are hue of reek.
+
+
+     If so his paper[FN#247] mostly be begrimed *
+
+
+          Where deemest thou the reed shall draw a streak?
+
+
+     If any raise him other fairs above, *
+
+
+          This only proves the judge of wits is weak.'
+
+
+
+And when she ended her verse she resumed, 'Laud be to Allah Almighty,'"
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the preacher
+woman ended her verse she resumed, addressing the man, " 'Laud to Allah
+Almighty! how can it be hid from thee that the perfect pleasure is in
+women and that abiding blessings are not to be found but with them,
+seeing that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath promised His
+prophets and saints black eyed damsels in Paradise and hath appointed
+these for a recompense of their godly works. And had the Almighty known
+that the joy supreme was in the possession of other than women, He had
+rewarded them therewith and promised it to them. And quoth he (whom
+Allah bless and preserve!), 'The things I hold dearest of the things of
+your world are three: women and perfume and the solace of my eyes in
+prayer.' Verily Allah hath appointed boys to serve his prophets and
+saints in Paradise, because Paradise is the abode of joy and delight,
+which could not be complete without the service of youths; but, as to
+the use of them for aught but service, it is Hell's putridity[FN#248]
+and corruption and turpitude. How well saith the poet,
+
+    'Men's turning unto bums of boys is bumptious; *
+
+
+          Whoso love noble women show their own noblesse.
+
+
+    How many goodly wights have slept the night, enjoying *
+
+
+          Buttocks of boys, and woke at morn in foulest mess
+
+
+    Their garments stained by safflower, which is yellow merde; *
+
+
+          Their shame proclaiming, showing colour of distress.
+
+
+    Who can deny the charge, when so bewrayed are they *
+
+
+          That e'en by day light shows the dung upon their dress?
+
+
+    What contrast wi' the man, who slept a gladsome night *
+
+
+          By Houri maid for glance a mere enchanteress,
+
+
+    He rises off her borrowing wholesome bonny scent; *
+
+
+          That fills the house with whiffs of perfumed
+
+
+          goodliness.
+
+
+    No boy deserved place by side of her to hold; *
+
+
+          Canst even aloes wood with what fills pool of
+
+
+          cess!'[FN#249]
+
+
+
+Then said she, 'O folk ye have made me to break the bounds of modesty
+and the circle of free born women and indulge in idle talk of
+chambering and wantonness, which beseemeth not people of learning. But
+the breasts of free-borns are the sepulchres of secrets' and such
+conversations are in confidence. Moreover, actions are according to
+intentions,[FN#250] and I crave pardon of Allah for myself and you and
+all Moslems, seeing that He is the Pardoner and the Compassionate.'
+Then she held her peace and thereafter would answer us of naught; so we
+went our way, rejoicing in that we had profited by her contention and
+yet sorrowing to part from her." And among the tales they tell is one
+of
+
+
+
+
+ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN.
+
+Quoth Abu Suwayd, "I and a company of my friends, entered a garden one
+day to buy somewhat of fruit; and we saw in a corner an old woman, who
+was bright of face, but her head-hair was white, and she was combing it
+with an ivory comb. We stopped before her, yet she paid no heed to us
+neither veiled her face: so I said to her, 'O old woman,[FN#251] wert
+thou to dye thy hair black, thou wouldst be handsomer than a girl: what
+hindereth thee from this?' She raised her head towards me"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Suwayd
+continued: "When I spake these words to the ancient dame she raised her
+head towards me and, opening wide her eyes, recited these two couplets,
+
+     'I dyed what years have dyed, but this my staining *
+
+
+          Lasts not, while that of days is aye remaining:
+
+
+     Days when beclad in gear of youth I fared, *
+
+
+          Raked fore and aft by men with joy unfeigning.'
+
+
+
+I cried, 'By Allah, favoured art thou for an old woman! How sincere art
+thou in thine after-pine for forbidden pleasures and how false is thy
+pretence of repentance from frowardness!'" And another tale is that of
+
+
+
+
+THE EMIR ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS.
+
+Once on a time was displayed for sale to Ali bin Mohammed bin Abdallah
+bin Tαhir[FN#252] a slave-girl called Muunis who was superior to her
+fellows in beauty and breeding, and to boot an accomplished poetess;
+and he asked her of her name. Replied she, "Allah advance the Emir, my
+name is Muunis."[FN#253] Now he knew this before; so he bowed his head
+awhile, then raising his eyes to her, recited this verse,
+
+     "What sayest of one by a sickness caught *
+
+
+          For the love of thy love till he waxed distraught?"
+
+
+
+Answered she, "Allah exalt the Emir!" and recited this verse in reply,
+
+     "If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, *
+
+
+          Wi' love we would grant him all favours he sought."
+
+
+
+She pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams and
+begat on her Obayd' Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister of
+Police.[FN#254] And we are told by Abu al-Aynα[FN#255] a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER.
+
+Quoth Abu al-Aynα, "There were in our street two women, one of whom had
+for lover a man and the other a beardless youth, and they foregathered
+one night on the terrace-roof of a house adjoining mine, knowing not
+that I was near. Quoth the boy's lover to the other, 'O my sister, how
+canst thou bear with patience the harshness of thy lover's beard as it
+falleth on thy breast, when he busseth thee and his mustachios rub thy
+cheek and lips?' Replied the other, 'Silly that thou art, what decketh
+the tree save its leaves and the cucumber but its warts?[FN#256] Didst
+ever see in the world aught uglier than a scald-head bald of his beard?
+Knowest thou not that the beard is to men as the sidelocks to women;
+and what is the difference between chin and cheek?[FN#257] Knowest thou
+not that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath created an angel in
+Heaven, who saith: 'Glory be to Him who ornamenteth men with beards and
+women with long hair?' So, were not the beard even as the tresses in
+comeliness, it had not been coupled with them, O silly! How shall I
+spread-eagle myself under a boy, who will emit long before I can go off
+and forestall me in limpness of penis and clitoris; and leave a man
+who, when he taketh breath clippeth close and when he entereth goeth
+leisurely, and when he hath done, repeateth, and when he pusheth poketh
+hard, and as often as he withdraweth, returneth?' The boy's leman was
+edified by her speech and said, 'I forswear my lover by the lord of the
+Ka'abah!'" And amongst tales is one of
+
+
+
+
+ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.
+
+There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great store
+of monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and houses beyond
+count, and his name was Hasan the Jeweller, the Baghdad man.
+Furthermore Allah had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and
+brilliancy; rosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-figured, whom he named
+Ali of Cairo, and had taught the Koran and science and elocution and
+the other branches of polite education, till he became proficient in
+all manner of knowledge. He was under his father's hand in trade but,
+after a while, Hasan fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he
+made sure of death; so he called his son to him,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Jeweller, the Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he called to
+him his son, named Ali of Cairo, and said, "O my son, verily this world
+passeth away; but the next world endureth for aye. Every soul shall
+taste of death;[FN#258] and now, O my son, my decease is at hand and I
+desire to charge thee with a charge, which if thou observe, thou shalt
+abide in safety and prosperity, till thou meet Almighty Allah; but if
+thou follow it not, there shall befal thee much weariness and thou wilt
+repent of having transgressed mine injunctions." Replied Ali, "O my
+father, how shall I do other than hearken to thy words and act
+according to thy charge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the
+Faith to obey thee and give ear to thy command?" Rejoined his father,
+"O my son, I leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past
+count; so that wert thou each day to spend thereof five hundred dinars,
+thou wouldst miss naught of it. But, O my son, look that thou live in
+the fear of Allah and follow His Chosen One, Mustafa, (whom may He
+bless and preserve!) in whatso he is reported to have bidden and
+forbidden in his traditional law.[FN#259] Be thou constant in
+alms-deeds and the practice of beneficence and in consorting with men
+of worth and piety and learning; and look that thou have a care for the
+poor and needy and shun avarice and meanness and the conversation of
+the wicked or those of suspicious character. Look thou kindly upon thy
+servants and family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the
+daughters of the great and is big with child by thee; haply Allah will
+vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her." And he ceased not to exhort him
+thus, weeping and saying, "O my son, I beseech Allah the Bountiful, the
+Lord of the glorious Empyrean[FN#260] to deliver thee from all straits
+that may encompass thee and grant thee His ready relief!" Thereupon his
+son wept with sore weeping and said, "O my father, I am melted by thy
+words, for these are as the words of one that saith farewell." Replied
+the merchant, "Yes, O my son, I am aware of my condition: forget thou
+not my charge." Then he fell to repeating the two professions of the
+Faith and to reciting verses of the Koran, until the appointed hour
+arrived, when he said, "Draw near unto me, O my son." So Ali drew near
+and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed his body and he
+went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[FN#261] Therewith great grief fell
+upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose in his house and his father's
+friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to preparing the body
+for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They bore his bier to the
+place of prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they
+buried him and recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran; after
+which they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man's son
+and wended each his own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayer for
+his father and had perlections of the Koran every day for the normal
+forty, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save
+to the place of prayer; and every Friday he visited his father's tomb.
+So he ceased not from his praying and reciting for some time, until his
+fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and
+saluting him, said, "How long this thy mourning and neglecting thy
+business and the company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion
+which will bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it
+exceedingly." Now when they came in to him, Iblis the Accursed was with
+them, prompting them; and they went on to recommend him to accompany
+them to the bazar, whilst Iblis tempted him to consent to them, till he
+yielded,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of
+the merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan the Jeweller,
+they recommended him to accompany them to the bazar, till he yielded,
+that the will of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) might be
+fulfilled; and he left the house of mourning with them. Presently they
+said, "Mount thy she-mule and ride with us to such a garden, that we
+may solace us there and that thy grief and despondency may depart from
+thee." So he mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden
+in question; and when they entered one of them went and making ready
+the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were merry
+and sat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted and
+returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. As soon
+as the morrow dawned, they again visited Ali and said, "Come with us."
+Asked he, "Whither?"; and they answered, "To such a garden; for it is
+finer than the first and more pleasurable." So he went with them to the
+garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and
+brought it to them, together with strong heady wine; and after eating,
+they brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, "What is this? and quoth
+they, "This is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth gladness. And
+they ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and
+he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end
+of the day, when each returned home. But as for Ali, the Cairene, he
+was giddy with wine and in this plight went in to his wife, who said to
+him, "What aileth thee that thou art so changed?" He said, "We were
+making merry to-day, when one of my companions brought us liquor; so my
+friends drank and I with them, and this giddiness came upon me." And
+she replied, "O my lord, say me, hast thou forgotten thy father's
+injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with
+doubtful folk?" Answered he, "These be of the sons of the merchants;
+they are no suspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer." And
+he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day, going
+from place to place and feasting with them and drinking, till they said
+to him, "Our turns are ended, and now it is thy turn." "Well come, and
+welcome and fair cheer!" cried he; so on the morrow, he made ready all
+that the case called for of meat and drink, two-fold what they had
+provided, and taking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[FN#262]
+repaired with the others to Al-Rauzah[FN#263] and the Nilometer, where
+they abode a whole month, eating and drinking and hearing music and
+making merry. At the end of the month, Ali found that he had spent a
+great sum of money; but Iblis the Accursed deluded him and said to him,
+"Though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou not
+miss aught of it." So he took no account of money expenses and
+continued this way of life for three years, whilst his wife
+remonstrated with him and reminded him of his father's charge; but he
+hearkened not to her words, till he had spent all the ready monies he
+had, when he fell to selling his jewels and spending their price, until
+they also were all gone. Then he sold his houses, fields, farms and
+gardens, one after other, till they likewise were all gone and he had
+nothing left but the tenement wherein he lived. So he tore out the
+marble and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had
+made an end of all this also, when he took thought with himself and,
+finding that he had nothing left to expend, sold the house itself and
+spent the purchase-money. After that, the man who had bought the house
+came to him and said "Seek out for thyself a lodging, as I have need of
+my house." So he bethought himself and, finding that he had no want of
+a house, except for his wife, who had borne him a son and daughter (he
+had not a servant left), he hired a large room in one of the mean
+courts[FN#264] and there took up his abode, after having lived in
+honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much wealth; and he soon came
+to want one day's bread. Quoth his wife, "Of this I warned thee and
+exhorted thee to obey thy father's charge, and thou wouldst not hearken
+to me; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah,
+the Glorious, the Great! Whence shall the little ones eat? Arise then,
+go round to thy friends, the sons of the merchants: belike they will
+give thee somewhat on which we may live this day." So he arose and went
+to his friends one by one; but they all hid their faces from him and
+gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but naught else; and he
+returned to his wife and said to her, "They have given me nothing."
+Thereupon she went forth to beg of her neighbours the wherewithal to
+keep themselves alive,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wife of Ali
+the Cairene, seeing her husband return empty-handed, went forth to beg
+of her neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive and repaired
+to a woman, whom she had known in former days. When she came in to her
+and she saw her case, she rose and receiving her kindly, wept and said,
+"What hath befallen you?" So she told her all that her husband had
+done, and the other replied, "Well come and welcome and fair cheer!;
+whatever thou needest, Seek it of me, without price." Quoth she, "Allah
+requite thee abundantly!"[FN#265] Then her friend gave her as much
+provision as would suffice herself and her family a whole month, and
+she took it and returned to her lodging. When her husband saw her, he
+wept and asked, "Whence hadst thou that?"; and she answered, "I got it
+of such a woman; for, when I told her what had befallen us, she failed
+me not in aught, but said, 'Seek of me all thou needest.'" Whereupon
+her husband rejoined, "Since thou hast this much I will betake myself
+to a place I have in my mind; peradventure Allah Almighty will bring us
+relief."[FN#266] With these words he took leave of her and kissed his
+children and went out, not knowing whither he should go, and he
+continued walking on till he came to Bulαk, where he saw a ship about
+to sail for Damietta.[FN#267] Here he met a man, between whom and his
+father there had been friendship, and he saluted him and said to him,
+"Whither now?" Replied Ali, "To Damietta: I have friends there, whom I
+would enquire after and visit them and then return." The man took him
+home and treated him honourably; then, furnishing him with vivers for
+the voyage and giving him some gold pieces, embarked him on board the
+vessel bound for Damietta. When they reached it, Ali landed, not
+knowing whither to go; but as he was walking along, a merchant saw him
+and had pity on him, and carried him to his house. Here he abode
+awhile, after which he said in himself, "How long this sojourning in
+other folk's homes?" Then he left the merchant's place and walked to
+the wharf where, after enquiry, he found a ship ready to sail for
+Syria. His hospitable host provided him with provision and embarked him
+in the ship; and it set sail and Ali reached in due season the Syrian
+shores where he disembarked and journeyed till he entered Damascus. As
+he walked about the great thoroughfare behold, a kindly man saw him and
+took him to his house, where he tarried for a time till, one day, going
+abroad, he saw a caravan about to start for Baghdad and bethought
+himself to journey thither with it. Thereupon he returned to his host
+and taking leave of him, set out with the Cafilah. Now Allah (extolled
+and exalted be He!) inclined to him the heart of one of the merchants,
+so that he took him with him, and Ali ate and drank with him, till they
+came within one day's journey of Baghdad. Here, however, a company of
+highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they had and but few of
+the merchants escaped. These made each for a separate place of refuge;
+but as for Ali the Cairene he fared for Baghdad, where he arrived at
+sundown, as the gatekeepers were about to shut the gates, and said to
+them, "Let me in with you." They admitted him and asked him, "Whence
+come, and whither wending?" and he answered, "I am a man from
+Cairo-city and have with me mules laden with merchandise and slaves and
+servants. I forewent them, to look me out a place wherein to deposit my
+goods: but, as I rode along on my she-mule, there fell upon me a
+company of banditti, who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from
+them but at my last gasp." The gate-guard entreated him honourably and
+bade him be of good cheer, saying, "Abide with us this night, and in
+the morning we will look thee out a place befitting thee." Then he
+sought in his breast-pocket and, finding a dinar of those given to him
+by the merchant at Bulak, handed it to one of the gatekeepers, saying,
+"Take this and change it and bring us something to eat." The man took
+it and went to the market, where he changed it, and brought Ali bread
+and cooked meat: so he ate, he and the gate-guards, and he lay the
+night with them. Now on the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a
+certain of the merchants of Baghdad, to whom he told the same story,
+and he believed him, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him
+loads of merchandise. Then he took him up into his shop and entreated
+him with honour; moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit of
+his own apparel for him and carried him to the Hammam. "So," quoth Ali
+of Cairo: "I went with him to the bath, and when we came out, he took
+me and brought me to his house, where he set the morning-meal before
+us, and we ate and made merry. Then said he to one of his black slaves,
+'Ho Mas'dd, take this thy lord: show him the two houses standing in
+such a place, and whichever pleaseth him, give him the key of it and
+come back.' So I went with the slave, till we came to a street-road
+where stood three houses side by side, newly built and yet shut up. He
+opened the first and I looked at it; and we did the same to the second;
+after which he said to me 'Of which shall I give thee the key?' 'To
+whom doth the big house belong?' 'To us!' 'Open it, that I may view
+it.' 'Thou hast no business there.' 'Wherefore?' 'Because it is
+haunted, and none nighteth there but in the morning he is a dead man;
+nor do we use to open the door, when removing the corpse, but mount the
+terrace-roof of one of the other two houses and take it up thence. For
+this reason my master hath abandoned the house and saith: 'I will never
+again give it to any one.' 'Open it,' I cried, 'that I may view it;'
+and I said in my mind, 'This is what I seek; I will pass the night
+there and in the morning be a dead man and be at peace from this my
+case.' So he opened it and I entered and found it a splendid house,
+without its like; and I said to the slave, 'I will have none other than
+this house; give me its key.' But he rejoined, 'I will not give thee
+this key till I consult my master,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the negro
+(continued Ali of Cairo) "rejoined, 'I will not give thee its key till
+I consult my master,'" and going to him, reported, "'The Egyptian
+trader saith, 'I will lodge in none but the big house.'" Now when the
+merchant heard this, he rose and coming to Ali, spake thus to him, "O
+my lord, thou hast no need of this house." But he answered, "I will
+lodge in none other than this; for I care naught for this silly
+saying." Quoth the other, "Write me an acknowledgment that, if aught
+happen to thee, I am not responsible." Quoth Ali, "So be it;" whereupon
+the merchant fetched an assessor from the Kazi's court and, taking the
+prescribed acknowledgment, delivered to him the key wherewith he
+entered the house. The merchant sent him bedding by a blackamoor who
+spread it for him on the built bench behind the door[FN#268] and walked
+away. Presently Ali went about and, seeing in the inner court a well
+with a bucket, let this down and drew water, wherewith he made the
+lesser ablution and prayed the obligatory prayers. Then he sat awhile,
+till the slave brought him the evening meal from his master's house,
+together with a lamp, a candle and candlestick, a basin and ewer and a
+gugglet[FN#269]; after which he left him and returned home. Ali lighted
+the candle, supped at his ease and prayed the night-prayer; and
+presently he said to himself, "Come, take the bedding and go upstairs
+and sleep there; 'twill be better than here." So he took the bed and
+carried it upstairs, where he found a splendid saloon, with gilded
+ceiling and floor and walls cased with coloured marbles. He spread his
+bed there and sitting down, began to recite somewhat of the Sublime
+Koran, when (ere he was ware) he heard one calling to him and asking,
+"O Ali, O son of Hasan, say me, shall I send thee down the gold?" And
+he answered, "Where be the gold thou hast to send?" But hardly had he
+spoken, when gold pieces began to rain down on him, like stones from a
+catapult, nor ceased till the saloon was full. Then, after the golden
+shower, said the Voice, "Set me free, that I may go my way; for I have
+made an end of my service and have delivered unto thee that which was
+entrusted to me for thee." Quoth Ali, "I adjure thee, by Allah the
+Almighty, to tell me the cause of this gold-rain." Replied the Voice,
+"This is a treasure that was talisman'd to thee of old time, and to
+every one who entered the house, we used to come and say: 'O Ali, O son
+of Hasan, shall we send thee down the gold?' Whereat he would be
+affrighted and cry out, and we would come down to him and break his
+neck and go away. But, when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy
+name and that of thy father, saying, 'Shall we send thee down the
+gold?' and thou madest answer to us, 'And where be the gold?' we knew
+thee for the owner of it and sent it down. Moreover, there is yet
+another hoard for thee in the land of Al-Yaman and thou wouldst do well
+to journey thither and fetch it. And now I would fain have thee set me
+free, that I may go my way." Said Ali, "By Allah, I will not set thee
+free, till thou bring me hither the treasure from the land of
+Al-Yaman!" Said the Voice, "An I bring it to thee, wilt thou release me
+and eke the servant of the other hoard?" "Yes," replied Ali, and the
+Voice cried, "Swear to me." So he swore to him, and he was about to go
+away, when Ali said to him, "I have one other need to ask of thee;" and
+he, "What is that?" Quoth Ali, "I have a wife and children at Cairo in
+such a place; thou needs must fetch them to me, at their ease and
+without their unease." Quoth he, "I will bring them to thee in a
+mule-litter[FN#270] and much state, with a train of eunuchs and
+servants, together with the treasure from Al-Yaman, Inshallah!"[FN#271]
+Then he took of him leave of absence for three days, when all this
+should be with him, and vanished. As soon as it was morning Ali went
+round about the saloon, seeking a place wherein to store the gold, and
+saw on the edge of the dais a marble slab with a turning-pin; so he
+turned the pin and the slab sank and showed a door which he opened and
+entering, found a great closet, full of bags of coarse stuff carefully
+sewn. So he began taking out the bags and fell to filling them with
+gold and storing them in the closet, till he had transported thither
+all the hoarded gold, whereupon he shut the door and turning the pin,
+the slab returned to its place. Then he went down and seated himself on
+the bench behind the door; and presently there came a knock; so he
+opened and found the merchant's slave who, seeing him comfortably
+sitting, returned in haste to his master,—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+house-owner's black slave returned and knocked at the door, Ali the
+Cairene, son of the merchant Hasan, opened it to him and the negro,
+seeing him comfortably sitting, returned in haste to his master with
+the good tidings, saying, "O my Lord, the merchant, who is lodged in
+the house inhabited by the Jinn,[FN#272] is alive and well and sitteth
+on the bench behind the door." Then the merchant rose joyfully and went
+to the house, taking breakfast with him; and, when he saw Ali, he
+embraced him and kissed him between the eyes, asking, "How hath Allah
+dealt with thee?"; and Ali answered, "Right well, I slept upstairs in
+the marble saloon." Quoth the merchant, "Did aught come to thee or
+didst thou see any thing?" and quoth Ali "No, I recited some little of
+the Sublime Koran and slept till morning, when I arose and, after
+making the minor ablution and praying, seated myself on the bench
+behind the door." "Praised be Allah for safety!" exclaimed the
+merchant, then left him and presently sent him black slaves and white
+Mamelukes and handmaidens with household gear. They swept the house
+from top to bottom and furnished it with magnificent furniture; after
+which three white slaves and three blacks and four slave-girls remained
+with him, to serve him, while the rest returned to their master's
+house. Now when the merchants heard of him, they sent him presents of
+all manner things of price, even to food and drink and clothes, and
+took him with them to the market, asking, "When will thy baggage
+arrive?" And he answered, "After three days it will surely come." When
+the term had elapsed, the servant of the first hoard, the golden rain,
+came to him and said, "Go forth and meet the treasure I have brought
+thee from Al-Yaman together with thy Harim; for I bring part of the
+wealth in the semblance of costly merchandise; but the eunuchs and
+Mamelukes and the mules and horses and camels are all of the Jann." Now
+the Jinni, when he betook himself to Cairo, found Ali's wife and
+children in sore misery, naked and hungry; so he carried them out of
+the city in a travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous raiment of
+the stuffs which were in the treasure of Al-Yaman. So when Ali heard
+this, he arose and repairing to the merchants, said to them, "Rise and
+go forth with us from the city, to meet the caravan bringing my
+merchandise, and honour us with the presence of your Harims, to meet my
+Harim." "Hearkening and obedience," answered they and, sending for
+their Harims, went forth all together and took seat in one of the
+city-gardens; and as they sat talking, behold, a dust-cloud arose out
+of the heart of the desert, and they flocked forth to see what it was.
+Presently it lifted and discovered mules and muleteers, tent-pitchers
+and linkmen, who came on, singing and dancing, till they reached the
+garden, when the chief of the muleteers walked up to Ali and kissing
+his hand, said to him, "O my master, we have been long on the way, for
+we purposed entering yesterday; but we were in fear of the bandits, so
+abode in our station four days, till Almighty Allah rid us of them."
+Thereupon the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with the
+caravan, the Harims waiting behind, till Ali's wife and children
+mounted with them; and they all entered in splendid train. The
+merchants marvelled at the number of mules laden with chests, whilst
+the women of the merchants wondered at the richness of the apparel of
+his wife and the fine raiment of her children; and kept saying each to
+other, "Verily, the King of Baghdad hath no such gear; no, nor any
+other of the kings or lords or merchants!" So they ceased not to fare
+forwards in high great state, the men with Ali of Cairo and the Harims
+with his Harim, till they came to the mansion,—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased not
+to fare forwards in high state, the men with Ali's men and the women
+with his wife, till they came to the mansion, where they alighted and
+brought the mules and their burdens into the midst of the courtyard.
+Then they unloaded them and warehoused the goods whilst the merchants'
+wives went up with Ali's family to the saloon, which they found as it
+were a luxuriant garden, spread with magnificent furniture. They sat in
+mirth and good cheer till noon, when they brought them up the midday
+meal, all manner meats and sweetmeats of the very best; and they ate
+and drank costly sherbets and perfumed themselves thereafter with
+rose-water and scented woods. Then they took leave and went home, men
+and women; and, when the merchants returned to their places, they sent
+presents to the husband according to their conditions; and their wives
+likewise sent presents to the wife, so that there came to them great
+store of handmaids and negroes and Mamelukes; and all kinds of goods,
+such as grain, sugar and so forth, in abundance beyond account. As for
+the Baghdad merchant, the landlord of the house, he abode with Ali and
+quitted him not, but said to him, "Let the black slaves and servants
+take the mules and the common cattle into one of my other houses, to
+rest." Quoth Ali, "They set out again to-night for such a place." Then
+he gave them leave to go forth and camp outside the city, that they
+might start on their journey at night-come; whereupon, hardly believing
+that they were dismissed, they took leave of him and departing to the
+outliers of the city, flew off through the air to their several abodes.
+So Ali and his house-owner sat together till a third of the night was
+past, when their colloquy ended and the merchant returned to his own
+house and Ali went up to his wife and children and after saluting them,
+said, "What hath befallen you in my absence all this time?" So she told
+him what they had suffered of hunger and nakedness and travail, and he
+said, "Praised be Allah for safety! How did ye come?" Answered she, "O
+my lord, I was asleep with my children yesternight, when suddenly and
+unexpectedly one raised us from the ground and flew with us through the
+firmament without doing us any hurt, nor did he leave flying with us,
+till he set us down in a place as it were an Arab camping-ground, where
+we saw laden mules and a travelling litter borne upon two great mules,
+and around it servants, all boys and men. So I asked them, 'Who are ye
+and what are these loads and where are we?;' and they answered, 'We are
+the servants of the merchant Ali of Cairo, son of the merchant-
+jeweller, who hath sent us to fetch you to him at Baghdad.' Quoth I,
+'Tell me, is it far or near, hence to Baghdad?' They replied, 'Near:
+there lieth between us and the city but the darkness of the night.'
+Then they mounted us in the litter and, when the morrow dawned, we
+found ourselves with thee, without having suffered any hurt whatever."
+Quoth he, "Who gave you these dresses?;" and quoth she, "The chief of
+the caravan opened one of the boxes on the mules and taking out thereof
+these clothes, clad me and thy children each in a suit; after which he
+locked the case and gave me the key, saying, 'Take care of it, till
+thou give it to thy husband.' And here it is safe by me." So saying,
+she gave him the key, and he said, "Dost thou know the chest?" Said
+she, "Yes, I know it." So he took her down to the magazine and showed
+her the boxes, when she cried, "This is the one whence the dresses were
+taken;" upon which he put the key in the lock and opened the chest,
+wherein he found much raiment and the keys of all the other cases. So
+he took them and fell to opening them, one after another, and feasting
+his eyes upon the gems and precious ores they contained, whose like was
+not found with any of the kings; after which he locked them again, took
+the keys, and returned to the saloon, saying to his wife, "This is of
+the bounty of Almighty Allah!" Then bringing her to the secret slab he
+turned the pin and opened the door of the closet, into which he entered
+with her and showed her the gold he had laid up therein. Quoth she,
+"Whence came all this to thee?" "It came to me by the grace of my
+Lord," answered he:—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali's wife
+had looked upon the gold she said to him, "Whence came all this to
+thee?" "It came to me by the grace of my Lord," answered he: "When I
+left thee in my trouble, I shipped at Bulak for Damietta and met a
+friend there who forwarded me to Damascus": in brief he told her all
+that had befallen him, from first to last. Said she, "O my lord, all
+this cometh by boon of thy father's blessing and orisons when he prayed
+for thee, before his death, saying, 'I beseech Allah to cast thee into
+no straits except He grant thee ready relief!' So praised be Allah
+Almighty for that He hath brought thee deliverance and hath requited
+thee with more than went from thee! But Allah upon thee, O my lord,
+return not to thy practice of associating with doubtful folk; but look
+thou fear Allah (whose name be exalted!) both in private and in
+public." And as she went on to admonish him, he said, "I accept thine
+admonition and beg the Almighty to remove the froward from amongst us
+and stablish us in His obedience and in the observance of the law and
+practice of His Prophet, on whom be blessings and peace!" After that
+Ali and his wife and children were in all solace of life and gladness;
+and he opened him a shop in the merchants' bazar and, stocking it with
+a somewhat of jewels and bullion, sat therein with his children and
+white servants. Presently he became the most considerable of the
+merchants of Baghdad, and his report reached the King of that
+city,[FN#273] who sent a messenger to command his attendance, saying,
+"Answer the summons of the King who requireth thee." He replied, "I
+hear and obey," and straightway prepared his present and he took four
+trays of red gold and, filling them with jewels and precious metals,
+such as no King possessed, went up to the palace and presenting himself
+before the presence, kissed the ground between his hands and wished him
+endurance of goods and glory in the finest language he could command.
+Said the King, "O merchant, thou cheerest our city with thy presence!"
+and Ali rejoined, "O King of the age, thy slave hath brought thee a
+gift and hopeth for acceptance thereof from thy favour." Then he laid
+the four trays before the King, who uncovered them and seeing that they
+contained gems, whose fellows he possessed not and whose worth equalled
+treasuries of money, said, "Thy present is accepted, O merchant, and
+Inshallah! we will requite thee with its like." And Ali kissed his
+hands and went away; whereupon the King called his grandees and said to
+them, "How many of the Kings have sought my daughter in marriage?"
+"Many," answered they; and he asked, "Hath any of them given me the
+like of this gift?"; whereto they replied, "Not one, for that none of
+them hath its like;" and he said, "I have consulted Allah Almighty by
+lot as to marrying my daughter to this merchant. What say ye?" "Be it
+as thou reckest," answered they. Then he bade the eunuch carry the four
+trays into his serraglio and going in to his wife, laid them before
+her. She uncovered them and seeing therein that whose like she
+possessed not; no, nor a fraction thereof, said to him, "From which of
+the Kings hadst thou these?: perchance of one of the royalties that
+seek thy daughter in marriage?" Said he, "Not so, I had them of an
+Egyptian merchant, who is lately come to this our city. Now when I
+heard of his coming I sent to command him to us, thinking to make his
+acquaintance, so haply we might find with him somewhat of jewels and
+buy them of him for our daughter's trousseau. He obeyed our summons and
+brought us these four trays, as a present, and I saw him to be a
+handsome youth of dignified aspect and intelligent as elegant, almost
+such as should be the sons of Kings. Wherefore my heart inclined to him
+at sight, and my heart rejoiced in him and I thought good to marry my
+daughter to him. So I showed the gift to my grandees, who agreed with
+me that none of the Kings hath the like of these and I told them my
+project. But what sayst thou?"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King of
+Baghdad, after showing the presents to his wife and highly praising
+Ali, the merchant-jeweller, and informing her of the proposed marriage,
+asked, "But what sayst thou?" She replied, "O King of the age, the
+ordering this affair is in Allah's hand, and thine, and whatso Allah
+willeth shall come to pass." Rejoined the King, "If it be His will, I
+will marry her to none other than this young man." He slept on this
+resolve and on the morrow, he went out to his Divan and summoned Ali
+and the rest of the merchants of Baghdad, and when all came bade them
+be seated. Then said he, "Bring me the Kazi of the Divan" and they
+brought him; whereupon the King said to him, "O Kazi, write the
+contract of marriage between my daughter and the merchant Ali the
+Cairene." But Ali said, "Thy pardon, O our lord the Sultan! It
+befitteth not that a trader such as I, be the King's son-in-law." Quoth
+the King, "It is my will to bestow this favour upon thee, as well as
+the Wazirate;" and he invested him forthwith in the Wazir's office and
+ministerial robes. Then Ali sat down in the chair of the Wazirate and
+said, "O King of the age, thou hast bestowed on me this; and indeed I
+am honoured by thy bounties; but hear one word I have to say to thee!"
+He replied, "Say on, and fear not." Quoth Ali, "Since it is thine
+august resolution to marry thy daughter, thou wouldst do better to
+marry her to my son. Quoth the King, "Hast thou then a son?"; and Ali
+replied, "Yes." "Send for him forthwith," said the King. Thereupon
+answered Ali "Hearkening and obedience!", and despatched a servant to
+fetch his son, who came and kissing the ground before the King, stood
+in an attitude of respect. The King looked at him and seeing him to be
+yet comelier than his daughter and goodlier than she in stature and
+proportion and brightness and perfection, said to him, "What is thy
+name, O my son?" "My name is Hasan, O our lord the Sultan," replied the
+young man, who was then fourteen years old. Then the Sultan said to the
+Kazi, "Write the contract of marriage between my daughter Husn al-Wujdd
+and Hasan, son of the merchant Ali the Cairene." So he wrote the
+marriage-contract between them, and the affair was ended in the
+goodliest fashion; after which all in the Divan went their ways and the
+merchants followed the Wazir Ali, escorting him to his house, where
+they gave him joy of his advancement and departed. Then he went in to
+his wife, who seeing him clad in the Wazir's habit, exclaimed, "What is
+this?"; when he told her all that had passed from first to last and she
+joyed therein with exceeding joy. So sped the night and on the morrow,
+he went up to the Divan, where the King received him with especial
+favour and seating him close by his side, said, "O Wazir, we purpose to
+begin the wedding festivities and bring thy son in to our daughter."
+Replied Ali, "O our lord the Sultan, whatso thou deemest good is good."
+So the Sultan gave orders to celebrate the festivities, and they
+decorated the city and held high festival for thirty days, in all joy
+and gladness; at the end of which time, Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali,
+went in to the Princess and enjoyed her beauty and loveliness. When the
+Queen saw her daughter's husband, she conceived a warm affection for
+him, and in like manner she rejoiced greatly in his mother. Then the
+King bade build for his son-in-law Hasan Ali-son a palace beside his
+own; so they built him with all speed a splendid palace in which he
+took up his abode; and his mother used to tarry with him some days and
+then go down to her own house. After awhile the Queen said to her
+husband, "O King of the age, Hasan's lady-mother cannot take up her
+abode with her son and leave the Wazir; neither can she tarry with the
+Wazir and leave her son." "Thou sayest sooth," replied the King, and
+bade edify a third palace beside that of Hasan, which being done in a
+few days he caused remove thither the goods of the Wazir, and the
+Minister and his wife took up their abode there. Now the three palaces
+communicated with one another, so that when the King had a mind to
+speak with the Wazir by night, he would go to him or send to fetch him;
+and so with Hasan and his father and mother. On this wise they dwelt in
+all solace and in the greatest happiness—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King and the
+Wazir and his son ceased not to dwell in all solace and in the greatest
+happiness awhile, till the King fell ill and his sickness grew on him.
+So he summoned the lords of his realm and said to them, "There is come
+upon me a sore malady, peradventure a mortal; and I have therefore
+summoned you to consult you respecting a certain matter, on which I
+would have you counsel me as you deem well." They asked, "What is the
+matter of which thou wouldst take counsel with us, O King?"; and he
+answered, "I am old and sickly and I fear for the realm after me from
+its enemies; so I would have you all agree upon some one, that I may
+proclaim him King in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease." Whereupon
+quoth they with one voice, "We all approve of thy daughter's husband
+Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali; for we have seen his wit and perfect
+understanding, and he knoweth the place of all, great and small." Asked
+the King, "Are ye indeed agreed upon this?" and they answered, "Yes."
+Rejoined he "Peradventure ye all say this to my face, of respect for
+me; but behind my back ye will say otherwise." However, they all
+replied, "By Allah, our word is one and the same in public and in
+private, and we accept him frankly and with heartiness of heart and
+breadth of breast." Quoth he, "Since the case is thus, bring the Kazi
+of the Holy Law and all the Chamberlains and Viceroys and Officers of
+state before me to-morrow, and we will order the affair after the
+goodliest fashion." "We hear and we obey," answered they and
+withdrawing, notified all the Olema,[FN#274] the doctors of the law and
+the chief personages among the Emirs. So when the morrow dawned, they
+came up to the Divan and, having craved and obtained permission to
+enter, they saluted the King, saying, "Here are we all in thy
+presence." Whereto he made reply, "O Emirs of Baghdad, whom will ye
+have to be King over you after me, that I may inaugurate him during my
+lifetime, before the presence of you all?" Quoth they with one voice,
+"We are agreed upon thy daughter's husband Hasan, son of the Wazir
+Ali." Quoth he, "If it be so, go all of you and bring him before me."
+So they all arose and, repairing to Hasan's palace, said to him, "Rise,
+come with us to the King." "Wherefore?" asked he, and they answered,
+"For a thing that will benefit both us and thee." So he went in with
+them to the King and kissed the ground before his father-in-law who
+said to him, "Be seated, O my son!" He sat down and the King continued,
+"O Hasan, all the Emirs have approved of thee and agreed to make thee
+King over them after me; and it is my purpose to proclaim thee, whilst
+I yet live, and so make an end of the business." But Hasan stood up
+and, kissing the ground once more before the King, said to him, "O our
+lord the King, among the Emirs there be many who are older than I and
+greater of worth; acquit me therefore of this thing." But all the Emirs
+cried out saying, "We consent not but that thou be King over us." Then
+said Hasan, "My father is older than I, and I and he are one thing; and
+it befits not to advance me over him." But Ali said, "I will consent to
+nothing save whatso contenteth my brethren; and they have all chosen
+and agreed upon thee; wherefore gainsay thou not the King's commandment
+and that of thy brethren." And Hasan hung his head abashed before the
+King and his father. Then said the King to the Emirs, "Do ye all accept
+of him?" "We do," answered they and recited thereupon seven
+Fαtihahs.[FN#275] So the King said, "O Kazi, draw up a legal instrument
+testifying of these Emirs that they are agreed to make King over them
+my daughter's husband Hasan." The Kazi wrote the act and made it
+binding on all men,[FN#276] after they had sworn in a body the oath of
+fealty to Hasan. Then the King did likewise and bade him take his seat
+on the throne of kingship; whereupon they all arose and kissed King
+Hasan's hands and did homage to him, and swore lealty to him. And the
+new King dispensed justice among the people that day in fashion right
+royal, and invested the grandees of the realm in splendid robes of
+honour. When the Divan broke up, he went in to and kissed the hands of
+his father-in-law who spake thus to him, "O my son, look thou rule the
+lieges in the fear of Allah;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Hasan
+was quit of the Divan, he went in to and kissed the hands of his wife's
+father, who spake thus to him, "O my son, look thou rule the lieges in
+the fear of Allah;" whereto he replied, "O my father, through thy
+prayers for me, the grace and guidance of Allah will come to me." Then
+he entered his own palace and was met by his wife and her mother and
+their attendants, who kissed his hands and gave him joy of his
+advancement, saying, "Be this day blessed!" Next he went in to his
+father and mother, who joyed with exceeding joy in that which Allah had
+vouchsafed him of his advancement to the kingship, and his father
+charged him to fear Allah and to deal mercifully with his subjects. He
+passed the night in glee and gladness, and on the morrow, having prayed
+the obligatory prayers ending with the usual short chapters[FN#277] of
+the Koran, he went up to the Divan, whither came all his officers and
+dignitaries. He passed the day in dispensing justice among the folk,
+bidding to graciousness and forbidding ungraciousness and appointing to
+place and displacing, till day- end, when the Divan broke up, after the
+goodliest fashion, and all the troops withdrew and each went his own
+way. Then he arose and repaired to the palace, where he found his
+father-in-law's sickness grown heavy upon him and said to him, "May no
+ill befal thee!" At this the old King opened his eyes and said, "O
+Hasan!" and he replied, "At thy service, O my lord." Quoth the old King
+"Mine appointed hour is at hand: be thou careful of thy wife and her
+mother, and look thou fear Allah and honour thy parents; and bide in
+awe of the majesty of the Requiting King and bear in mind that He
+commandeth justice and good works." And King Hasan replied, "I hear and
+obey." Now after this the old King lingered three days and then
+departed into the mercy of Almighty Allah. So they laid him out and
+shrouded and buried him and held over him readings and perlections of
+the Koran, to the end of the customary forty days. And King Hasan, son
+of the Wazir, reigned in his stead, and his subjects joyed in him and
+all his days were gladness; moreover, his father ceased not to be his
+chief Wazir on his right hand, and he took to himself another Wazir, to
+be at his left hand. His reign was a prosperous and well ordered, and
+he lived a long life as King of Baghdad; and Allah blessed him, by the
+old King's daughter, with three sons who inherited the kingdom after
+him; and they abode in the solace of life and its pleasures till there
+came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies.
+And the glory be to Him who is eternal and in whose hand are annulling
+and confirming. And of the tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN.
+
+A man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found no
+trace of the caravan. So he rose up and walked on, but lost his way and
+presently came to a tent, where he saw an old woman standing at the
+entrance and by her side a dog asleep. He went up to the tent and,
+saluting the old woman, sought of her food, when she replied, "Go to
+yonder Wady and catch thy sufficiency of serpents, that I may broil of
+them for thee and give thee to eat." Rejoined the pilgrim, "I dare not
+catch serpents nor did I ever eat them." Quoth the old woman, "I will
+go with thee and catch some; fear not." So she went with him, followed
+by the dog, to the valley and, catching a sufficient number of
+serpents, proceeded to broil them. He saw nothing for it (saith the
+story teller) but to eat, in fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate
+of the serpents.[FN#278] Then he was athirst and asked for water to
+drink; and she answered, "Go to the spring and drink." Accordingly, he
+went to the spring and found the water thereof bitter; yet needs must
+he drink of it despite its bitterness, because of the violence of his
+thirst. Presently he returned to the old woman and said to her, "I
+marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to sojourn in this place"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+palmer-man drank the bitter draught for stress of thirst, he returned
+and said "I marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to sojourn in this
+place and thy putting up with such meat and drink!" She asked, "And how
+is it then in thy country?"; whereto he answered, "In my country are
+houses wide and spacious and fruits ripe and delicious and waters sweet
+and viands savorous and of goodly use and meats fat and full of juice
+and flocks innumerous and all things pleasant and all the goods of
+life, the like whereof are not, save in the Paradise which Allah the
+Omnipotent hath promised to His servants pious." Replied she, "All this
+have I heard: but tell me, have ye a Sultan who ruleth over you and is
+tyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you are; one who, if any of
+you commit an offence, taketh his goods and ruineth him and who, whenas
+he will, turneth you out of house and home and uprooteth you, stock and
+branch?" Replied the man, "Indeed that may be;" and she rejoined, "If
+so, by Allah, these your delicious food and life of daintyhood and
+gifts however good, with tyranny and oppression, are but a searching
+poison, while our coarse meat which in freedom and safety we eat is a
+healthful medicine. Hast thou not heard that the best of boons, after
+Al-Islam, the true Faith, are sanity and security?"[FN#279] "Now such
+boons (quoth he who telleth the tale) may be by the just rule of the
+Sultan, Vice-regent of Allah on His earth, and the goodness of his
+polity. The Sultan of time past needed but little awfulness, for when
+the lieges saw him, they feared him; but the Sultan of these days hath
+need of the most accomplished polity and the utmost majesty, because
+men are not as men of by-gone time and this our age is one of folk
+opprobrious, and is greatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of
+heart and inclined to hate and enmity. If, therefore, the Sultan (which
+Almighty Allah forfend!) be weak or wanting in polity and majesty, this
+will be the assured cause of his country's ruin. Quoth the proverb, 'An
+hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny, but not one year of the people's
+tyranny one over other.' When the lieges oppress one another, Allah
+setteth over them a tyrannical Sultan and a terrible King. Thus it is
+told in history that one day there was sent to Al-Hajjαj bin Yϊsuf a
+slip of paper, whereon was written, 'Fear Allah and oppress not His
+servants with all manner of oppression.' When he read this, he mounted
+the pulpit (for he was eloquent and ever ready of speech), and said, 'O
+folk, Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you, by reason of your
+frowardness;'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hajjaj
+Yousuf-son read the paper he mounted the pulpit and said, "O folk,
+Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you by reason of your
+frowardness; and indeed, though I die yet will ye not be delivered from
+oppression, with these your ill deeds; for the Almighty hath created
+like unto me many an one. If it be not I, 'twill be one more
+mischievous than I and a mightier in oppression and a more merciless in
+his majesty; even as saith the poet:[FN#280]—
+
+          'For not a deed the hand can try
+
+
+          Save 'neath the hand of God on high,
+
+
+          Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny
+
+
+          Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'
+
+
+
+Tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We beg
+
+
+Allah to better our case!" And among tales is that of
+
+
+
+
+ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD.[FN#281]
+
+There was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies and
+immoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and Allah had
+largely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not vouchsafed him what
+he longed for of offspring; and there passed over him a long space of
+time, without his being blessed with issue, male or female. His years
+waxed great; his bones became wasted and his back bent; weakness and
+weariness grew upon him, and he feared the loss of his wealth and
+possessions, seeing he had no child whom he might make his heir and by
+whom his name should be remembered. So he betook himself with
+supplication to Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the
+night. Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and
+visited the pious and was constant in supplication to the Most Highest,
+till He gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took pity on his
+straining and complaining; so that, before many days were past, he knew
+carnally one of his women and she conceived by him the same night. In
+due time she finished her months and, casting her burden, bore a male
+child as he were a slice of the moon; whereupon the merchant fulfilled
+his vows in his gratitude to Allah, (to whom be honour and glory!) and
+gave alms and clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh night
+after the boy's birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[FN#282] and the
+wet-nurses suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants
+and the slaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew
+tall and throve greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the ordinances
+of Al-Islam and the Canons of the True Faith; and calligraphy and
+poetry and mathematics and archery. On this wise he became the
+union-pearl of his age and the goodliest of the folk of his time and
+his day; fair of face and of tongue fluent, carrying himself with a
+light and graceful gait and glorying in his stature proportionate and
+amorous graces which were to many a bait: and his cheeks were red and
+flower-white was his forehead and his side face waxed brown with tender
+down, even as saith one, describing him,
+
+"The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: * And how
+
+
+     when the Spring is gone shall last the rose?
+
+
+Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek * Is violet-
+
+
+     bloom that from its leaves outgrows."
+
+
+
+He abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who rejoiced and
+delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when the merchant one
+day made him sit down before him and said, "O my son, the appointed
+term draweth near; my hour of death is at hand and it remaineth but to
+meet Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). I leave thee what shall
+suffice thee, even to thy son's son, of monies and mansions, farms and
+gardens; wherefore, fear thou Almighty Allah, O my son, in dealing with
+that which I bequeath to thee and follow none but those who will help
+thee to the Divine favour." Not long after, he sickened and died; so
+his son ordered his funeral,[FN#283] after the goodliest wise, and
+burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him many days
+and nights. But behold, certain of his friends came in to him and said
+to him, "Whoso leaveth a son like thee is not dead; indeed, what is
+past is past and fled and mourning beseemeth none but the young maid
+and the wife cloistered." And they ceased not from him till they
+wrought on him to enter the Hammam and break off his mourning.—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu al-Husn
+was visited by his friends and taken to the Hamman and persuaded to
+break off his mourning, he presently forgot his father's charge, and
+his head was turned by his riches; he thought fortune would always wone
+with him as it was, and that wealth would ever wax and never wane. So
+he ate and drank and made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of
+gear and coin and was profuse with gold and addrest himself up to
+eating fowls and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to the
+giggle of the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the flagon and
+enjoying the jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over this way
+of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case worsened and all his
+goods went from him and he bit his hands[FN#284] in bitter penitence.
+For of a truth he had nothing left, after that which he had squandered,
+but a concubine, a slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him
+with the rest of his estate: and she had no equal in beauty and
+loveliness and brightness and liveliness and symmetric stature and
+perfect grace. She was past mistress in every manner of arts and
+accomplishments and endowed with many excellences, surpassing all the
+folk of her age and time. She was grown more notorious than a
+way-mark,[FN#285] for her seductive genius, and outdid the fair both in
+theory and practice, and she was noted for her swimming gait, flexile
+and delicate, albeit she was full five feet in height and by all the
+boons of fortune deckt and dight, with strait arched brows twain, as
+they were the crescent moon of Sha'abαn,[FN#286] and eyes like
+gazelles' eyne; and nose like the edge of scymitar fine and cheeks like
+anemones of blood-red shine; and mouth like Solomon's seal and sign and
+teeth like necklaces of pearls in line; and navel holding an ounce of
+oil of benzoin and waist more slender than his body whom love hath
+wasted and whom concealment hath made sick with pine and hind parts
+heavier than two hills of sand; briefly she was a volume of charms
+after his saying who saith,
+
+"Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, * And
+
+
+     if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.
+
+
+Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character *
+
+
+     Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.
+
+
+Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are * And the
+
+
+     full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings'
+
+
+     sphere."[FN#287]
+
+
+
+She seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of nine
+plus five[FN#288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of her the
+sayer eloquent and ingenious,
+
+"Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, * When five and five are
+
+
+     conjoined by four;
+
+
+'Tis not my sin if she made of me * Its like when it riseth
+
+
+     horizon o'er."[FN#289]
+
+
+
+Clean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of fire
+fashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of her and
+perfect the shape and form of her; even as one saith of her, describing
+her,
+
+"Scented with sandal[FN#290] and musk, right proudly doth she go,
+
+
+     * With gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow.
+
+
+A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold * Or an
+
+
+     image in chapel[FN#291] set for worship of high and low.
+
+
+Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, * But the
+
+
+     weight of her hips says, 'Sit, or softly and slowly go.'
+
+
+Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart's desire, * 'Be
+
+
+     gracious,' her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, 'No.'
+
+
+Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that * Of her lover
+
+
+     to be the prate of the censurers, heigho!"[FN#292]
+
+
+
+She captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty and
+the sweetness of her smile,[FN#293] and shot them down with the shafts
+she launched from her eyes; and withal she was eloquent of speech and
+excellently skilled in verse. Now when Abu al-Husn had squandered all
+his gold, and his ill-plight all could behold, and there remained to
+him naught save this slave-girl, he abode three days without tasting
+meat or taking rest in sleep, and the handmaid said to him, "O my lord,
+carry me to the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+slave-girl to her master, "O my lord, carry me to Harun al-Rashid,
+fifth of the sons of Abbas, and seek of him to my price ten thousand
+dinars. If he deem me dear, say to him: 'O Prince of True Believers, my
+handmaid is worth more than this: do but prove her, and her value will
+be magnified in thine eyes; for this slave-girl hath not her equal, and
+she were unfit to any but thou.'" And she added, "Beware, O my lord, of
+selling me at less than the sum I have named; indeed 'tis but little
+for the like of me." Now her owner knew not her worth nor that she had
+no equal in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set her in
+the presence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph asked
+her, "What is thy name?"; to which she answered, "My name is
+Tawaddud."[FN#294] He then enquired, "O Tawaddud, in what branches of
+knowledge dost thou excel?"; and she replied, "O my lord, I am versed
+in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence and exegesis and philosophy; and
+I am skilled in music and the knowledge of the Divine ordinances and in
+arithmetic and geodesy and geometry and the fables of the ancients. I
+know the Sublime Koran by heart and have read it according to the
+seven, the ten and the fourteen modes. I know the number of its
+chapters and versets and sections and words; and its halves and fourths
+and eighths and tenths; the number of prostrations which occur in it
+and the sum total of its letters; and I know what there is in it of
+abrogating and abrogated[FN#295]; also what parts of it were revealed
+at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the cause of the different
+revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the Apostle's sayings,
+historical and legendary, the established and those whose ascription is
+doubtful; and I have studied the exact sciences, geometry and
+philosophy and medicine and logic and rhetoric and composition; and I
+have learnt many things by rote and am passionately fond of poetry. I
+can play the lute and know its gamut and notes and notation and the
+crescendo and diminuendo. If I sing and dance, I seduce, and if I dress
+and scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have reached a pitch of perfection
+such as can be estimated only by those of them who are firmly rooted in
+knowledge."[FN#296] Now when the Caliph heard these words spoken by one
+so young, he wondered at her eloquence, and turning to Abu al-Husn,
+said, "I will summon those who shall discuss with her all she claimeth
+to know; if she answer correctly, I will give thee the price thou
+askest for her and more; and if not, thou art fitter to have her than
+I." "With gladness and goodly gree, O Commander of the Faithful,"
+replied Abu al-Husn. So the Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of Bassorah, to
+send him Ibrahim bin Siyyαr the prosodist, who was the first man of his
+day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and bade him bring
+with him readers of the Koran and learned doctors of the law and
+physicians and astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and
+philosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned than all. In a little while
+they arrived at the palace of the Caliphate, knowing not what was to
+do, and the Caliph sent for them to his sitting-chamber and ordered
+them to be seated. So they sat down and he bade bring the damsel
+Tawaddud who came and unveiling, showed herself, as she were a
+sparkling star.[FN#297] The Caliph set her a stool of gold; and she
+saluted, and speaking with an eloquent tongue, said, "O Commander of
+the Faithful, bid the Olema and the doctors of law and leaches and
+astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and all here present
+contend with me in argument." So he said to them, "I desire of you that
+ye dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith, and stultify
+her argument in all she advanceth;" and they answered, saying, "We hear
+and we obey Allah and thee, O Commander of the Faithful." Upon this
+Tawaddud bowed her head and said, "Which of you is the doctor of the
+law, the scholar, versed in the readings of the Koran and in the
+Traditions?" Quoth one of them, "I am the man thou seekest." Quoth she,
+"Then ask me of what thou wilt." Said the doctor, "Hast thou read the
+precious book of Allah and dost thou know its cancelling and cancelled
+parts and hast thou meditated its versets and its letters?" "Yes,"
+answered she. "Then," said he, "I will proceed to question thee of the
+obligations and the immutable ordinances: so tell me of these, O
+damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, who thy Guide, what is
+thy point of fronting in prayer, and who be thy brethren? Also what thy
+spiritual path and what thy highway?" Whereto she replied, "Allah is my
+Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save and assain!) my prophet, and the
+Koran is my guide and the Ka'abah my fronting; and the True-believers
+are my brethren. The practice of good is my path and the Sunnah my
+highway." The Caliph again marvelled at her words so eloquently spoken
+by one so young; and the doctor pursued, "O damsel, with what do we
+know Almighty Allah?" Said she, "With the understanding." Said he, "And
+what is the understanding?" Quoth she, "It is of two kinds, natural and
+acquired."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
+continued, "The understanding is of two kinds, natural and acquired.
+The natural is that which Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) created
+for the right direction of His servants after His will; and the
+acquired is that which men accomplish by dint of study and fair
+knowledge." He rejoined, "Thou hast answered well." Q "Where is the
+seat of the understanding?"—"Allah casteth it in the heart whence its
+lustrous beams ascend to the brain and there become fixed." Q "How
+knowest thou the Prophet of Allah?" "By the reading of Allah's Holy
+Book and by signs and proofs and portents and miracles!" Q "What are
+the obligations and the immutable ordinances?" "The obligations are
+five. (1) Testification that there is no ilαh[FN#298] but Allah, no god
+but the God alone and One, which for partner hath none, and that
+Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. (2) The standing in
+prayers.[FN#299] (3) The payment of the poor-rate. (4) Fasting Ramazan.
+(5) The Pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House for all to whom the journey is
+possible. The immutable ordinances are four; to wit, night and day and
+sun and moon, the which build up life and hope; nor any son of Adam
+wotteth if they will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment." Q "What are
+the obligatory observances of the Faith?" "They are five, prayer,
+almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage, fighting for the Faith and abstinence
+from the forbidden." Q "Why dost thou stand up to pray?" "To express
+the devout intent of the slave acknowledging the Deity." Q "What are
+the obligatory conditions which precede standing in prayer?"
+"Purification, covering the shame, avoidance of soiled clothes,
+standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka'abah, an upright posture,
+the intent[FN#300] and the pronouncing 'Allaho Akbar' of
+prohibition."[FN#301] Q "With what shouldest thou go forth from thy
+house to pray?" "With the intent of worship mentally pronounced." Q
+"With what intent shouldest thou enter the mosque?" "With an intent of
+service." Q "Why do we front the Kiblah[FN#302]?" "In obedience to
+three Divine orders and one Traditional ordinance." Q "What are the
+beginning, the consecration and the end of prayer?" "Purification
+beginneth prayer, saying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth,
+and the salutation endeth prayer." Q "What deserveth he who neglecteth
+prayer?" "It is reported, among the authentic Traditions of the
+Prophet, that he said, 'Whoso neglecteth prayer wilfully and purposely
+hath no part in Al-Islam.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the damsel
+had repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor cried, "Thou
+hast replied aright: now say me, what is prayer?" "Prayer is communion
+between the slave and his lord, and in it are ten virtues: (1) it
+illumineth the heart; (2) it maketh the face shine; (3) it pleaseth the
+Compassionate One; (4) it angereth Satan; (5) it conjureth calamity;
+(6) it wardeth off the mischief of enemies; (7) it multiplieth mercy;
+(8) it forfendeth vengeance and punishment; (9) it bringeth the slave
+nigh unto his lord; and (10) it restraineth from lewdness and
+frowardness. Hence it is one of the absolute requisites and obligatory
+ordinances and the pillar of the Faith." Q "What is the key of prayer?"
+"Wuzd or the lesser ablution."[FN#303] Q "What is the key to the lesser
+ablution?" "Intention and naming the Almighty." Q "What is the key of
+naming the Almighty?" "Assured faith." Q "What is the key of faith?"
+"Trust in the Lord." Q "What is the key of trust in the Lord?" "Hope."
+Q "What is the key of hope?" "Obedience." Q "What is the key of
+obedience?" "The confession of the Unity and the acknowledgment of the
+divinity of Allah." Q "What are the Divine ordinances of Wuzu, the
+minor ablution?" "They are six, according to the canon of the Imam
+al-Shαfi'ν Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah accept!): (1) intent while
+washing the face; (2) washing the face; (3) washing the hands and
+forearms; (4) wiping part of the head; (5) washing the feet and heels;
+and (6) observing due order.[FN#304] And the traditional statutes are
+ten: (1) nomination; (2) and washing the hands before putting them into
+the water-pot; (3) and mouth-rinsing; (4) and snuffing;[FN#305] (5) and
+wiping the whole head; (6) and wetting the ears within and without with
+fresh water; (7) and separating a thick beard; (8) and separating the
+fingers and toes;[FN#306] (9) and washing the right foot before the
+left and (10) doing each of these thrice and all in unbroken order.
+When the minor ablution is ended, the worshipper should say, I testify
+that there is no god but the God, the One, which for partner hath none,
+and I testify that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. O my Allah,
+make me of those who repent and in purity are permanent! Glory to Thee,
+O my God, and in Thy praise I bear witness, that there is no god save
+Thou! I crave pardon of Thee and I repent to Thee! For it is reported,
+in the Holy Traditions, that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) said of this prayer, 'Whoso endeth every ablution with this
+prayer, the eight gates of Paradise are open to him; he shall enter at
+which he pleaseth.'" Q "When a man purposeth ablution, what betideth
+him from the angels and the devils?" "When a man prepareth for
+ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils on his
+left hand.[FN#307] If he name Almighty Allah at the beginning of the
+ablution, the devils flee from him and the angels hover over him with a
+pavilion of light, having four ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah
+and craving pardon for him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth
+upon the name of Allah. But if he omit to begin washing with naming
+Allah (to whom belong might and majesty!), neither remain silent, the
+devils take command of him; and the angels depart from him and Satan
+whispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt and come
+short in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and peace!),
+'A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth against the tyranny
+of the Sultan'; and again quoth he, 'If calamity befal one who is not
+pure by ablution; verily and assuredly let him blame none but
+himself.'" Q "What should a man do when he awaketh from sleep?" "He
+should wash his hands thrice, before putting them into the water
+vessel." Q "What are the Koranic and traditional orders anent Ghusl,
+the complete ablution[FN#308]?" "The divine ordinances are intent and
+'crowning'[FN#309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid shall
+come at every part of the hair and skin. Now the traditional ordinances
+are the minor ablution as preliminary; rubbing the body; separating the
+hair and deferring in words[FN#310] the washing of the feet till the
+end of the ablution."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had recounted to the doctor what were the divine and traditional orders
+anent Ghusl or total ablution, quoth he, "Thou hast replied aright: now
+tell me what are the occasions for Tayammum, or making the ablution
+with sand and dust; and what are the ordinances thereof, divine and
+human?" "The reasons are seven, viz.: want of water; fear lest water
+lack; need thereto; going astray on a march; sickness; having broken
+bones in splints and having open wounds.[FN#311] As for its ordinances,
+the divine number four, viz., intent, dust, clapping it to the face and
+clapping it upon the hands; and the human number two, nomination and
+preferring the right before the left hand." Q "What are the conditions,
+the pillars or essentials, and the traditional statutes of prayer?"
+"The conditions are five: (1) purification of the members; (2) covering
+of the privy parts; (3) observing the proper hours, either of certainty
+or to the best of one's belief; (4) fronting the Kiblah; and (5)
+standing on a clean place. The pillars or essentials number twelve: (1)
+intent; (2) the Takbνr or magnification of prohibition; (3) standing
+when able to stand[FN#312]; (4) repeating the Fatihah or opening
+chapter of the Koran and saying, 'In the name of Allah, the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate!' with a verse thereof according to
+the canon of the Imam Al-Shafi'i; (5) bowing the body and keeping it
+bowed; (6) returning to the upright posture and so remaining for the
+time requisite; (7) prostration and permanence therein; (8) sitting
+between two prostrations and permanence therein; (9) repeating the
+latter profession of the Faith and sitting up therefor; (10) invoking
+benediction on the Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) (11) the
+first Salutation,[FN#313] and (12) the intent of making an end of
+prayer expressed in words. But the traditional statutes are the call to
+prayer; the standing posture; raising the hands (to either side of the
+face) whilst pronouncing the prohibition; uttering the magnification
+before reciting the Fatihah; seeking refuge with Allah[FN#314]; saying,
+'Amen'; repeating the chapter of the Koran after the Fatihah, repeating
+the magnifications during change of posture; saying, 'May Allah hear
+him who praiseth Him! and O our Lord, to Thee be the praise!'; praying
+aloud in the proper place[FN#315] and praying under the breath prayers
+so prescribed; the first profession of unity and sitting up thereto;
+blessing the Prophet therein; blessing his family in the latter
+profession and the second Salutation." Q "On what is the Zakαt or
+obligatory poor-rate taxable?" "On gold and silver and camels and oxen
+and sheep and wheat and barley and holcus and millet and beans and
+vetches and rice and raisins and dates." Q "What is the Zakαt or
+poor-rate on gold?" "Below twenty miskals or dinars, nothing; but on
+that amount half a dinar for every score and so on
+proportionally.[FN#316]" Q "On silver?" "Under two hundred dirhams
+nothing, then five dirhams on every two hundred and so forth." Q "On
+camels?" "For every five, an ewe, or for every twenty-five a pregnant
+camel." Q "On sheep?" "An ewe for every forty head," Q "What are the
+ordinances of the Ramazan Fast?" "The Koranic are intent; abstinence
+from eating, drinking and carnal copulation, and the stoppage of
+vomiting. It is incumbent on all who submit to the Law, save women in
+their courses and forty days after childbirth; and it becomes
+obligatory on sight of the new moon or on news of its appearance,
+brought by a trustworthy person and commending itself as truth to the
+hearer's heart; and among its requisites is that the intent be
+pronounced at nightfall. The traditional ordinances of fasting are,
+hastening to break the fast at sundown; deferring the fore-dawn
+meal,[FN#317] and abstaining from speech, save for good works and for
+calling on the name of Allah and reciting the Koran." Q "What things
+vitiate not the fast?" "The use of unguents and eye-powders and the
+dust of the road and the undesigned swallowing of saliva and the
+emission of seed in nocturnal pollution or at the sight of a strange
+woman and blooding and cupping; none of these things vitiates the
+fast." Q "What are the prayers of the two great annual Festivals?" "Two
+one-bow prayers, which be a traditional ordinance, without call to
+prayer or standing up to pronounce the call;[FN#318] but let the Moslem
+say, 'Prayer is a collector of all folk!'[FN#319] and pronounce 'Allaho
+Akbar' seven times in the first prayer, besides the Takbir of
+prohibition; and, in the second, five times, besides the magnification
+of rising up (according to the doctrine of the Imam Al-Shafi'i, on whom
+Allah have mercy!) and make the profession of the Faith."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had answered the doctor anent the Festival-prayers, quoth he, "Thou
+hast replied aright: now tell me what are the prayers prescribed on the
+occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon?" "Two one-bow prayers
+without call to prayer or standing thereto by the worshipper, who shall
+make in each two-bow prayer double standing up and double inclinations
+and two-fold prostrations, then sit and testify and salute." Q "What is
+the ritual of prayer for rain?" "Two one-bow prayers without call to
+prayer or standing thereto; then shall the Moslem make the profession
+and salute. Moreover the Imam shall deliver an exhortation and ask
+pardon of Allah, in place of the magnification, as in the two sermons
+of the Festivals and turn his mantle upper edge downwards and pray and
+supplicate." Q "What are the Witr, the additional or occasional
+prayers?" "The least is a one-bow prayer and the most eleven." Q "What
+is the forenoon prayer?" "At least, two one-bow prayers and at most,
+twelve." Q "What hast thou to say of the I'itikαf or retreat[FN#320]?"
+"It is a matter of traditional ordinance." Q "What are its conditions?"
+"(1) intent; (2) not leaving the mosque save of necessity; (3) not
+having to do with a woman; (4) fasting; and (5) abstaining from
+speech." Q "Under what conditions is the Hajj or Pilgrimage[FN#321]
+obligatory?" "Manhood, and understanding and being a Moslem and
+practicability; in which case it is obligatory on all, once before
+death." Q "What are the Koranic statutes of the Pilgrimage?" "(1) The
+Ihrαm or pilgrim's habit; (2) the standing at Arafat; (3)
+circumambulating the Ka'abah; (4) running between Safα and
+Marwah[FN#322]; and (5) shaving or clipping the hair." Q "What are the
+Koranic statutes of the 'Umrah[FN#323] or lesser pilgrimage?" "Assuming
+the pilgrim's habit and compassing and running." Q "What are the
+Koranic ordinances of the assumption of the pilgrim's habit?"[FN#324]
+"Doffing sewn garments, forswearing perfume and ceasing to shave the
+head or pare the nails, and avoiding the killing of game, and eschewing
+carnal copulation." Q "What are the traditional statutes of the
+pilgrimage?" "(1) The crying out 'Labbay'ka, Adsum, Here am I, O our
+Lord, here am I!'[FN#325]4 (2) the Ka'abah-circuitings[FN#326] of
+arrival and departure; (3) the passing the night at the Mosque of
+Muzdalifah and in the valley of Mina, and (4) the lapidation.[FN#327]"
+Q "What is the Jihαd or Holy War and its essentials?" "Its essentials
+are: (1) the descent of the Infidels upon us; (2) the presence of the
+Imam; (3) a state of preparation; and (4) firmness in meeting the foe.
+Its traditional ordinance is incital to battle, in that the Most High
+hath said, 'O thou my Prophet, incite the faithful to fight!'[FN#328]"
+Q "What are the ordinances of buying and selling?" "The Koranic are:
+(1) offer and acceptance and (2) if the thing sold be a white slave, by
+whom one profiteth, all possible endeavour to convert him to Al-Islam;
+and (3) to abstain from usury; the traditional are: making void[FN#329]
+and option before not after separating, according to his saying (whom
+Allah bless and preserve!), 'The parties to a sale shall have the
+option of cancelling or altering terms whilst they are yet
+unseparated.'", Q "What is it forbidden to sell for what?" "On this
+point I mind me of an authentic tradition, reported by Nαf'i[FN#330] of
+the Apostle of Allah, that he forbade the barter of dried dates for
+fresh and fresh figs for dry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for
+clarified butter; in fine, all eatables of one and the same kind, it is
+unlawful to buy or barter some for other some.[FN#331]" Now when the
+doctor of law heard her words and knew that she was wit-keen,
+penetrative, ingenious and learned in jurisprudence and the Traditions
+and the interpretation of the Koran and what not else, he said in his
+mind, "Needs must I manoeuvre with her, that I may overcome her in the
+assembly of the Commander of the Faithful." So he said to her, "O
+damsel, what is the lexicographical meaning of Wuzu?" And she answered,
+"Philologically it signifieth cleanliness and freedom from impurities."
+Q "And of Salαt or prayer?" "An invocation of good" Q "And of Ghusl?"
+"Purification." Q "And of Saum or fasting?" "Abstention." Q "And of
+Zakαt?" "Increase. Q "And of Hajj or pilgrimage?" "Visitation." Q "And
+of Jihαd?" "Repelling." With this the doctor's arguments were cut
+off,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the doctor's
+arguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said, "Bear witness
+against me, O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more
+learned in the Law than I am." Quoth she, "I will ask thee somewhat,
+which do thou answer me speedily, an thou be indeed a learned man."
+Quoth he, "Say on;" and she said, "What are the arrows of the Faith?"
+Answered he, "They number ten: (1) Testification, that is, religion;
+(2) Prayer, that is, the covenant; (3) Alms, that is, purification; (4)
+Fasting, that is, defensive armour; (5) Pilgrimage, that is, the Law;
+(6) Fighting for the Faith, that is, a general duty; (7) Bidding to
+beneficence and (8) Forbidding from frowardness, both of which are a
+man's honour; (9) Commune,[FN#332] that is, sociableness of the
+Faithful; and (10) Seeking knowledge, that is, the praiseworthy path."
+She rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright and now remaineth but one
+question, 'What be the roots or fundamentals of Al-Islam?'" He said
+"They are four: sincerity of belief, truth of intent, observance of the
+lawful limit and keeping the covenant." Then said she, "I have one more
+question to ask thee, which if thou answer, it is well; else, I will
+take thy clothes." Quoth he, "Speak, O damsel;" and she said, "What are
+the branches or superstructure of Al-Islam?" But he was silent awhile
+and made no reply: so she cried "Doff thy clothes and I will expound
+them to thee." Quoth the Caliph "Expound them, and I will make him put
+off his clothes for thee." She said, "There are two-and-twenty
+branches: (1) holding fast to the Book of Allah the Most Highest; (2)
+taking example by His Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!); (3)
+abstaining from evil doing; (4) eating what is lawful and (5) avoiding
+what is unlawful; (6) restitution of things wrongfully taken; (7)
+repentance; (8) knowledge of the Law; (9) love of the Friend,[FN#333]
+(10) and of the followers of the true Revelation; (11) belief in the
+apostles of Al-Islam; (12) fear of apostacy; (13) preparation for
+departing this life; (14) force of conviction; (15) mercy on all
+possible occasions; (16) strength in time of weakness; (17) patience
+under trials; (18) knowledge of Allah Almighty and (19) of what His
+Prophet hath made known to us; (20) thwarting Iblis the accursed; (21)
+striving earnestly against the lusts of the soul and warring them down,
+and (22) devotion to the one God." Now when the Commander of the
+Faithful heard her words, he bade the professor put off his clothes and
+hooded turband; and so did that doctor and went forth, beaten and
+confounded, from the Caliph's presence. Thereupon another man stood up
+and said to her, "O damsel, hear a few questions from me." Quoth she,
+"Say on;' and he asked, "What are the conditions of purchase by
+advance?" whereto she answered, "That the price be fixed, the kind be
+fixed and the period of delivery be fixed and known." Q "What are the
+Koranic and the traditional canons of eating?" "The confession that
+Allah Almighty provideth the eater and giveth him meat and drink, with
+thanksgiving to Him therefor." Q "What is thanksgiving?" "The use by
+the creature of that which the Creator vouchsafeth to him, according as
+it was created for the creature." Q "What are the traditional canons of
+eating?" "The Bismillah[FN#334] and washing both hands; sitting on the
+left of the hind part; eating with three fingers, and eating of that
+which hath been duly masticated.[FN#335]" Q "What are good manners in
+eating?" "Taking small mouthfuls and looking little at one's
+table-companion."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had answered concerning good manners in eating, the doctor who was
+trying her, rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright. Now tell me what are
+the stays of the heart and their supports?"[FN#336] "The stays and
+supports both number three: (1) holding fast to the Faith, the support
+whereof is the shunning of infidelity; (2) holding fast to the
+Traditional Law, and its support the shunning of innovation; and (3)
+holding fast to obedience, and its support the shunning of
+disobedience." Q "What are the conditions of Wuzu?" "(1) being a
+Moslem; (2) discernment of good and evil; (3) purity of the water, and
+(4) absence of material or religious impediments." Q "What is belief?"
+"It is divided into nine parts: (1) belief in the One worshipped; (2)
+belief in the condition of slavery of the worshipper; (3) belief in the
+personality of the Deity; (4) belief in the Two Handfuls;[FN#337] (5)
+belief in Providence which allotteth to man his lot; (6) belief in the
+Abrogating and (7) in the Abrogated; (8) belief in Allah, His angels
+and apostles; and (9) in fore-ordained Fate, general and individual,
+its good and ill, its sweet and bitter." Q "What three things do away
+other three?" "It is told of Sufyαn al-Saurν[FN#338] that he said,
+'Three things do away with other three. Making light of the pious doth
+away the future life; making light of Kings doth away this life; and,
+making light of expenditure doth away wealth.'" Q "What are the keys of
+the heavens, and how many gates have they.?" "Quoth Almighty Allah,
+'And the heaven shall be opened and be full of portals;'[FN#339] and
+quoth he whom Allah bless and preserve!, 'None knoweth the number of
+the gates of heavens, save He who created the heavens, and there is no
+son of Adam but hath two gates allotted to him in the heavens, one
+whereby his daily bread descendeth and another wherethrough his works
+ascend. The first gate is not closed, save when his term of life cometh
+to an end, nor the gate of works, good and evil, till his soul ascend
+for judgment.'" Q "Tell me of a thing and a half thing and a no-thing."
+"The thing is the Moslem; the half thing the hypocrite,[FN#340] and the
+no-thing the miscreant." Q "Tell me of various kinds of hearts." "There
+is the whole heart, the sick heart, the contrite heart, the vowed heart
+and the enlightened heart. Now the whole heart is that of Abraham, the
+Friend of Allah; the sick heart is that of the Unbeliever in Al-Islam;
+the contrite heart is that of the pious who fear the Lord; the vowed
+heart is that of our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!) and the
+illuminated heart is that of his followers. Furthermore, the hearts of
+learned Olema are of three kinds, the heart which is in love with this
+world; the heart which loveth the next world, and the heart which
+loveth its Lord; and it is said that hearts are three, the suspended,
+that of the infidel; the non-existent, that of the hypocrite; and the
+constant, that of the True-believer. Moreover, it is said that the firm
+heart is of three kinds, viz., the heart dilated with light and faith,
+the heart wounded with fear of estrangement, and the heart which
+feareth to be forsaken of its Supreme Friend."—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the second
+doctor declared. "Thou hast said well," quoth she to the Caliph, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me, till he is weary, and
+now I will ask of him two questions. If he answer them both, it is
+well; and if not, I will take his clothes and he shall wend in peace."
+Quoth the doctor, "Ask me what thou wilt," and she said, "What sayest
+thou religion is?" Answered he, "Religion is confession of Faith with
+the tongue and conviction with the heart and correspondent action with
+the members. He (upon whom be blessings and peace!) hath said, 'The
+believer is not perfect in belief, except he perfect himself in five
+qualities, namely: trust in Allah,[FN#341] committal of his affair to
+Allah, submission to the commands of Allah, acquiescence in the decrees
+of Allah; and that all he doth be done for sake of Allah; so is he of
+those who are acceptable to the Deity, and who give to Him and withhold
+for Him; and such man is perfect in belief.'" Then said she, "What is
+the Divine ordinance of ordinances and the ordinance which is the
+initiator of all ordinances and that of which all others stand in need
+and that which comprehendeth all others; and what is the traditional
+ordinance that entereth into the Koranic, and the prophetic practice
+whereby the Divine is completed?" But he was silent and made no reply;
+whereupon the Caliph bade her expound and ordered him to doff his
+clothes and give them to her. Said she, "O doctor, the Koranic
+ordinance of ordinances is the knowledge of Allah Almighty; that, which
+is the initiative of all others, is the testifying there is no god but
+the God and Mohammed is the Apostle of God; that, of which all others
+have need, is the Wuzu-ablution; that, which compriseth all others, is
+the Ghusl-ablution from defilement[FN#342]; the Traditional ordinance
+that entereth into the Koranic, is the separation of the fingers and
+the thick beard;[FN#343] and that, wherewith all Koranic ordinances are
+completed, is circumcision."[FN#344] Therewith was made manifest the
+defeat of the doctor, who rose to his feet and said, "I call Allah to
+witness, O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned
+than I in theology and what pertaineth to the Law." So saying, he put
+off his clothes and went away ignominiously worsted. Then she turned to
+the rest of the learned men present and said, "O masters, which of you
+is the Koranist, the reader and reciter of the Koran, versed in the
+seven readings and in syntax and in lexicography?" Thereupon a
+professor arose and, seating himself before her, said "Hast thou read
+the Book of Almighty Allah and made thyself thoroughly acquainted with
+its signs, that is its verses, and its abrogating parts and abrogated
+portions, its unequivocal commands and its ambiguous; and the
+difference of its revelations, Meccan and Medinan? Dost thou understand
+its interpretation and hast thou studied it, according to the various
+traditions and origins?" "Yes," answered she; and he said, "What then
+is the number of its chapters, how many are the decades and versets,
+how many words and how many letters and how many acts of prostration
+and how many prophets and how many chapters are Medinan and how many
+are Meccan and how many birds are mentioned in it?" Replied she, "O my
+lord, its chapters are an hundred and fourteen, whereof seventy were
+revealed at Meccah and forty-four at Al-Medinah; and it containeth six
+hundred and twenty-one decades; six thousand three hundred and
+thirty-six versets;[FN#345] seventy-nine thousand four hundred and
+thirty-nine words and three hundred and twenty-three thousand and six
+hundred and seventy letters; and to the reader thereof, for every
+letter, are given ten benefits. The acts of prostration it compriseth
+are fourteen."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+professor of Koranic exegesis questioned the damsel, she continued, "As
+regards the Prophets named in the Book there be five-and-twenty, to
+wit, Adam, Noah,[FN#346] Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot,
+Elisha, Jonah, Salih,[FN#347] or Heber, HÏŠd,[FN#348] Shua'yb or
+Jethro,[FN#349] David, Solomon, Zϊ'l-kafl or Joshua, Idrνs, Elias,
+Yahyα or John the Baptist, Zacharias, Job, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and
+Mohammed,[FN#350] the peace of Allah and His blessing be on them all!
+Moreover, nine flying things are mentioned in the Koran, namely, the
+gnat, the bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the crow, the locust, the
+swallow and the bird of Jesus[FN#351] (on whom be peace!), to wit, the
+bat." Q "Which is the most excellent chapter of the Koran?" "That of
+The Cow.[FN#352]" Q "Which is the most magnificent verse?" "That of the
+Throne; it hath fifty words, bearing in each fifty blessings." Q "What
+sign or verse hath in it nine signs or wonders?" "That in which quoth
+Allah Almighty, 'Verily, in the creation of the Heaven and the Earth:
+and in the vicissitude of night, and day; and in the ship which saileth
+through the sea laden with what is profitable for mankind; and in the
+rain-water which God sendeth down from Heaven, quickening thereby the
+dead ground and replenishing the same with all sorts of cattle; and in
+the change of winds and in the clouds that are compelled to do service
+between the Heaven and the Earth;[FN#353]—are signs to people of
+understanding.'" Q "Which verse is the most just?" "That in which Allah
+saith, 'Verily, Allah enjoineth justice and the doing of good, and the
+giving unto kindred what shall be necessary; and He forbiddeth
+wickedness and iniquity and oppression'"[FN#354] Q "Which is the most
+greedy?" "That in which quoth Allah, 'Is it that every man of them
+greedeth to enter the Garden of Delight?'"[FN#355] Q "Which is the most
+hopeful?" "That in which quoth Almighty Allah, 'Say: O my servants who
+have transgressed against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of
+Allah; seeing, that Allah forgiveth all sins; aye Gracious, Merciful is
+He.'"[FN#356] Q "By what school of intonation dost thou read?" "By that
+of the people of Paradise, to wit, the version of Nαf'i." Q "In which
+verse doth Allah make prophets lie?"[FN#357] "In that wherein He saith,
+'They (the brothers of Joseph) brought his inner garment stained with
+false blood.'"[FN#358] Q "In which doth He make unbelievers speak the
+truth?" "In that wherein He saith, 'The Jews say, 'The Christians are
+grounded on nothing,' and the Christians say, 'The Jews are grounded on
+nothing'; and yet they both read the Scriptures;'[FN#359] and, so
+saying, all say sooth." Q "In which doth God speak in his own person?"
+"In that in which he saith, 'I have not created Genii and men for any
+other end than that they should serve me.'"[FN#360] Q "In which verse
+do the angels speak?" "In that which saith, 'But we celebrate Thy
+praise and extol Thy holiness.'"[FN#361] Q "What sayest thou of the
+formula:—I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned?" "It is
+obligatory by commandment of Allah on all before reading the Koran, as
+appeareth by His saying, 'When thou readest the Koran, seek refuge with
+Allah from Satan the Stoned.'"[FN#362] Q "What signify the words
+'seeking refuge'[FN#363] and what are the variants of the formula?"
+"Some say, 'I take refuge with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing,'
+and others, 'With Allah the Strong;' but the best is that whereof the
+Sublime Koran speaketh and the Traditions perpetuate. And he (whom
+Allah bless and keep!) was used to ejaculate, 'I seek refuge with Allah
+from Satan the Stoned.' And quoth a Tradition, reported by Naf'i on the
+authority of his adopted father, 'The apostle of Allah, was wont when
+he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud, 'Allaho Akbar'; God is Most
+Great, with all Majesty! Praise be to Allah abundantly! Glory to Allah
+morn and even be!' Then would he say, 'I seek refuge with Allah from
+Satan the Stoned and from the delusions of the Devils and their evil
+suggestions.' And it is told of Ibn Abbas[FN#364] (of whom Allah
+accept!) that he said, 'The first time Gabriel came down to the Prophet
+with revelation he taught him the 'seeking refuge,' saying, 'O
+Mohammed, say, I seek refuge with Allah the All-hearing and
+All-knowing;' then say, 'In the name of Allah the Compassionating, the
+Compassionate!' Read, in the name of thy Lord who created;—created man
+of blood-clots."[FN#365] Now when the Koranist heard her words he
+marvelled at her expressions, her eloquence, her learning, her
+excellence, and said, "O damsel, what sayst thou of the verse 'In the
+name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate'? Is it one of
+the verses of the Koran?" "Yes; it is a verset of 'The Ant'[FN#366]
+occurring also at the head of the first and between every two following
+chapters; and there is much difference of opinion, respecting this,
+among the learned."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had told the professor concerning the difference of opinion among the
+learned touching the "Basmalah," he said, "Thou hast replied aright:
+now tell me why is not the formula written at the head of the chapter
+of Immunity[FN#367]?"; and she answered, "When this chapter was
+revealed from on high for the dissolution of the alliance between the
+Prophet and the idolaters, He (whom Allah bless and preserve!) sent
+Ali[FN#368] ibn Abν Tαlib (whose face Allah honour!) therewith, and he
+read the chapter to them, but did not read the Basmalah."[FN#369] Q
+"What of the excellence of the formula and its blessing?" "It is told
+of the Prophet that he said, 'Never is the Basmalah pronounced over
+aught, but there is a blessing in it;' and it is reported, on authority
+of Him (whom Allah bless and preserve!) that the Lord of Glory swore by
+His glory that never should the Basmalah be pronounced over a sick
+person, but he should be healed of his sickness. Moreover, it is said
+that, when Allah created the empyrean, it was agitated with an
+exceeding agitation; but He wrote on it, 'Bismillah' and its agitation
+subsided. When the formula first descended from heaven to the Prophet,
+he said, 'I am safe from three things, earthquake and metamorphosis and
+drowning; and indeed its boons are great and its blessings too many to
+enumerate. It is told of Allah's Apostle that he said, 'There will be
+brought on the Judgment-day a man with whom He shall reckon and finding
+no good deed to his account, shall order him to the Fire; but the man
+will cry, 'O my God, Thou hast not dealt justly by me!' Then shall
+Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) say, 'How so?' and the man shall
+answer, O Lord, for that Thou callest Thyself the Compassionating, the
+Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me with the Fire!' And Allah
+(magnified be His Majesty!) shall reply, 'I did indeed name myself the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate. Carry My servant to Paradise, of My
+mercy, for I am the most Merciful of the mercifuls!'" Q "What was the
+origin of the use of the Basmalah?" "When Allah sent down from Heaven
+the Koran, they wrote, 'In Thy name, O my God!'; when Allah revealed
+the words, 'Say: Call upon Allah, or call upon the Compassionating,
+what days ye pray, for hath He the most excellent names,'[FN#370] they
+wrote, 'In the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate;
+and, when He revealed the words, 'Your God is one God, there is no God
+but He, the Compassionating, the Compassionate,'[FN#371] they wrote,
+'In the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate!'" Now
+when the Koranist heard her reply, he hung down his head and said to
+himself, "This be a marvel of marvels! How hath this slave-girl
+expounded the origin of the Basmalah? But, by Allah, needs must I go a
+bout with her and haply defeat her." So he asked, "Did Allah reveal the
+Koran all at once or at times manifold?" She answered, "Gabriel the
+Faithful (on whom be peace!) descended with it from the Lord of the
+Worlds upon His Prophet Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles and Seal of
+the Prophets, by detached versets: bidding and forbidding, covenanting
+and comminating, and containing advices and instances in the course of
+twenty years as occasion called for it." Q "Which chapter was first
+revealed?" "According to Ibn Abbas, that entituled 'Congealed
+Blood':[FN#372] and, according to Jαbir bin Abdillah,[FN#373] that
+called 'The Covered' which preceded all others.[FN#374]" Q "Which
+verset was the last revealed?" "That of 'Usury',[FN#375] and it is also
+said, the verse, 'When there cometh Allah's succour and
+victory.'"[FN#376]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+told the Koranist which was the last verse he said, "Thou hast replied
+aright; now tell me the names of the Companions who collected the
+Koran, in the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah." And she answered "They
+were four, Ubay ibn Ka'ab, Zayd ibn Sαbit, Abϊ Obaydah 'Aamir bin
+Jarrαh, and Othmαn bin Affαn[FN#377] (Allah accept of them one and
+all!)" Q "Who are the readers, from whom the accepted reading of the
+Koran is taken?" "They number four, Abdallah bin Mas'ÏŠd, Ubay bin
+Ka'ab, Ma'az bin Jabal and Sαlim bin Abdillah." Q "What sayest thou of
+the words of the Most High, 'That which is sacrificed to
+stones'"?[FN#378] "The stones are idols, which are set up and
+worshipped, instead of Allah the Most High, and from this we seek
+refuge with Allah." Q "What sayest thou of the words of the Most High
+'Thou knowest what is in my soul, and I know not what is in Thy
+soul'"?[FN#379] "They mean, 'Thou knowest the truth of me and what is
+in me, and I know not what is in Thee;' and the proof of this are His
+words,[FN#380] 'Thou art He who wottest the hidden things'; and it is
+said, also, 'Thou knowest my essence, but I know not Thine essence.'" Q
+"What sayst thou of the words of the Most High, 'O true believers,
+forbid not yourselves the good things which Allah hath allowed
+you?'"[FN#381] "My Shaykh (on whom Allah have mercy!) told me that the
+Companion Al-Zahhαk related: 'There was a people of the True-believers
+who said, 'We will dock our members masculine and don sackcloth;'
+whereupon this verse was revealed. But Al-Kutαdah declareth that it was
+revealed on account of sundry Companions of the Apostle of Allah,
+namely, Ali ibn Abν Tαlib and Othmαn bin Musa'ab and others, who said,
+'We will geld ourselves and don hair cloth and make us monks.'" Q "What
+sayest thou of the words of the Most Highest, 'And Allah took Abraham
+for His friend'"?[FN#382] "The friend of Allah is the needy, the poor,
+and (according to another saying) he is the lover, he who is detached
+from the world in the love of Allah Almighty and in whose attachment
+there is no falling away." Now when the Koranist[FN#383] saw her pass
+on in speech with the passage of the clouds and that she stayed not in
+reply, he rose to his feet and said, "I take Allah to witness, O
+Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned than I in
+Koranic exegesis and what pertaineth thereto." Then said she, "I will
+ask thee one question, which if thou answer it is well; but if thou
+answer not, I will strip off thy clothes." Quoth the Commander of the
+Faithful, "Ask on," and she enquired, "Which verset of the Koran hath
+in it three-and-twenty Kαfs, which sixteen Mνms, which an hundred and
+forty 'Ayns[FN#384] and which section[FN#385] lacketh the formula, 'To
+Whom belong glory and glorification and majesty[FN#386]?'" The Koranist
+could not reply, and she said to him, "Put off thy clothes." So he
+doffed them, and she continued, "O Commander of the Faithful, the
+verset of the sixteen Mims is in the chapter HÏŠd and is the saying of
+the Most High, 'It was said, O Noah, go down in peace from us, and
+blessing upon thee!'[FN#387] that of the three-and-twenty Kafs is the
+verse called of the Faith, in the chapter of The Cow; that of the
+hundred and forty Ayns is in the chapter of Al-A'arαf,[FN#388] where
+the Lord saith, 'And Moses chose seventy men of his tribe to attend our
+appointed time;[FN#389] to each man a pair of eyes.'[FN#390] And the
+lesson, which lacketh the formula, 'To Whom be glory and
+glorification,' is that which comprises the chapters, The Hour draweth
+nigh and the Moon shall be cloven in twain[FN#391]; The Compassionate
+and The Event."[FN#392] Thereupon the professor departed in
+confusion.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+defeated the Koranist and took off his clothes and sent him away
+confused, then came forward the skilled physician and said to her, "We
+are free of theology and come now to physiology. Tell me, therefore,
+how is man made; how many veins, bones and vertebrae are there in his
+body; which is the first and chief vein and why Adam was named Adam?"
+She replied, "Adam was called Adam, because of his udmah, that is, the
+wheaten colour of his complexion and also (it is said) because he was
+created of the adim of the earth, that is to say, of the surface-soil.
+His breast was made of the earth of the Ka'abah, his head of earth from
+the East and his legs of earth from the West. There were created for
+him seven doors in his head, viz., the eyes, the ears, the nostrils and
+the mouth, and two passages, before and behind. The eyes were made the
+seat of the sight-sense, the ears the seat of the hearing-sense, the
+nostrils the seat of the smell-sense, the mouth the seat of the
+taste-sense and the tongue to utter what is in the heart of
+man.[FN#393] Now Adam was made of a compound of the four elements,
+which be water, earth, fire and air. The yellow bile is the humour of
+fire, being hot-dry; the black bile that of earth, being cold-dry; the
+phlegm that of water, being cold-moist, and the blood that of air,
+being hot-moist.[FN#394] There were made in man three hundred and sixty
+veins, two hundred and forty-nine bones, and three souls[FN#395] or
+spirits, the animal, the rational and the natural, to each of which is
+allotted its proper function. Moreover, Allah made him a heart and
+spleen and lungs and six intestines and a liver and two kidneys and
+buttocks and brain and bones and skin and five senses; hearing, seeing,
+smell, taste, touch. The heart He set on the left side of the breast
+and made the stomach the guide and governor thereof. He appointed the
+lungs for a fan to the heart and stablished the liver on the right
+side, opposite thereto. Moreover, He made, besides this, the diaphragm
+and the viscera and set up the bones of the breast and latticed them
+with the ribs." Q "How many ventricles are there in a man's head?"
+"Three, which contain five faculties, styled the intrinsic senses, to
+wit, common sense, imagination, the thinking faculty, perception and
+memory." Q "Describe to me the configuration of the bones."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+physicist said to her, "Describe to me the configuration of the bones,"
+she replied, "Man's frame consists of two hundred and forty bones,
+which are divided into three parts, the head, the trunk and the
+extremities. The head is divided into calvarium and face. The skull is
+constructed of eight bones, and to it are attached the four osselets of
+the ear. The face is furnished with an upper jaw of eleven bones and a
+lower jaw of one; and to these are added the teeth two-and-thirty in
+number, and the os hyoides.[FN#396] The trunk is divided into spinal
+column, breast and basin. The spinal column is made up of
+four-and-twenty bones, called Fikαr or vertebrζ; the breast, of the
+breastbone and the ribs, which are four-and-twenty in number, twelve on
+each side; and the basin of the hips, the sacrum[FN#397] and os
+coccygis. The extremities divided into upper and lower, arms and legs.
+The arms are again divided: firstly into shoulder, comprising shoulder
+blades and collar bone; secondly into the upper arm which is one bone;
+thirdly into fore-arm, composed of two bones, the radius and the ulna;
+and fourthly into the hand, consisting of the wrist, the metacarpus of
+five and the fingers, which number five, of three bones each, called
+the phalanges, except the thumb, which hath but two. The lower
+extremities are divided: firstly into thigh, which is one bone;
+secondly into leg, composed of three bones, the tibia, the fibula and
+the patella; and thirdly into the foot, divided, like the hand, into
+tarsus, metatarsus and toes; and is composed of seven bones, ranged in
+two rows, two in one and five in the other; and the metatarsus is
+composed of five bones and the toes number five, each of three
+phalanges except the big toe which hath only two." Q "Which is the root
+of the veins?" "The aorta, from which they ramify, and they are many,
+none knoweth the tale of them save He who created them; but I repeat,
+it is said that they number three hundred and sixty.[FN#398] Moreover,
+Allah hath appointed the tongue as interpreter for the thought, the
+eyes to serve as lanterns, the nostrils to smell with, and the hands
+for prehensors. The liver is the seat of pity, the spleen of
+laughter[FN#399] and the kidneys of craft; the lungs are ventilators,
+the stomach the store-house, and the heart the prop and pillar of the
+body. When the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and when the
+heart is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt." Q "What are the outward
+signs and symptoms evidencing disease in the members of the body, both
+external and internal?" "A physician, who is a man of understanding,
+looketh into the state of the body and is guided by the feel of the
+hands,[FN#400] according as they are firm or flabby, hot or cool, moist
+or dry. Internal disorders are also indicated by external symptoms,
+such as yellowness of the white of the eyes, which denoteth jaundice,
+and bending of the back, which denoteth disease of the lungs." And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had described to the doctor the outer signs and symptoms quoth he,
+"Thou hast replied aright! now what are the internal symptoms of
+disease?" "The science of the diagnosis of disease by internal symptoms
+is founded upon six canons: (1) the patient's actions; (2) what is
+evacuated from his body; (3) the nature of the pain; and (4) the site
+thereof; (5) swelling; and (6) the effluvia given off his person." Q
+"How cometh hurt to the head?" "By the ingestion of food upon food,
+before the first be digested, and by fullness upon fullness; this it is
+that wasteth peoples. He who would live long, let him be early with the
+morning-meal and not late with the evening-meal; let him be sparing of
+commerce with women and chary of such depletory measures as cupping and
+blood-letting; and let him make of his belly three parts, one for food,
+one for drink and the third for air; for that a man's intestines are
+eighteen spans in length and it befitteth that he appoint six for meat,
+six for drink, and six for breath. If he walk, let him go gently; it
+will be wholesomer for him and better for his body and more in
+accordance with the saying of the Almighty, 'Walk not proudly on the
+earth.'"[FN#401] Q "What are the symptoms of yellow bile and what is to
+be feared therefrom?" "The symptoms are sallow complexion and bitter
+taste in the mouth with dryness; failure of the appetite, venereal and
+other, and rapid pulse; and the patient hath to fear high fever and
+delirium and eruptions and jaundice and tumour and ulcers of the bowels
+and excessive thirst." Q "What are the symptoms of black bile and what
+hath the patient to fear from it, an it get the mastery of the body?"
+"The symptoms are false appetite and great mental disquiet and cark and
+care; and it behoveth that it be evacuated, else it will generate
+melancholia[FN#402] and leprosy and cancer and disease of the spleen
+and ulceration of the bowels." Q "Into how many branches is the art of
+medicine divided?" "Into two: the art of diagnosing diseases, and that
+of restoring the diseased body to health." Q "When is the drinking of
+medicine more efficacious than otherwhen?" "When the sap runs in the
+wood and the grape thickens in the cluster and the two auspicious
+planets, Jupiter and Venus, are in the ascendant; then setteth in the
+proper season for drinking of drugs and doing away of disease." Q "What
+time is it, when, if a man drink water from a new vessel, the drink is
+sweeter and lighter or more digestible to him than at another time, and
+there ascendeth to him a pleasant fragrance and a penetrating?" "When
+he waiteth awhile after eating, as quoth the poet,
+
+'Drink not upon thy food in haste but wait awhile; * Else thou
+
+
+     with halter shalt thy frame to sickness lead:
+
+
+And patient bear a little thirst from food, then drink; * And
+
+
+     thus, O brother, haply thou shalt win thy need.[FN#403]'"
+
+
+
+Q "What food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?" "That which is
+not eaten but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are not
+filled with it, even as saith Jαlνnϊs or Galen the physician, 'Whoso
+will take in food, let him go slowly and he shall not go wrongly.' And
+to conclude with His saying (on whom be blessing and peace!), 'The
+stomach is the house of disease, and diet is the head of healing; for
+the origin of all sickness is indigestion, that is to say, corruption
+of the meat'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel said to the doctor, "'The stomach is the house of disease and
+diet is the head of healing; for the origin of all sickness is
+indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat in the stomach;'"
+he rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright! what sayest thou of the
+Hammam?" "Let not the full man enter it. Quoth the Prophet, 'The bath
+is the blessing of the house, for that it cleanseth the body and
+calleth to mind the Fire.'" Q "What Hammams are best for bathing in?"
+"Those whose waters are sweet and whose space is ample and which are
+kept well aired; their atmosphere representing the four seasons—autumn
+and summer and winter and spring." Q "What kind of food is the most
+profitable?" "That which women make and which hath not cost overmuch
+trouble and which is readily digested. The most excellent of food is
+brewis[FN#404] or bread sopped in broth; according to the saying of the
+Prophet, 'Brewis excelleth other food, even as Ayishah excelleth other
+women.'" Q "What kind of kitchen, or seasoning, is most profitable?"
+"'Flesh meat' (quoth the Prophet) 'is the most excellent of kitchen;
+for that it is the delight of this world and the next world.'" Q "What
+kind of meat is the most profitable?" "Mutton; but jerked meat is to be
+avoided, for there is no profit in it." Q "What of fruits?" "Eat them
+in their prime and quit them when their season is past." Q "What sayest
+thou of drinking water?" "Drink it not in large quantities nor swallow
+it by gulps, or it will give thee head-ache and cause divers kinds of
+harm; neither drink it immediately after leaving the Hammam nor after
+carnal copulation or eating (except it be after the lapse of fifteen
+minutes for a young man and forty for an old man), nor after waking
+from sleep." Q "What of drinking fermented liquors?" "Doth not the
+prohibition suffice thee in the Book of Almighty Allah, where He saith,
+'Verily, wine and lots and images, and the divining arrows are an
+abomination, of Satan's work; therefore avoid them, that ye may
+prosper'?[FN#405] And again, 'They will ask thee concerning wine and
+lots': Answer, 'In both there is great sin and also some things of use
+unto men: but their sinfulness is greater than their use.'[FN#406]
+Hence quoth the poet,
+
+'O bibber of liquor, art not ashamed * To drink what Allah
+
+
+     forbade thee drain?
+
+
+Put it far from thee and approach it not; * It holds what Allah
+
+
+     forbade as bane.'
+
+
+
+And quoth another to the same purport,
+
+'I drank the sin till my reason fled: * Ill drink that reason to loss
+misled!'
+
+As for the advantages that be therein, it disperseth stone and gravel
+from the kidneys and strengtheneth the viscera and banisheth care, and
+moveth to generosity and preserveth health and digestion; it conserveth
+the body, expelleth disease from the joints, purifieth the frame of
+corrupt humours, engendereth cheerfulness, gladdeneth the heart of man
+and keepeth up the natural heat: it contracteth the bladder, enforceth
+the liver and removeth obstructions, reddeneth the cheeks, cleareth
+away maggots from the brain and deferreth grey hairs. In short, had not
+Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) forbidden it,[FN#407] there were
+not on the face of the earth aught fit to stand in its stead. As for
+gambling by lots, it is a game of hazard such as diceing, not of
+skill." Q "What wine is best?" "That which is pressed from white grapes
+and kept eighty days or more after fermentation: it resembleth not
+water and indeed there is nothing on the surface of the earth like unto
+it." Q "What sayest thou of cupping?" "It is for him who is over full
+of blood and who hath no defect therein; and whoso would be cupped, let
+it be during the wane of the moon, on a day without cloud, wind or rain
+and on the seventeenth of the month. If it fall on a Tuesday, it will
+be the more efficacious, and nothing is more salutary for the brain and
+eyes and for clearing the intellect than cupping."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+enumerated the benefits of cupping, quoth the doctor, "What is the best
+time for cupping?" "One should be cupped 'on the spittle,' that is, in
+the morning before eating, for this fortifieth the wit and the memory.
+It is reported of the Prophet that, when anyone complained to him of a
+pain in the head or legs, he would bid him be cupped and after cupping
+not eat salt food, fasting, for it engendereth scurvy; neither eat sour
+things as curded milk[FN#408] immediately after cupping." Q "When is
+cupping to be avoided?" "On Sabbaths or Saturdays and Wednesdays; and
+let him who is cupped on these days blame none but himself. Moreover,
+one should not be cupped in very hot weather nor in very cold weather;
+and the best season for cupping is springtide." Quoth the doctor, "Now
+tell me of carnal copulation." Hereupon Tawaddud hung her head, for
+shame and confusion before the Caliph's majesty; then said, "By Allah,
+O Commander of the Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that I
+am ashamed; though, indeed, the answer is on the edge of my tongue."
+Said the Caliph; "Speak, O damsel," whereupon said she, "Copulation
+hath in it many and exceeding virtues and praiseworthy qualities,
+amongst which are, that it lighteneth a body full of black bile and
+calmeth the heat of love and induceth affection and dilateth the heart
+and dispelleth the sadness of solitude; and the excess of it is more
+harmful in summer and autumn than in spring and winter." Q "What are
+its good effects?" "It banisheth trouble and disquiet, calmeth love and
+wrath and is good for ulcers, especially in a cold and dry humour; on
+the other hand excess of it weakeneth the sight and engendereth pains
+in the legs and head and back: and beware, beware of carnal connection
+with old women, for they are deadly. Quoth the Iman Ali[FN#409] (whose
+face Allah honour!), 'Four things kill and ruin the body: entering the
+Hammam on a full stomach; eating salt food; copulation on a plethora of
+blood and lying with an ailing woman; for she will weaken thy strength
+and infect thy frame with sickness; and an old woman is deadly poison.'
+And quoth one of them, 'Beware of taking an old woman to wife, though
+she be richer in hoards than Kαrϊn'"[FN#410] Q "What is the best
+copulation?" "If the woman be tender of years, comely of shape, fair of
+face, swelling of breast and of noble race, she will add to thee
+strength and health of body; and let her be even as saith a certain
+poet describing her,
+
+'Seeing thy looks wots she what thou desir'st, * By inspiration;
+
+
+     wants nor word nor sign;
+
+
+And, when thou dost behold her rarest grace, * The charms of
+
+
+     every garden canst decline.'
+
+
+
+Q "At what time is copulation good?" "If by night, after food digested
+and if by day, after the morning meal." Q "What are the most excellent
+fruits?" "Pomegranate and citron." Q "Which is the most excellent of
+vegetables?" "Endive.[FN#411]" Q "Which of sweet-scented flowers?"
+"Rose and Violet." Q "How is the seed of man secreted?" "There is in
+man a vein which feedeth all the other veins. Now water is collected
+from the three hundred and sixty veins and, in the form of red blood,
+entereth the left testicle, where it is decocted, by the heat of
+temperament inherent in the son of Adam, into a thick, white liquid,
+whose odour is as that of the palm-spathe." Q "What flying thing is it
+that emitteth seed and menstruateth?" "The flitter-mouse,[FN#412] that
+is the bat." Q "What is that which, when confined and shut out from the
+air liveth, and when let out to smell the air dieth?" "The fish." Q
+"What serpent layeth eggs?" "The Su'ban or dragon.[FN#413]" With this
+the physician waxed weary with much questioning, and held his peace,
+when Tawaddud said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, he hath
+questioned me till he is tired out and now I will ask him one question,
+which if he answer not, I will take his clothes as lawful prize."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel said to the Commander of the Faithful, "Verily he hath
+questioned me till he is tired out, and now I will ask him one
+question, which if he answer not I will take his clothes as lawful
+prize," the Caliph cried, "Ask on." So quoth she to the physician,
+"What is that thing which resembleth the earth in roundness, whose
+resting-place and whose spine are hidden from men's eyes; little of
+price and estimation; narrow of chest and shackled as to throat though
+it be nor runaway slave nor pestilent thief; thrust through and
+through, though not in fray, and wounded, though not in fight: time
+eateth its vigour and water wasteth it away; now it is beaten without
+blemish, and then made to serve without stint; united after separation;
+submissive, but not to him who caresseth it; pregnant without child in
+belly; drooping, yet not leaning on its side; becoming dirty yet
+purifying itself; cleaving to its fere, yet changing; copulating
+without a yard, wrestling without arms: resting and taking its ease;
+bitten, yet not crying out: now more complaisant than a cup-companion
+and then more troublesome than summer-heat; leaving its mate by night
+and embracing her by day and having its abode in the corners of the
+mansions of the noble?" The physician was silent awhile in perplexity
+and his colour changed and he bowed his head and made no reply;
+whereupon she said to him, "Ho, sir doctor, speak or doff thy dress."
+At this, he rose and said, "O Commander of the Faithful, bear witness
+against me that this damsel is more learned than I in medicine and what
+else, and that I cannot cope with her." And he put off his clothes and
+fled forth. Quoth the Caliph to Tawaddud, "Ree us thy riddle," and she
+replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is the button and the
+button-loop.[FN#414]"—Then she undertook the astronomers and said, "Let
+him of you who is an astronomer rise and come forward." So the
+astronomer advanced and sat down before her; and, when she saw him, she
+laughed and said, "Art thou the astronomer, the mathematician, the
+scribe?" "Yes," answered he. Quoth she, "Ask of what thou wilt; success
+resteth with Allah." So he said, "Tell me of the sun and its rising and
+setting." And she replied: "Know that the sun riseth from the shadows
+in the Eastern hemisphere and setteth in the shadows of the Western,
+and each hemisphere compriseth one hundred and eighty degrees. Quoth
+Allah Almighty, 'I swear by the Lord of the East and of the
+West.'[FN#415] And again, 'He it is who hath ordained the sun to shine
+by day, and the moon for a light by night; and hath appointed her
+station that ye might know the number of years and the computation of
+time.'[FN#416] The moon is Sultan of the night and the sun Sultan of
+the day, and they vie with each other in their courses and follow
+without overtaking each other. Quoth Almighty Allah, 'It is not
+expedient that the sun overtake the moon in her course; neither doth
+the night outstrip the day, but each of these luminaries moveth in a
+peculiar orbit.'"[FN#417] Q "When the day cometh, what becometh of the
+night; and what of the day, when the night cometh?" "He causeth the
+night to enter in upon the day, and He causeth the day to enter in upon
+the night."[FN#418] Q "Enumerate to me the mansions of the
+moon?"[FN#419] "They number eight-and-twenty, to wit, Sharatαn, Butayn,
+Surayα, Dabarαn, Hak'ah, Han'ah, Zirα'a, Nasrah, Tarf, Jabhah, Zubrah,
+Sarfah, 'Awwα, Simαk, Ghafar, Zubαnν, Iklνl, Kalb, Shaulah, Na'am,
+Baldah, Sa'ad al-Zαbih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a, Sa'ad al-Su'ϊd, Sa'ad
+al-Akhbiyah, Fargh the Former and Fargh the Latter; and Rishαa. They
+are disposed in the order of the letters of the Abjad-hawwaz or older
+alphabet,[FN#420] according to their numerical power, and in them are
+secret virtues which none knoweth save Allah (extolled and exalted be
+He!) and the stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve
+Signs of the Zodiac, two Mansions and a third of a Mansion to each
+Sign. Thus Sharatan, Butayn and one-third of Surαyα, belong to Aries,
+the other two-thirds of Surαyα, Dabaran and two-thirds of Hak'ah to
+Taurus, the other third of Hak'ah, Han'ah and Zira'a to Gemini; Nasrah,
+Tarf and a third of Jabhah to Cancer, the other two-thirds of Jabhah,
+Zubrah and two-thirds of Sarfah to Leo; the other third of Sarfah,
+'Awwα and Simαk to Virgo; Ghafar, Zubαni and one-third of Iklνl to
+Libra; the other two-thirds of Iklil, Kalb and two-thirds of Shaulah to
+Scorpio; the other third of Shaulah, Na'αim and Baldah to Sagittarius;
+Sa'ad al-Zαbih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a and one-third of Sa'ad al-Su'ud to
+Capricorn, the other two-thirds of Sa'ad al-Su'dd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah
+and two-thirds of Fargh the Former to Aquarius, the other third of
+Fargh the Former, Fargh the Latter and Rishαa to Pisces."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+enumerated the Mansions and distributed them into their Signs, the
+astronomer said, "Thou hast replied aright; now tell me of the planets
+and their natures, also of their sojourn in the Zodiacal Signs, their
+aspects, auspicious and sinister, their houses, ascendants and
+descendants. She answered, "The sitting is narrow for so large a
+matter, but I will say as much as I can. Now the planets number seven;
+which are, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.
+The Sun, hot-dry, sinister in conjunction, favourable in opposition,
+abideth thirty days in each Sign. The Moon, cold-moist and favourable
+of aspect, tarrieth in each Sign two days and a third of another day.
+Mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable in conjunction with the
+favourable, and sinister in conjunction with the sinister aspects, and
+abideth in each sign seventeen days and a half day. Venus, temperate
+and favourable, abideth in each sign five-and-twenty days. Mars is
+sinister and woneth in each sign ten months. Jupiter is auspicious and
+abideth in each sign a year. Saturn, cold-dry and sinister, tarrieth in
+each sign thirty months. The house of the Sun is Leo, her ascendant is
+Aries, and her descendant Aquarius. The Moon's house is Cancer, his
+ascendant Taurus, his descendant Scorpio and his sinister aspect
+Capricorn. Saturn's house is Capricorn-Aquarius, his ascendant Libra,
+his descendant Aries and his sinister aspects Cancer and Leo. Jupiter's
+house is Pisces-Sagittarius, his ascendant Cancer, his descendant
+Capricorn and his sinister aspects Gemini and Leo. Venus's house is
+Taurus, her ascendant Pisces, her descendant Libra, and her sinister
+aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury's house is Gemini-Virgo, his
+ascendant Virgo, his descendant Pisces, and his sinister aspect Taurus.
+Mars' house is Aries-Scorpio, his ascendant Capricorn, his descendant
+Cancer and his sinister aspect Libra." Now when the astronomer saw her
+acuteness and comprehensive learning and heard her fair answers, he
+bethought him for a sleight to confound her before the Commander of the
+Faithful, and said to her, "O damsel, tell me, will rain fall this
+month?" At this she bowed her head and pondered so long, that the
+Caliph thought her at a loss for an answer and the astronomer said to
+her, "Why dost thou not speak?" Quoth she, "I will not speak except the
+Commander of the Faithful give me leave." So the Caliph laughed and
+said, "How so?" Cried she "I would have thee give me a sword, that I
+may strike off his head, for he is an Infidel, an Agnostic, an
+Atheist.[FN#421]" At this, loud laughed the Caliph and those about him
+laughed, and she continued "O astronomer, there are five things that
+none knoweth save Allah Almighty;" and she repeated the verset; "'Aye!
+Allah!—with Him is the knowledge of the hour and He causeth the rain to
+descend at His own appointed time —and He knoweth what is in the wombs
+of females—but no soul knoweth what it shall have gotten on the morrow;
+neither wotteth any soul in what land it shall die: Verily Allah is
+knowing, informed of all.'"[FN#422] Quoth the astronomer, "Thou hast
+said well, and I, by Allah, thought only to try thee." Rejoined she,
+"Know that the almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring
+to the planets and constellations relative to the coming in of the
+year; and folk have learned something by experience." Q "What be that?"
+"Each day hath a planet that ruleth it: so if the first day in the year
+fall on First Day (Sunday) that day is the Sun's and this portendeth
+(though Allah alone is All-knowing!) oppression of kings and sultans
+and governors and much miasma and lack of rain; and that people will be
+in great tumult and the grain-crop will be good, except lentils, which
+will perish, and the vines will rot and flax will be dear and wheat
+cheap from the beginning of Tϊbah to the end of Barmahαt.[FN#423] And,
+in this year there will be much fighting among kings, and there shall
+be great plenty of good in this year, but Allah is All-knowing!" Q
+"What if the first day fall on Second Day (Monday)?" "That day
+belongeth to the Moon and portendeth righteousness in administrators
+and officials and that it will be a year of much rain and grain-crops
+will be good, but linseed will decay and wheat will be cheap in the
+month Kiyαhk;[FN#424] also the plague will rage and the sheep and goats
+will die, grapes will be plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap;
+and Allah is omniscient!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+ended her notice of Second Day the astronomer said to her "Now tell me
+what will occur if New Year's day fall on Third Day (Tuesday)." She
+replied, "That is Mars' day and portendeth death of great men and much
+destruction and deluge of blood and dearness of grain; lack of rain and
+scarcity of fish, which will anon be in excess and anon fail. Lentils
+and honey in this year will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley
+will thrive, to the exception of all other cereals: great will be the
+fighting among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be
+much mortality among asses." Q "What if it fall on Fourth Day?" "That
+is Mercury's day and portendeth great tumult among the folk and much
+enmity and, though rains be moderate, rotting of some of the green
+crops; also that there will be sore mortality among cattle and young
+children and much fighting by sea; that wheat will be dear from
+BarmÏŠdah to Misra[FN#425] and other grains cheap; thunder and lightning
+will abound and honey will be dear, palm- trees will thrive and bear
+abundantly and flax and cotton will be plentiful, while radishes and
+onions will be dear; but Allah is All-knowing!" Q "What if it fall on
+Fifth Day?" "That is Jupiter's day and portendeth equity in Wazirs and
+righteousness in Kazis and Fakirs and the Ministers of religion; and
+that good will be plentiful: rains and fruit and trees and grain will
+abound, and flax, cotton, honey, grapes and fish be cheap; and Allah is
+Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on Meeting Day or Friday?" "That day
+appertaineth to Venus and portendeth oppression in the chiefs of the
+Jinn and talk of forgery and back-biting; there will be much dew; the
+autumn crops will be good in the land and there will be cheapness in
+one town and not in another: ungraciousness will be rife by land and
+sea; linseed will be dear, also wheat, in Hαtϊr, but cheap in Amshνr;
+honey will be dear and grapes and water-melons will rot; and Allah is
+Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on the Sabbath (Saturday)?" "That is
+Saturn's day and portendeth the preferment of slaves and Greeks and
+those in whom there is no good, neither in their neighbourhood; there
+will be great drought and dearth; clouds will abound and death will be
+rife among the sons of Adam and woe to the people of Egypt and Syria
+from the oppression of the Sultan and failure of blessing upon the
+green crops and rotting of grain; and Allah is All-knowing!"[FN#426]
+Now with this, the astronomer hung his head very low, and she said to
+him, "O astronomer, I will ask thee one question, which if thou answer
+not, I will take thy clothes." "Ask," replied he. Quoth she, "Where is
+Saturn's dwelling-place?"; and he answered, "In the seventh heaven." Q
+"And that of Jupiter?" "In the sixth heaven." Q "And that of Mars?" "In
+the fifth heaven." Q "And that of the Sun?" "In the fourth heaven." Q
+"And that of Venus?" "In the third heaven." Q "And that of Mercury?"
+"In the second heaven." Q "And that of the Moon?" "In the first
+heaven." Quoth she, "Well answered; but I have one more question to ask
+thee;" and quoth he, "Ask!" Accordingly she said, "Now tell me
+concerning the stars, into how many parts are they divided." But he was
+silent and answered nothing; and she cried to him, "Put off thy
+clothes." So he doffed them and she took them; after which the Caliph
+said to her, "Tell us the answer to thy question." She replied: "O
+Commander of the Faithful, the stars are divided into three parts,
+whereof one-third is hung in the sky of the earth,[FN#427] as it were
+lamps, to give light to the earth, and a part is used to shoot the
+demons withal, when they draw near by stealth to listen to the talk in
+heaven. Quoth Allah Almighty, 'Verily, we have dight the sky of the
+earth with the adornment of the stars; and have appointed them for
+projectiles against every rebellious Satan.'[FN#428] And the third part
+is hung in air to illuminate the seas and give light to what is
+therein." Quoth the astronomer, "I have one more question to ask, which
+if she answer, I will avow myself beaten." "Say on," answered she.—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+astronomer said, "Now tell me what four contraries are based upon other
+four contraries?" Replied she, "The four qualities of Caloric and
+Frigoric, Humidity and Siccity; for of heat Allah created fire, whose
+nature is hot-dry; of dryness, earth, which is cold-dry; of cold, water
+which is cold-wet; of moisture, air, which is hot-wet. Moreover, He
+created twelve Signs of the Zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo,
+Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces; and
+appointed them of the four humours; three fiery, Aries, Leo, and
+Sagittarius; three earthly, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; three airy,
+Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; and three watery, Cancer, Scorpio and
+Pisces." Hereupon the astronomer rose, and saying, "Bear witness
+against me that she is more learned than I," away he went beaten. Then
+quoth the Caliph, "Where is the philosopher[FN#429]?"; at which one
+rose hastily and came forward and said to Tawaddud, "What is Time and
+what be its limits, and its days, and what things bringeth it?" Replied
+she, "Time is a term applied to the hours of the night and day, which
+are but the measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their
+several heavens, even as Allah Almighty telleth us when he saith, 'A
+sign to them also is the Night, from which we strip off the day, and
+lo! they are plunged in darkness, and the Sun runneth to her place of
+rest; this is the ordinance of the Sublime, the All-knowing.'"[FN#430]
+Q "How cometh unbelief to the son of Adam?" "It is reported of the
+Apostle (whom Allah bless and preserve!) that he said, 'Unbelief in a
+man runneth as the blood runneth in his veins, when he revileth the
+world and Time and night and the Hour.' And again, 'Let none of you
+revile Time, for Time is God; neither revile the world, for she saith,
+'May Allah not aid him who revileth me!;' neither revile the hour, for,
+'The Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt thereof';[FN#431] neither
+revile the earth, for it is a portent, according to the saying of the
+Most High, 'Out of the ground have we created you, and into the same
+will we cause you to return, and we will bring you forth yet thence
+another time.'"[FN#432] Q "What are the five that ate and drank, yet
+came not out of loins nor womb?" "Adam and Simeon[FN#433] and Salih's
+she-camel[FN#434] and Ishmael's ram and the bird that Abu Bakr the
+Truth-teller saw in the cave.[FN#435]" Q "Tell me of five that are in
+Paradise and are neither humans, Jinns nor angels?" "Jacob's wolf and
+the Seven Sleepers' dog and Esdras's ass and Salih's camel and Duldul
+the mule of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace!)." Q "What
+man prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?" "Solomon, when he
+prayed on his carpet, borne by the wind." Q "Ree me this riddle:—A man
+once looked at a handmaid during dawn-prayer, and she was unlawful to
+him; but, at noonday she became lawful to him: by mid-afternoon,, she
+was again unlawful, but at sundown, she was lawful to him: at supper
+time she was a third time unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once
+more lawful to him." "This was a man who looked at another's slave-girl
+in the morning, and she was then unlawful to him; but at midday he
+bought her, and she became lawful to him: at mid-afternoon he freed
+her, and she became unlawful to him; but at sundown he married her and
+she was again lawful to him. At nightfall he divorced her and she was
+then a third time unlawful to him; but, next morning at daybreak, he
+took her back, and she became once more lawful to him." Q "Tell me what
+tomb went about with him that lay buried therein?" "Jonah's whale, when
+it had swallowed him." Q "What spot of lowland is it, upon which the
+sun shone once, but will never again shine till Judgment-Day?" "The
+bottom of the Red Sea, when Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea
+clave asunder in twelve places, according to the number of the
+tribes;[FN#436] then the sun shone on the bottom and will do so
+nevermore until Judgment-Day." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the philosopher
+then addressed the damsel saying, "What was the first skirt that
+trailed over the face of the earth?" She replied, "That of Hagar, out
+of shame before Sarah; and it became a custom among the Arabs." Q "What
+is that which breatheth without life?" "Quoth Almighty Allah, 'By the
+morning when it breatheth!'"[FN#437] Q "Ree me this riddle:—A number of
+pigeons came to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others
+under it. Said those on the tree to those on the ground, 'If one of you
+come up to us, ye will be a third part of us all in number; and if one
+of us descend to you, we shall be like unto you in number,' How many
+pigeons were there in all?" "Twelve: seven alighted on the tree and
+five beneath; and, if one go up, those above would be eight to four;
+and, if one go down, both would be six and Allah is
+all-knowing."[FN#438] With this the philosopher put off his clothes and
+fled: whereupon the next contest took place, for she turned to the
+Olema present and said, "Which of you is the rhetorician that can
+discourse of all arts and sciences?" There came forward a sage hight
+Ibrahim bin Siyyαr and said to her, "Think me not like the rest." Quoth
+she, "It is the more assured to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that
+thou art a boaster; and Allah will help me to victory over thee, that I
+may strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou sentest one to fetch thee
+wherewithal to cover thyself, 'twould be well for thee." Cried he, "By
+Allah, I will assuredly conquer thee and make thee a byword among the
+peoples, generation after generation!" Rejoined she, "Do penance in
+advance for thy broken oath." Then he asked, "What five things did
+Allah create before he made man?"; and she answered, "Water and earth
+and light and darkness and the fruits of the earth." Q "What did Allah
+create with the hand of omnipotence?" "The 'Arsh, throne of God or the
+empyreal heaven and the tree Tϊbα[FN#439] and Adam and the garden of
+Eden; these Allah created with the hand of His omnipotence; but to all
+other created things He said, 'Be,'—and they were." Q "Who is thy
+father in Al-Islam?" "Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!" Q "Who
+was the father in Al-Islam of Mohammed?" "Abraham, the Friend of God."
+Q "What is the Faith of Al-Islam?" "The professing that there is no god
+but the God and that Mohammed is the apostle of God." Q "What is thy
+first and thy last?" "My first is man's seed in the shape of foul water
+and my last filthy carrion: the first of me is dust and the last of me
+is dust. Quoth the poet,
+
+'Of dust was I created, and man did I become, * In question ever
+
+
+     ready and aye fluent in reply,
+
+
+Then, I unto the dust return'd, became of it again, * For that,
+
+
+     in very deed, of dust at first create was I.'"
+
+
+
+He continued, "What thing was it, whose first state was wood and its
+last life?" "Moses' staff,[FN#440] when he cast it on the valley-ground
+and it became, by permission of Allah, a writhing serpent." Q "What is
+the meaning of the word of the Lord, 'And I have other occasion for
+it?'"[FN#441] "He, Moses, was wont to plant his staff in the ground,
+and it would flower and fruit and shade him from the heat and from the
+cold. Moreover, it would carry him when he was weary, and whilst he
+slept, guard his sheep from lions and wild beasts." Q "What woman was
+born of a man alone and what man of a woman alone?" "Eve of Adam and
+Jesus of Mary.[FN#442]" Q "Tell me of the four fires, what fire eateth
+and drinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh but
+eateth not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?" "The fire of
+the world eateth but drinketh not; the fire which eateth and drinketh
+is Hell-fire; the fire of the sun drinketh but eateth not, and the fire
+of the moon neither eateth nor drinketh." Q "Which is the open door and
+which the shut?" "The Traditional Ordinances are the open door, the
+Koranic the shut door." Q "Of what doth the poet speak, when he saith,
+
+'And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, * When he
+
+
+     eateth of that meat, of words he waxeth fain:
+
+
+He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; * And
+
+
+     returneth to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.
+
+
+No living wight is he, yet, in honour he abides; * Nor dead yet
+
+
+     he deserveth that Allah him assain.'"
+
+
+
+She replied, "The reed-pen."[FN#443] Quoth he "What doth the poet refer
+to in these verses,
+
+'Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; * Rosy red ears
+
+
+     and mouth wide open lies;
+
+
+It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks * And, if you price it,
+
+
+     half a dirham buys.'"
+
+
+
+She replied, "The ink-case." Quoth he, "And in these,
+
+'Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore * To sapient, reverend,
+
+
+     clever counsellor:
+
+
+Tell me what was't you saw that bird bring forth * When wandering
+
+
+     Arab-land and Ajam o'er?
+
+
+No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, * Nor down nor any
+
+
+     feathers e'er it wore.
+
+
+'Tis eaten cooked and eke 'tis eaten cold; * 'Tis eaten buried
+
+
+     'neath the flames that roar:
+
+
+It showeth twofold colours, silver white * And yellow brighter
+
+
+     than pure golden ore:
+
+
+'Tis not seen living or we count it dead: * So ree my riddle rich
+
+
+     in marvel-store!'"
+
+
+
+She replied, "Thou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg worth a
+mite." Q "And this?,
+
+'I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, * With a motion so
+
+
+     pleasant, now fast and now slow;
+
+
+And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; * 'Your lover
+
+
+     friend?'"
+
+
+
+"No friend, my fan;"[FN#444] said she. Q "How many words did Allah
+speak to Moses?" "It is related of the Apostle that he said, 'God spoke
+to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.'" Q "Tell me of fourteen
+things that speak to the Lord of the Worlds?" "The seven heavens and
+the seven earths, when they say, 'We come obedient to Thy
+command.'"[FN#445]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+made the answer, the philosopher continued, "Tell me of Adam and how he
+was first created?" and she said, "Allah created Adam of clay: the clay
+He made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness
+of light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the
+ruby of water, and the water He created by His Omnipotence according to
+His saying (exalted be His name!), 'His commandment when He willeth
+aught, is but to say, BE,—and IT IS.'"[FN#446] Q "What is meant by the
+poet in these verses,
+
+'And eater lacking mouth and even maw; * Yet trees and beasts to
+
+
+     it are daily bread:
+
+
+Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, * But give it water
+
+
+     and you do it dead?'"
+
+
+
+"This," quoth she, "is Fire." "And in these;" he asked,
+
+"Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, * Who through the
+
+
+     livelong night embracing lie:
+
+
+They guard the folk from all calamities, * But with the rising
+
+
+     sun apart they fly?"
+
+
+
+She answered, "The leaves of a door." Quoth he, "Tell me of the gates
+of Gehenna?" Quoth she, "They are seven in number and their names are
+comprised in these two couplets,
+
+'Jahannam, next Lazα, and third Hatνm; * Then count Sa'νr and
+
+
+     Sakar eke, five-fold,
+
+
+Sixth comes Jahνm and Hαwiyah the seventh; * Here are seven Hells
+
+
+     in four lines briefly told.'"
+
+
+
+Quoth he "To what doth the poet refer when he saith,
+
+'She wears a pair of ringlets long let down * Behind her, as she
+
+
+     comes and goes at speed,
+
+
+And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds * A tear, for ne'er
+
+
+     a drop it hath at need;
+
+
+That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; * Yet robes
+
+
+     mankind in every-mode of weed?'"
+
+
+
+Quoth she, "A needle." Q "What is the length and what the breadth of
+the bridge Al-Sirαt?" "Its length is three thousand years' journey, a
+thousand in descent and a thousand in ascent and a thousand level: it
+is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair."—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+had described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said, "Inform me how
+many intercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for each soul?"[FN#447]
+"Three." Q "Was Abu Bakr the first who embraced Al-Islam?" "Yes." Q
+"Yet Ali became a Moslem before him?" "Ali came to the Prophet, when he
+was a boy of seven years old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the
+way of salvation in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated
+himself to idols." Quoth he, "Tell me which is the more excellent, Ali
+or Abbαs?" Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim was
+laying a trap for her; for if she said, "Ali is more excellent than
+Abbas," she would lack excuse with the Caliph for undervaluing his
+ancestor; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, then paling, and
+lastly said, "Thou askest me of two excellent men, each having his own
+excellence. Let us return to what we were about." When the Caliph Harun
+al-Rashid heard her, he stood up and said, "Thou hast spoken well, by
+the Lord of the Ka'abah, O Tawaddud!" Then quoth Ibrahim the
+rhetorician, "What meaneth the poet when he saith,
+
+'Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, * Likest a lance
+
+
+     whereon no head we scan:
+
+
+And all the lieges find it work them weal, * Eaten of afternoon
+
+
+     in Ramazan.'"
+
+
+
+She answered, "The sugar-cane;" and he said, "Tell me of many things."
+Asked she, "What are they?" and he said, "What is sweeter than honey;
+what is sharper than the sword; what is swifter than poison; what is
+the delight of a moment and what the contentment of three days; what is
+the pleasantest of days; what is the joy of a week; what is that debt
+the worst debtor denieth not; what is the prison of the tomb; what is
+the joy of the heart; what is the snare of the soul; what is
+death-in-life; what is the disease that may not be healed; what is the
+shame that may not be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in
+cultivated fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of
+Adam and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent
+beasts?" Quoth she, "Hear what I shall say in reply; then put off thy
+clothes, that I may explain to thee;" and the Caliph said, "Expound,
+and he shall doff his clothes." So she said, "Now that, which is
+sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to their two parents;
+that, which is sharper than the sword, is the tongue; that, which is
+swifter than poison, is the Envier's eye; the delight of a moment is
+carnal copulation and the contentment of three days is the depilatory
+for women; the pleasantest of days is that of profit on merchandise;
+the joy of a week is the bride; the debt, which the worst debtor
+denieth not, is death; the prison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of
+the heart is a woman obedient to her husband (and it is said also that,
+when fleshmeat descendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the
+snare of the soul is a disobedient slave; death-in-life is poverty; the
+disease that may not be healed is an ill-nature, and the shame that may
+not be wiped away is an ill daughter; lastly, the beast that woneth not
+in cultivated fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons
+of Adam and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and
+violent beasts, is the locust, whose head is as the head of a horse,
+its neck as the neck of the bull, its wings as the wings of the
+vulture, its feet as the feet of the camel, its tail as the tail of the
+serpent, its belly as the belly of the scorpion and its horns as the
+horns of the gazelle." The Caliph was astounded at her quickness and
+understanding, and said to the rhetorician, "Doff thy clothes." So he
+rose up and cried, "I call all who are present in this assembly to
+witness that she is more learned than I and every other learned man."
+And he put off his clothes and gave them to her, saying, "Take them and
+may Allah not bless them to thee!" So the Caliph ordered him fresh
+clothes and said, "O Tawaddud, there is one thing left of that for
+which thou didst engage, namely, chess." And he sent for experts of
+chess and cards[FN#448] and trictrac. The chess-player sat down before
+her, and they set the pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every
+move he made she speedily countered,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+was playing chess with the expert in presence of the Commander of the
+Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made was speedily countered
+by her, till she beat him and he found himself checkmated. Quoth he, "I
+did but lead thee on, that thou mightest think thyself skilful: but set
+up again, and thou shalt see." So they placed the pieces a second time,
+when he said in himself, "Open thine eyes or she will beat thee." And
+he fell to moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to
+play, till she said, "Thy King is dead!—Checkmate." When he saw this he
+was confounded at her quickness and understanding; but she laughed and
+said, "O professor, I will make a wager with thee on this third game. I
+will give thee the queen and the right-hand castle and the left-hand
+knight; if thou beat me, take my clothes, and if I beat thee, I will
+take thy clothes." Replied he, "I agree to this;" and they replaced the
+pieces, she removing queen, castle and knight.[FN#449] Then said she,
+"Move, O master." So he moved, saying to himself, "I cannot but beat
+her, with such odds," and planned a combination; but, behold, she moved
+on, little by little, till she made one of her pawns[FN#450] a queen
+and pushing up to him pawns and other pieces, to take off his
+attention, set one in his way and tempted him to take it. Accordingly,
+he took it and she said to him, "The measure is meted and the loads
+equally balanced.[FN#451] Eat till thou are over-full; naught shall be
+thy ruin, O son of Adam, save thy greed. Knowest thou not that I did
+but tempt thee, that I might finesse thee? See: this is check-mate!"
+adding, "So doff off thy clothes." Quoth he, "Leave me my bag-trousers,
+so Allah repay thee;" and he swore by Allah that he would contend with
+none, so long as Tawaddud abode in the realm of Baghdad. Then he
+stripped off his clothes and gave them to her and went away. Thereupon
+came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, "If I beat thee, this
+day, what wilt thou give me?" Quoth he, "I will give thee ten suits of
+brocade of Constantinople, figured with gold, and ten suits of velvet
+and a thousand gold pieces; and if I beat thee, I ask nothing but that
+thou write me an acknowledgment of my victory." Quoth she, "To it,
+then, and do thy best." So they played, and he lost and went away,
+chattering in Frankish jargon and saying, "By the bounty of the
+Commander of the Faithful, there is not her like in all the regions of
+the world!" Then the Caliph summoned players on instruments of music
+and asked her, "Dost thou know aught of music?"; when she answered,
+"Even so!" He bade bring a worn lute, polished by use, whose owner
+forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and of which quoth one,
+describing it
+
+"Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree * Struck root deep
+
+
+     down, and raised head a-sky:
+
+
+The birds o'ersang it when green its wood; * And the Fair
+
+
+     o'ersing now the wood is dry."
+
+
+
+So they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of
+saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out and
+behold on it was graven,
+
+"Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, * whose swift sweet
+
+
+     lays at feast men's hearts invade:
+
+
+She sings; it follows on her song, as though * The
+
+
+     Bulbuls[FN#452] taught her all the modes she played."
+
+
+
+She laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it, bent to
+it with the bending of a mother who suckleth her child; then she
+preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole assembly was
+agitated with delight, like a waving sea, and she sang the following,
+
+"Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; * My heart
+
+
+     shall love you aye, by youth of you!
+
+
+Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, * Pining and
+
+
+     yearning for the troth of you."
+
+
+
+The Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, "Allah bless thee and be
+merciful to him who taught thee!": whereupon she rose and kissed the
+ground before him. Then he sent for money and paid her master Abu
+al-Husn an hundred thousand gold pieces to her price; after which he
+said to her, "O Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!" Replied she, "I ask of
+thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me." "'Tis well,"
+answered the Caliph and restored her to her master and gave her five
+thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he appointed Abu al-Husn one of
+his cup-companions for a permanence,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph gave
+the damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her to her
+master whom he appointed one of his cup-companions for a permanence and
+assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he
+should live; and he abode with the damsel Tawaddud in all solace and
+delight of life. Marvel then, O King, at the eloquence of this damsel
+and the hugeness of her learning and understanding and her perfect
+excellence in all branches of art and science; and consider the
+generosity of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that
+he gave her master this money and said to her, "Ask a boon of me;" and
+she besought him to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him
+and gave her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his
+boon-companions. Where is such generosity to be found after the
+Abbaside Caliphs?—May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them, one and all!
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN.
+
+It is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs was
+once minded to ride out in state with the Officers of his realm and the
+Grandees of his retinue and display to the folk the marvels of his
+magnificence. So he ordered his Lords and Emirs equip them therefor and
+commanded his keeper of the wardrobe to bring him of the richest of
+raiment, such as befitted the King in his state; and he bade them bring
+his steeds[FN#453] of the finest breeds and pedigrees every man heeds;
+which being done, he chose out of the raiment what rejoiced him most
+and of the horses that which he deemed best; and, donning the clothes,
+together with a collar set with margarites and rubies and all manner
+jewels, mounted and set forth in state, making his destrier prance and
+curvet among his troops and glorying in his pride and despotic power.
+And Iblis came to him and, laying his hand upon his nose, blew into his
+nostrils the breath of hauteur and conceit, so that he magnified and
+glorified himself and said in his heart, "Who among men is like unto
+me?" And he became so puffed up with arrogance and self-sufficiency,
+and so taken up with the thought of his own splendour and magnificence,
+that he would not vouchsafe a glance to any man. Presently, there stood
+before him one clad in tattered clothes and saluted him, but he
+returned not his salam; whereupon the stranger laid hold of his horse's
+bridle. "Lift thy hand," cried the King, "thou knowest not whose
+bridle-rein it is whereof thou takest hold." Quoth the other, I have a
+need of thee." Quoth the King, "Wait till I alight and then name thy
+need." Rejoined the stranger, "It is a secret and I will not tell it
+but in thine ear." So the King bowed his head to him and he said, "I am
+the Angel of Death and I purpose to take thy soul." Replied the King,
+"Have patience with me a little, whilst I return to my house and take
+leave of my people and children and neighbours and wife." "By no means
+so," answered the Angel; "thou shalt never return nor look on them
+again, for the fated term of thy life is past." So saying, he took the
+soul of the King (who fell off his horse's back dead) and departed
+thence. Presently the Death Angel met a devout man, of whom Almighty
+Allah had accepted, and saluted him. He returned the salute, and the
+Angel said to him, "O pious man, I have a need of thee which must be
+kept secret." "Tell it in my ear," quoth the devotee; and quoth the
+other, "I am the Angel of Death." Replied the man, "Welcome to thee!
+and praised be Allah for thy coming! I am aweary of awaiting thine
+arrival; for indeed long hath been thine absence from the lover which
+longeth for thee." Said the Angel, "If thou have any business, make an
+end of it;" but the other answered, saying, "There is nothing so urgent
+to me as the meeting with my Lord, to whom be honour and glory!" And
+the Angel said "How wouldst thou fain have me take thy soul? I am
+bidden to take it as thou willest and choosest." He replied, "Tarry
+till I make the Wuzu-ablution and pray; and, when I prostrate myself,
+then take my soul while my body is on the ground."[FN#454] Quoth the
+Angel, "Verily, my Lord (be He extolled and exalted!) commanded me not
+to take thy soul but with thy consent and as thou shouldst wish; so I
+will do thy will." Then the devout man made the minor ablution[FN#455]
+and prayed: and the Angel of Death took his soul in the act of
+prostration and Almighty Allah transported it to the place of mercy and
+acceptance and forgiveness. And they tell another tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING.
+
+A certain King had heaped up coin beyond count and gathered store of
+all precious things, which Allah the Most Highest hath created. So, in
+order that he might take his pleasure whenas he should find leisure to
+enjoy all this abounding wealth he had collected, he built him a palace
+wide and lofty such as befitteth and beseemeth Kings; and set thereto
+strong doors and appointed, for its service and its guard, servants and
+soldiers and doorkeepers to watch and ward. One day, he bade the cooks
+dress him somewhat of the goodliest of food and assembled his household
+and retainers and boon-companions and servants to eat with him, and
+partake of his bounty. Then he sat down upon the sofa of his kingship
+and dominion; and, propping his elbow upon the cushion, addressed
+himself, saying, "O soul, thou hast gathered together all the wealth of
+the world; so now take thy leisure therein and eat of this good at
+thine ease, in long life and prosperity ever rife!"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had the
+King made an end of saying to himself, "Eat of this weal at thine ease,
+in long life and prosperity ever rife!" when a man clad in tattered
+raiment, with an asker's wallet hanging at his neck, as he were one who
+came to beg food, knocked with the door-ring a knock so loud and
+terrible that the whole palace shook as with quake of earth and the
+King's throne trembled. The servants were affrighted and rushed to the
+door, and when they saw the man who had knocked they cried out at him,
+saying, "Woe to thee! what manner of unmannerly fashion be this? Wait
+till the King eateth and we will then give thee of what is left." Quoth
+he, "Tell your lord to come out and speak with me, for I have of him a
+pressing need and a matter to heed." They cried, "Away, fool! who art
+thou that we should bid our lord come forth to thee?" But he said,
+"Tell him of this." So they went in and told the King, who said, "Did
+ye not rebuke him and draw upon him and threaten him!" Now as he spoke,
+behold, there came another knock at the gate, louder than the first
+knock, whereupon the servants sprang at the stranger with staves and
+weapons, to fall upon him and slay him; but he shouted at them, saying,
+"Bide in your steads, for I am the Angel of Death." Hereat their hearts
+quaked and their wits forsook them; their understandings were in
+confusion, their side-muscles quivered in perturbation and their limbs
+lost the power of motion. Then said the King to them, "Tell him to take
+a substitute[FN#456] in my place and one to relieve me in this case."
+But the Angel answered, saying, "I will take no substitute, and I come
+not but on thine account, to cause separation between thee and the
+goods thou hast gathered together and the riches thou hast heaped up
+and entreasured." When the King heard this, he wept and groaned,
+saying, "Allah curse the treasure which hath deluded and undone me and
+diverted me from the service of my Lord! I deemed it would profit me,
+but to-day it is a regret for me and a calamity to me, and behold, I go
+forth, empty-handed of it, and leave it to my foes." Thereupon Allah
+caused the Treasure to speak out and it said, "Wherefore cursest thou
+me?[FN#457] Curse thyself, for Allah created both me and eke thyself of
+the dust and appointed me to be in thine hand, that thou mightest
+provide thee with me a viaticum for the next world and give alms with
+me to the poor and the needy and the sick; and build mosques and
+hospices and bridges and aqueducts, so might I be an aidance unto thee
+in the world to come. But thou didst garner me and hoard me up and on
+thine own vanities bestowedst me, neither gavest thou thanks for me, as
+was due, but wast ungrateful to me; and now thou must leave me to thy
+foes and thou hast naught save thy regretting and thy repenting. But
+what is my sin, that thou shouldest revile me?" Then the Angel of Death
+took the King's soul as he sat on his throne before he ate of the food,
+and he fell down dead. Quoth Allah Almighty, "While they were rejoicing
+for that which had been given them, we suddenly laid hold on them; and,
+behold, they were seized with despair."[FN#458] And they tell another
+tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
+
+There was a puissant despot among the Kings of the Banϊ Isrανl, who sat
+one day upon the throne of his kingship, when he saw come in to him, by
+the gate of the hall, a man of forbidding aspect and horrible presence.
+The King was affrighted at his sudden intrusion and his look terrified
+him; so he sprang up before him and said, "Who art thou, O man? Who
+gave thee leave to come in to me and who invited thee to enter my
+house?" Quoth the stranger, "Verily the Lord of the House sent me to
+thee, nor can any doorkeeper exclude me, nor need I leave to come in to
+Kings; for I reck not of a Sultan's majesty neither of the multitude of
+his guards. I am he from whom no tyrant is at rest, nor can any man
+escape from my grasp: I am the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer
+of societies." Now when the King heard this a palsy crept over
+him[FN#459] and he fell on his face in a swoon; but presently coming to
+himself, he asked, "Art thou then the Angel of Death?"; and the
+stranger answered, "Yes." "I conjure thee, by Allah," quoth the King,
+"grant me one single day's respite, that I may pray pardon of my sins
+and ask absolution of my Lord and restore to their rightful owners the
+monies which are in my treasures, so I may not be burdened with the woe
+of a reckoning nor with the misery of punishment therefor." Replied the
+Angel, "Well-away! well-away! this may be in no way."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+Death-messenger to the King, "Well-away, well-away! this may be in no
+way. How can I grant thee a reprieve when the days of thy life are
+counted and thy breaths numbered and thy moments fixed and written?"
+"Grant me an hour," asked the King; but the Angel answered saying, "The
+hour was in the account and hath sped, and thou unheeding aught; and
+hath fled, and thou taking no thought: and now thy breathings are
+accomplished, and there remaineth to thee but one breath." Quoth the
+King, "Who will be with me when I am transported to my tomb?" Quoth the
+Angel, "Naught will be with thee but thy works good or evil." "I have
+no works," said the King; and the Angel, "Doubtless thy long home will
+be in hell-fire and thy doom the wrath of the Almighty." Then he seized
+the soul of the King, and he fell off his throne and dropped on the
+earth dead. And there arose a mighty weeping and wailing and clamour of
+keening for him among the people of his court, and had they known that
+to which he went of the wrath of his Lord, their weeping for him had
+been sorer and their wailing louder and more abounding. And a story is
+told of
+
+
+
+
+ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN[FN#460] AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK.
+
+It is related that Iskandar Zu al-Karnayn[FN#461] once came, in his
+journeyings, upon a tribe of small folk, who owned naught of the weals
+of the world and who dug their graves over against the doors of their
+houses and were wont at all times to visit them and sweep the earth
+from them and keep them clean and pray at them and worship Almighty
+Allah at them; and they had no meat save grasses and the growth of the
+ground. So Iskandar sent a man to summon their King, but he refused to
+come, saying, "I have no need of him." Thereupon Iskandar went to him
+and said, "How is it with you and what manner of men are ye?; for I see
+with you forsooth naught of gold or silver, nor find I with you aught
+of the weals of the world." Answered the King, "None hath his fill of
+the weals of the world." Iskandar then asked "Why do you dig your
+graves before your house-doors?"; and the King answered, "That they may
+be the prospective of our eye-glances; so we may look on them and ever
+renew talk and thought of death, neither forget the world to come; and
+on this wise the love of the world be banished from our hearts and we
+be not thereby distracted from the service of our Lord, the Almighty."
+Quoth Iskandar, "Why do ye eat grasses?"; and the other replied,
+"Because we abhor to make our bellies the tombs of animals and because
+the pleasure of eating outstrippeth not the gullet." Then putting forth
+his hand he brought out a skull of a son of Adam and, laying it before
+Iskandar, said, "O Zu al-Karnayn, Lord of the Two Horns, knowest thou
+who owned this skull?" Quoth he, "Nay;" and quoth the other, "He who
+owned this skull was a King of the Kings of the world, who dealt
+tyrannously with his subjects, specially wronging the weak and wasting
+his time in heaping up the rubbish of this world, till Allah took his
+sprite and made the fire his abiding-site; and this is his head." He
+then put forth his hand and produced another skull and, laying it
+before Iskandar, said to him, "Knowest thou this?" "No," answered the
+conqueror; and the other rejoined, "This is the skull of another King,
+who dealt justly by his lieges and was kindly solicitous for the folk
+of his realm and his dominions, till Allah took his soul and lodged him
+in His Garden and made high his degree in Heaven." Then laying his
+hands on Iskandar's head he said, "Would I knew which of these two art
+thou." Whereupon Iskandar wept with sore weeping and straining the King
+to his bosom cried, "If thou be minded to company with me, I will
+commit to thee as Wazir the government of my affairs and share with
+thee my kingdom." Cried the other, "Well-away, well-away! I have no
+mind to this." "And why so?" asked Iskandar, and the King answered,
+"Because all men are thy foes by reason of the wealth and the worlds
+thou hast won: while all men are my true friends, because of my
+contentment and pauperdom, for that I possess nothing, neither covet
+aught of the goods of life; I have no desire to them nor wish for them,
+neither reck I aught save contentment." So Iskandar pressed him to his
+breast and kissed him between the eyes and went his way.[FN#462] And
+among the tales they tell is one concerning
+
+
+
+
+THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN.[FN#463]
+
+It is told of Anushirwan, the Just King, that once upon a time he
+feigned himself sick, and bade his stewards and intendants go round
+about the provinces of his empire and the quarters of his dominion and
+seek him out a mud-brick thrown away from some ruined village, that he
+might use it as medicine, informing his intimates that the leaches had
+prescribed this to him. So they went the round of the provinces of his
+reign and of all the lands under his sway and said to him on return,
+"In all the realm we have found nor ruined site nor castaway
+mud-brick." At this Anushirwan rejoiced and rendered thanks to the
+Lord, saying, "I was but minded to try my kingdom and prove mine
+empire, that I might know if any place therein remained ruined and
+deserted, so I might rebuild and repeople it; but, since there be no
+place in it but is inhabited, the affairs of the reign are
+best-conditioned and its ordinance is excellent; and its
+populousness[FN#464] hath reached the pitch of perfection."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high
+officials returned and reported, "We have found in the empire nor
+ruined site nor rotten brick," the Just King thanked his God and said,
+"Verily the affairs of the realm are best-conditioned and its ordinance
+is excellent and its populousness hath reached the pink of perfection."
+And ken thou, O King, continued Shahrazad, that these olden Kings
+strave not and toiled not for the peopling of their possessions, but
+because they knew that the more populous a country is, the more
+abundant is that which is desired therein; and because they wist the
+saying of the wise and the learned to be true without other view,
+namely, "Religion dependeth on the King, the King on the troops, the
+troops on the treasury, the treasury on the populousness of the country
+and its prosperity on the justice done to the lieges." Wherefore they
+upheld no one in tyranny or oppression; neither suffered their
+dependants and suite to work injustice, knowing that kingdoms are not
+established upon tyranny, but that cities and places fall into ruin
+when oppressors are set as rulers over them, and their inhabitants
+disperse and flee to other governments; whereby ruin falleth upon the
+realm, the imports fail, the treasuries become empty and the pleasant
+lives of the subjects are perturbed; for that they love not a tyrant
+and cease not to offer up successive prayers against him; so that the
+King hath no ease of his kingdom, and the vicissitudes of fortune
+speedily bring him to destruction. And they tell a tale concerning
+
+
+
+
+THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE.
+
+Among the Children of Israel one of the Kazis had a wife of surpassing
+beauty, constant in fasting and abounding in patience and
+long-suffering; and he, being minded to make the pilgrimage to
+Jerusalem, appointed his own brother Kazi in his stead, during his
+absence, and commended his wife to his charge. Now this brother had
+heard of her beauty and loveliness and had taken a fancy to her. So no
+sooner was his brother gone than he went to her and sought her
+love-favours; but she denied him and held fast to her chastity. The
+more she repelled him, the more he pressed his suit upon her; till,
+despairing of her and fearing lest she should acquaint his brother with
+his misconduct whenas he should return, he suborned false witnesses to
+testify against her of adultery; and cited her and carried her before
+the King of the time who adjudged her to be stoned. So they dug a pit,
+and seating her therein stoned her, till she was covered with stones,
+and the man said, "Be this hole her grave!" But when it was dark a
+passer-by, making for a neighbouring hamlet, heard her groaning in sore
+pain; and, pulling her out of the pit, carried her home to his wife,
+whom he bade dress her wounds. The peasant woman tended her till she
+recovered and presently gave her her child to be nursed; and she used
+to lodge with the child in another house by night. Now a certain thief
+saw her and lusted after her. So he sent to her seeking her
+love-favours, but she denied herself to him; wherefore he resolved to
+slay her and, making his way into her lodging by night (and she
+sleeping), thought to strike at her with a knife; but it smote the
+little one and killed it. Now when he knew his misdeed, fear overtook
+him and he went forth the house and Allah preserved from him her
+chastity. But as she awoke in the morning, she found the child by her
+side with throat cut; and presently the mother came and seeing her boy
+dead, said to the nurse, "Twas thou didst murther him." Therewith she
+beat her a grievous beating and purposed to put her to death; but her
+husband interposed and delivered the woman, saying, "By Allah, thou
+shalt not do on this wise." So the woman, who had somewhat of money
+with her, fled forth for her life, knowing not whither she should wend.
+Presently, she came to a village, where she saw a crowd of people about
+a man crucified to a tree-stump, but still in the chains of life. "What
+hath he done?" she asked, and they answered, "He hath committed a
+crime, which nothing can expiate but death or the payment of such a
+fine by way of alms." So she said to them, "Take the money and let him
+go;" and, when they did so, he repented at her hands and vowed to serve
+her, for the love of Almighty Allah till death should release him. Then
+he built her a cell and lodged her therein; after which he betook
+himself to woodcutting and brought her daily her bread. As for her, she
+was constant in worship, so that there came no sick man or demoniac to
+her, but she prayed for him and he was straightway healed.—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the woman's
+cell was visited by folk (and she constant in worship), it befel by
+decree of the Almighty that He sent down upon her husband's brother
+(the same who had caused her to be stoned), a cancer in the face, and
+smote the villager's wife (the same who had beaten her) with leprosy,
+and afflicted the thief (the same who had murthered the child) with
+palsy. Now when the Kazi returned from his pilgrimage, he asked his
+brother of his wife, and he told him that she was dead, whereat he
+mourned sore and accounted her with her Maker. After awhile, very many
+folk heard of the pious recluse and flocked to her cell from all parts
+of the length and breadth of the earth; whereupon said the Kazi to his
+brother, "O my brother, wilt thou not seek out yonder pious woman?
+Haply Allah shall decree thee healing at her hands!" and he replied, "O
+my brother, carry me to her" Moreover, the husband of the leprous woman
+heard of the pious devotee and carried his wife to her, as did also the
+people of the paralytic thief; and they all met at the door of the
+hermitage. Now she had a place wherefrom she could look out upon those
+who came to her, without their seeing her; and they waited till her
+servant came, when they begged admittance and obtained permission.
+Presently she saw them all and recognized them; so she veiled and
+cloaked face and body and went out and stood in the door, looking at
+her husband and his brother and the thief and the peasant-woman; but
+they could not recognize her. Then said she to them, "Ho folk, ye shall
+not be relieved of what is with you till ye confess your sins; for,
+when the creature confesseth his sins the Creator relenteth towards him
+and granteth him that wherefore he resorteth to him." Quoth the Kazi to
+his brother, "O my brother, repent to Allah and persist not in thy
+frowardness, for it will be more helpful to thy relief." And the tongue
+of the case spake this speech,
+
+"This day oppressor and oppressed meet, * And Allah sheweth
+
+
+     secrets we secrete:
+
+
+This is a place where sinners low are brought; * And Allah
+
+
+     raiseth saint to highest seat.
+
+
+Our Lord and Master shows the truth right clear, * Though sinner
+
+
+     froward be or own defeat:
+
+
+Alas[FN#465] for those who rouse the Lord to wrath, * As though
+
+
+     of Allah's wrath they nothing weet!
+
+
+O whoso seekest honours, know they are * From Allah, and His fear
+
+
+     with love entreat."
+
+
+
+(Saith the relator), Then quoth the brother, "Now I will tell the
+truth: I did thus and thus with thy wife;" and he confessed the whole
+matter, adding, "And this is my offence." Quoth the leprous woman, "As
+for me, I had a woman with me and imputed to her that of which I knew
+her to be guiltless, and beat her grievously; and this is my offence."
+And quoth the paralytic, "And I went in to a woman to kill her, after I
+had tempted her to commit adultery and she had refused; and I slew a
+child that lay by her side; and this is my offence." Then said the
+pious woman, "O my God, even as Thou hast made them feel the misery of
+revolt, so show them now the excellence of submission, for Thou over
+all things art Omnipotent!" And Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
+Might!) made them whole. Then the Kazi fell to looking on her and
+considering her straitly, till she asked him why he looked so hard and
+he said, "I had a wife and were she not dead, I had said thou art she."
+Hereupon, she made herself known to him and both began praising Allah
+(to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for that which He had vouchsafed
+them of the reunion of their loves; but the brother and the thief and
+the villager's wife joined in imploring her forgiveness. So she forgave
+them one and all, and they worshipped Allah in that place and rendered
+her due service, till Death parted them. And one of the Sayyids[FN#466]
+hath related this tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD.
+
+"I was circuiting the Ka'abah one dark night, when I heard a plaintive
+voice, speaking from a contrite heart and saying, 'O Bountiful One, Thy
+past boon! Indeed, by my heart shall Thy covenant never be undone.'
+Hearing this voice, my heart fluttered so that I was like to die; but I
+followed the sound and behold, it came from a woman, to whom I said,
+'Peace be with thee, O handmaid of Allah;' whereto she replied, 'And
+with thee be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings!' Quoth I,
+'I conjure thee, by Allah the Most Great, tell me what is the covenant
+to which thy heart is constant.' Quoth she, 'But that thou adjurest me
+by the Omnipotent, I would not tell thee my secrets. See what is before
+me.' So I looked and lo! there was a child lying asleep before her and
+breathing heavily in his slumber. Said she, "Know, that I set forth,
+being big with this boy, to make the pilgrimage to this House and took
+passage in a ship; but the waves rose against us and the winds blew
+contrary and the vessel broke up. I saved myself on a plank; and, on
+that bit of wood, I gave birth to this child; and while he lay on my
+bosom and the waves beating upon me,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman
+continued, "'Now while the boy lay on my bosom and the waves beat upon
+me, there swam up to me one of the sailors, who climbed on the plank
+and said, 'By Allah, I desired thee whilst thou wast yet in the ship,
+and now I have come at thee: so yield thy body to me, or I will throw
+thee into the sea.' Said I, 'Out on thee! hast thou no memory of that
+which thou hast seen and is it no warning to thee?' Quoth he, 'I have
+seen the like of this many a time and come off safe and care not.'
+Quoth I, 'O fellow, we are now in a calamity, whence we hope to be
+delivered by obedience to Allah and not by disobedience.' But he
+persisted with me, and I feared him and thought to put him off; so I
+said to him, 'Wait till this babe shall sleep'; but he took the child
+off my lap and threw him into the sea. Now when I saw this desperate
+deed, my heart sank and sorrow was sore upon me; so I raised my eyes
+heavenwards and said, 'O Thou that interposest between a man and his
+heart, intervene between me and this leonine brute; for Thou over all
+things art Omnipotent!' And by Allah, hardly had I spoken when a beast
+rose out of the sea and snatched him off the plank. When I saw myself
+alone my sorrows redoubled and my grief and longing for my child, and I
+recited,
+
+'My coolth of eyes, the darling child of me * Is lost, and racked
+
+
+     my heart with agony;
+
+
+My body wrecked, and red-hot coals of love * Burning my liver
+
+
+     with sore pangs, I see.
+
+
+In this my sorrow shows no gleam of joy; * Save Thy high grace
+
+
+     and my expectancy:
+
+
+Hast seen, O Lord, what unto me befel; * My son aye lost and
+
+
+     parting pangs I dree:
+
+
+Take ruth on us and make us meet again; * For now my stay and
+
+
+     only hope's in Thee!'
+
+
+
+I abode in this condition a day and a night; and, when morning dawned,
+I caught sight of the sails of a vessel shining afar off, nor did the
+waves cease to drive me and the winds to waft me on, till I reached the
+ship, whose sails I had sighted. The sailors took me up and I looked
+and behold, my babe was amongst them: so I threw myself upon him and
+said, 'O folk, this is my child: how and whence came ye by him?' Quoth
+they, 'Whilst we were sailing along the seas the ship suddenly stood
+still and lo! that which stayed us was a beast, as it were a great
+city, and this babe on its back, sucking his thumbs. So we took him
+up.' Now when I heard this, I told them my tale and all that had
+betided me and returned thanks to my Lord for His goodness, and vowed
+to Him that never, whilst I lived, would I stir from His House nor
+swerve from His service; and since then I have never asked of Him aught
+but He hath given it me.' Now when she had made an end of her story
+(quoth the Sayyid), I put my hand to my alms-pouch and would have given
+to her, but she exclaimed, "Away from me, thou idle man! Have I not
+told thee of His mercies and the graciousness of His dealings and shall
+I take an alms from other than His hand?" And I could not prevail with
+her to accept aught of me: so I left her and went away, reciting these
+couplets
+
+'How many boons conceals the Deity, * Eluding human sight in
+
+
+     mystery:
+
+
+How many graces come on heels of stresses, * And fill the burning
+
+
+     heart with jubilee:
+
+
+How many a sorrow in the morn appears, * And turns at night-tide
+
+
+     into gladdest gree:
+
+
+If things go hard with thee some day, yet trust * Th' Eterne, th'
+
+
+     Almighty God of Unity:
+
+
+And pray the Prophet that he intercede; * Through intercession
+
+
+     every wish shalt see.'
+
+
+
+And she left not the service of her Lord, cleaving unto His House, till
+death came to her." And a tale is also told by Mαlik bin Dνnαr[FN#467]
+(Allah have mercy on him!) of
+
+
+
+
+THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.
+
+"We were once afflicted with drought at Bassorah and went forth sundry
+times to pray for rain, but saw no sign of our prayers being accepted.
+So I went, I and 'Itaa al-Salamν and Sαbit al-Banαni and Naja al-Bakαa
+and Mohammed bin Wαsi'a and Ayyϊb al-Sukhtiyαni and Habνb al-Farsi and
+Hassαn bin Abi Sinαn and 'Otbah al-Ghulαm and Sαlih al-Muzani,[FN#468]
+till we reached the oratory,[FN#469] when the boys came out of the
+schools and we prayed for rain, but saw no sign of acceptance. So about
+mid-day the people went away and I and Sabit al-Banani tarried in the
+place of prayer till nightfall, when we saw a black of comely face,
+slender of shank[FN#470] and big of belly, approach us, clad in a pair
+of woollen drawers; if all he wore had been priced, it would not have
+fetched a couple of dirhams. He brought water and made the minor
+ablution, then, going up to the prayer-niche, prayed two inclinations
+deftly, his standing and bowing and prostration being exactly similar
+in both. Then he raised his glance heavenwards, and said, 'O my God and
+my Lord and Master, how long wilt Thou reject Thy servants in that
+which offereth no hurt to Thy sovereignty? Is that which is with Thee
+wasted or are the treasuries of Thy Kingdom annihilated? I conjure
+Thee, by Thy love to me forthwith to pour out upon us Thy rain-clouds
+of grace!' He spake and hardly had he made an end of speaking, when the
+heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as if the mouths of
+waterskins had been opened; and when we left the oratory, we were
+knee-deep in water,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "hardly had he
+spoken when the heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as if the
+mouths of waterskins had been opened. And when we left the oratory we
+were knee-deep in water, and we were lost in wonder at the black. So I
+accosted him and said to him, 'Woe to thee, O black, art thou not
+ashamed of what thou saidst?' He turned to me and asked, 'What said
+I?'; and I, 'Thy saying to Allah, 'By Thy love of me;' and what giveth
+thee to know that He loveth thee?' Replied he, 'Away from me, O thou
+distracted by the world from the care of thine own soul. Where was I,
+when He gave me strength to profess the unity of the Godhead and
+vouchsafed unto me the knowledge of Him? How deemest thou that He aided
+me thus except of His love to me?' adding, 'Verily, His love to me is
+after the measure of my love to Him.' Quoth I, 'Tarry awhile with me,
+so may Allah have mercy on thee!' But he said, 'I am a chattel and the
+Book enjoineth me to obey my lesser master.' So we followed him afar
+off, till we saw him enter the house of a slave-broker. Now the first
+half of the night was past and the last half was longsome upon us, so
+we went away; but next morning, we repaired to the slave-dealer and
+said to him, 'Hast thou a lad to sell us for service?' He answered,
+'Yes, I have an hundred lads or so and they are all for sale.' Then he
+showed us slave after slave; till he had shown us some seventy; but my
+friend was not amongst them, and the dealer said, 'These are all I
+have.' But, as we were going out from him we saw a ruinous hut behind
+his house and going in behold, we found the black standing there. I
+cried, ''Tis he, by the Lord of the Ka'abah!' and turning to the
+dealer, said to him, 'Sell me yonder slave.' Replied he, 'O Abu Yahya,
+this is a pestilent unprofitable fellow, who hath no concern by night
+but weeping and by day but repentance.' I rejoined, 'It is for that I
+want him.' So the dealer called him, and he came out, showing
+drowsiness. Quoth his master, 'Take him at thine own price, so thou
+hold me free of all his faults.' I bought him for twenty dinars and
+asked 'What is his name?' and the dealer answered 'Maymun, the monkey;'
+and I took him by the hand and went out with him, intending to go home;
+but he turned to me and said, 'O my lesser lord, why and wherefore
+didst thou buy me? By Allah, I am not fit for the service of God's
+creatures!' Replied I, 'I bought thee that I might serve thee myself;
+and on my head be it.' Asked he, 'Why so?' and I answered, 'Wast thou
+not in company with us yesterday in the place of prayer?' Quoth he,
+'And didst thou hear me?'; and quoth I, 'It was I accosted thee
+yesterday and spoke with thee.' Thereupon he advanced till we came to a
+mosque, where he entered and prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he
+said, 'O my God and my Lord and Master, the secret that was between me
+and Thee Thou hast discovered unto Thy creatures and hast brought me to
+shame before the worldling. How then shall life be sweet to me, now
+that other than Thou hath happened upon that which is between Thee and
+me? I conjure Thee to take my soul to Thee forthright.[FN#471] So
+saying, he prostrated himself, and I awaited awhile without seeing him
+raise his head; so I shook him and behold, he was indeed dead, the
+mercy of Almighty Allah be upon him! I laid him out stretching his arms
+and legs and looked at him, and lo! he was smiling. Moreover, whiteness
+had got the better of blackness on his brow, and his face was radiant
+with light like a young moon. As we wondered at his case, the door
+opened and a young man came in to us and said, 'Peace be with you! May
+Allah make great our reward and yours for our brother Maymun! Here is
+his shroud: wrap him in it.' So saying, he gave us two robes, never had
+we seen the like of them, and we shrouded him therein. And now his tomb
+is a place whither men resort to pray for rain and ask their
+requirements of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!); and how
+excellently well saith the poet on this theme,
+
+     'The heart of Gnostic[FN#472] homed in heavenly Garth *
+
+
+          Heaven decks, and Allah's porters aid afford.
+
+
+     Lo! here they drink old wine commingled with *
+
+
+          Tasnνm,[FN#473] the wine of union with the Lord.
+
+
+     Safe is the secret 'twixt the Friend and them; *
+
+
+          Safe from all hearts but from that Heart adored.'"
+
+
+
+And they recount another anecdote of
+
+
+
+
+THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE.
+
+There was once, among the Children of Israel, a man of the worthiest,
+who was strenuous in the service of his Lord and abstained from things
+worldly and drave them away from his heart. He had a wife who was a
+helpmate meet for him and who was at all times obedient to him. They
+earned their living by making trays[FN#474] and fans, whereat they
+wrought all through the light hours; and, at nightfall, the man went
+out into the streets and highways seeking a buyer for what they had
+made. They were wont to fast continually by day[FN#475] and one morning
+they arose, fasting, and worked at their craft till the light failed
+them, when the man went forth, according to custom, to find purchasers
+for his wares, and fared on till he came to the door of the house of a
+certain man of wealth, one of the sons of this world, high in rank and
+dignity. Now the tray-maker was fair of face and comely of form, and
+the wife of the master of the house saw him and fell in love with him
+and her heart inclined to him with exceeding inclination; so, her
+husband being absent, she called her handmaid and said to her,
+"Contrive to bring yonder man to us." Accordingly the maid went out to
+him and and called him and stopped him as though she would buy what he
+held in hand.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maid-servant
+went out to the man and asked him, "Come in; my lady hath a mind to buy
+some of thy wares, after she hath tried them and looked at them." The
+man thought she spoke truly and, seeing no harm in this, entered and
+sat down as she bade him; and she shut the door upon him. Whereupon her
+mistress came out of her room and, taking him by the gaberdine,[FN#476]
+drew him within and said, "How long shall I seek union of thee? Verily
+my patience is at an end on thine account. See now, the place is
+perfumed and provision prepared and the householder is absent this
+night, and I give to thee my person without reserve, I whose favours
+kings and captains and men of fortune have sought this long while, but
+I have regarded none of them." And she went on talking thus to him,
+whilst he raised not his eyes from the ground, for shame before Allah
+Almighty and fear of the pains and penalties of His punishment; even as
+saith the poet,
+
+"'Twixt me and riding many a noble dame, * Was naught but shame
+
+
+     which kept me chaste and pure:
+
+
+My shame was cure to her; but haply were * Shame to depart, she
+
+
+     ne'er had known a cure."
+
+
+
+The man strove to free himself from her, but could not; so he said to
+her, "I want one thing of thee." She asked, "What is that?": and he
+answered, "I wish for pure water that I may carry it to the highest
+place of thy house and do somewhat therewith and cleanse myself of an
+impurity, which I may not disclose to thee." Quoth she, "The house is
+large and hath closets and corners and privies at command." But he
+replied, "I want nothing but to be at a height." So she said to her
+slave-girl, "Carry him up to the belvedere on the house-terrace."
+Accordingly the maid took him up to the very top and, giving him a
+vessel of water, went down and left him. Then he made the ablution and
+prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he looked at the ground, thinking
+to throw himself down, but seeing it afar off, feared to be dashed to
+pieces by the fall.[FN#477] Then he bethought him of his disobedience
+to Allah, and the consequences of his sin; so it became a light matter
+to him to offer up his life and shed his blood; and he said, "O my God
+and my Lord, Thou seest that which is fallen on me; neither is my case
+hidden from Thee. Thou indeed over all things art Omnipotent and the
+tongue of my case reciteth and saith,
+
+'I show my heart and thoughts to Thee, and Thou * Alone my
+
+
+     secret's secrecy canst know.
+
+
+If I address Thee fain I cry aloud; * Or, if I'm mute, my signs
+
+
+     for speech I show.
+
+
+O Thou to whom no second be conjoined! * A wretched lover seeks
+
+
+     Thee in his woe.
+
+
+I have a hope my thoughts as true confirm; * And heart that
+
+
+     fainteth as right well canst trow.
+
+
+To lavish life is hardest thing that be, * Yet easy an Thou bid
+
+
+     me life forego;
+
+
+But, an it be Thy will to save from stowre, * Thou, O my Hope, to
+
+
+     work this work hast power!'"
+
+
+
+Then the man cast himself down from the belvedere; but Allah sent an
+angel who bore him up on his wings and brought him down to the ground,
+whole and without hurt or harm. Now when he found himself safe on the
+ground, he thanked and praised Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
+Might!) for His merciful protection of his person and his chastity; and
+he went straight to his wife who had long expected him, and he
+empty-handed. Then seeing him, she asked him why he had tarried and
+what was come of that he had taken with him and why he returned
+empty-handed; whereupon he told her of the temptation which had
+befallen him, and she said, "Alhamdolillah—praised be God-for
+delivering thee from seduction and intervening between thee and such
+calamity!" Then she added, "O man, the neighbours use to see us light
+our oven every night; and, if they see us fireless this night, they
+will know that we are destitute. Now it behoveth in gratitude to Allah,
+that we hide our destitution and conjoin the fast of this night to that
+of the past and continue it for the sake of Allah Almighty." So she
+rose and, filling the oven with wood, lighted it, to baffle the
+curiosity of her woman-neighbours, reciting these couplets,
+
+"Now I indeed will hide desire and all repine; * And light up
+
+
+     this my fire that neighbours see no sign:
+
+
+Accept I what befals by order of my Lord; * Haply He too accept
+
+
+     this humble act of mine."
+
+
+
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
+goodwife had lit the fire to baffle the curiosity of her
+women-neighbours, she and her husband made the Wuzu-ablution and stood
+up to pray, when behold, one of the neighbours' wives came and asked
+leave to take a fire-brand from the oven. "Do what thou wilt with the
+oven," answered they; but, when she came to the fire, she cried out,
+saying, "Ho, such an one (to the tray-maker's wife) take up thy bread
+ere it burn!" Quoth the wife to her husband, "Hearest thou what she
+saith?" Quoth he, "Go and look." So she went up to the oven, and
+behold, it was full of fine bread and white. She took up the scones and
+carried them to her husband, thanking Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
+Might!) for His abounding good and great bounty; and they ate of the
+bread and drank water and praised the Almighty. Then said the woman to
+her husband, "Come let us pray to Allah the Most Highest, so haply He
+may vouchsafe us what shall enable us to dispense with the weariness of
+working for daily bread and devote ourselves wholly to worshipping and
+obeying Him." The man rose in assent and prayed, whilst his wife said,
+"Amen," to his prayer, when the roof clove in sunder and down fell a
+ruby, which lit the house with its light. Hereat, they redoubled in
+praise and thanksgiving to Allah praying what the Almighty
+willed,[FN#478] and rejoiced at the ruby with great joy. And the night
+being far spent, they lay down to sleep and the woman dreamt that she
+entered Paradise and saw therein many chairs ranged and stools set in
+rows. She asked what the seats were and it was answered her, "These are
+the chairs of the prophets and those are the stools of the righteous
+and the pious." Quoth she, "Which is the stool of my husband such an
+one?"; and it was said to her, "It is this." So she looked and seeing a
+hole in its side asked, "What may be this hole?"; and the reply came,
+"It is the place of the ruby that dropped upon you from your
+house-roof." Thereupon she awoke, weeping and bemoaning the defect in
+her husband's stool among the seats of the Righteous; so she told him
+the dream and said to him, "Pray Allah, O man, that this ruby return to
+its place; for endurance of hunger and poverty during our few days here
+were easier than a hole in thy chair among the just in
+Paradise."[FN#479] Accordingly, he prayed to his Lord, and lo! the ruby
+flew up to the roof and away whilst they looked at it. And they ceased
+not from their poverty and their piety, till they went to the presence
+of Allah, to whom be Honour and Glory! And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+AL-HAJJAJ AND THE PIOUS MAN.
+
+Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi had been long in pursuit of a certain man
+of the notables, and when at last he was brought before him, he said,
+"O enemy of Allah, He hath delivered thee over to me;" and cried, "Hale
+him to prison and lay him by the heels in heavy fetters and build a
+closet over him, that he may not come forth of it nor any go into him."
+So they bore him to jail and summoned the blacksmith with the irons;
+and every time the smith gave a stroke with his hammer, the prisoner
+raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Is not the whole Creation and the
+Empire thereof His?"[FN#480] Then the gaolers built the cage[FN#481]
+over him and left him therein, lorn and lone, whereupon longing and
+consternation entered into him and the tongue of his case recited in
+extempore verse,
+
+"O, Wish of wistful men, for Thee I yearn; * My heart seeks grace
+
+
+     of one no heart shall spurn.
+
+
+Unhidden from thy sight is this my case; * And for one glance of
+
+
+     thee I pine and burn.
+
+
+They jailed and tortured me with sorest pains: * Alas for lone
+
+
+     one can no aid discern!
+
+
+But, albe lone, I find Thy name befriends * And cheers, though
+
+
+     sleep to eyes shall ne'er return:
+
+
+An thou accept of me, I care for naught; * And only Thou what's
+
+
+     in my heart canst learn!"
+
+
+
+Now when night fell dark, the gaoler left his watchmen to guard him and
+went to his house; and on the morrow, when he came to the prison, he
+found the fetters lying on the ground and the prisoner gone; whereat he
+was affrighted and made sure of death. So he returned to his place and
+bade his family farewell, after which he took in his sleeve his shroud
+and the sweet herbs for his corpse, and went in to Al-Hajjaj. And as he
+stood before the presence, the Governor smelt the perfumes and asked,
+"What is that?" when the gaoler answered, "O my lord, it is I who have
+brought it." "And what moved thee to that?" enquired the Governor;
+whereupon he told him his case,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the gaoler
+told his case to Al-Hajjaj, the Governor cried, "Woe to thee! Didst
+thou hear him say aught?" Answered the gaoler, "Yes! whilst the
+blacksmith was hammering his irons, he ceased not to look up
+heavenwards and say, 'Is not the whole Creation and the Empire thereof
+His?'" Rejoined Al-Hajjaj, "Dost thou not know that He, on whom he
+called in thy presence, delivered him in thine absence?" And the tongue
+of the case recited on this theme,
+
+"O Lord, how many a grief from me hast driven * Nor can I sit or
+
+
+     stand without Thy hold:
+
+
+How many many things I cannot count, * Thou sav'st from many many
+
+
+     and manifold!"
+
+
+
+And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE WITHOUT HURT.
+
+It reached the ears of a certain pious man that there abode in such a
+town a blacksmith, who could put his hand into the fire and pull out
+the iron red-hot, without the flames doing him aught of hurt.[FN#482]
+So he set out for the town in question and asked for the blacksmith;
+and, when the man was shown to him, he watched him at work and saw him
+do as had been reported to him. He waited till he had made and end of
+his day's work; then, going up to him, saluted him with the salam and
+said, "I would be thy guest this night." Replied the smith, "With
+gladness and goodly gree!" and carried him to his place, where they
+supped together and lay down to sleep. The guest watched, but saw no
+sign in his host of praying through the night or of special devoutness
+and said in his mind, "Haply he hideth himself from me." So he lodged
+with him a second and a third night, but found that he did not exceed
+the devotions prescribed by the law and custom of the Prophet and rose
+but little in the dark hours to pray. At last he said to him, "O my
+brother, I have heard of the gift with which Allah hath favoured thee
+and have seen the truth of it with mine eyes. Moreover, I have taken
+note of thine assiduity in religious exercises, but find in thee no
+such piety as distinguisheth those who work saintly miracles: whence,
+then, cometh this to thee?" "I will tell thee," answered the smith,
+"Know that I was once passionately enamoured of a slave-girl and
+ofttimes sued her for love-liesse, but could not prevail upon her,
+because she still held fast by her chastity. Presently there came a
+year of drought and hunger and hardship; food failed and there befel a
+sore famine. As I was sitting one day at home, somebody knocked at the
+door; so I went out and behold, she was standing there; and she said to
+me, 'O my brother, I am sorely an-hungered and I lift mine eyes to
+thee, beseeching thee to feed me for Allah's sake!' Quoth I, 'Wottest
+thou not how I love thee and what I have suffered for thy sake? Now I
+will not give thee one bittock of bread except thou yield thy person to
+me.' Quoth she, 'Death, but not disobedience to the Lord!' Then she
+went away and returned after two days with the same prayer for food as
+before. I made her a like answer, and she entered and sat down in my
+house being nigh upon death. I set food before her, whereupon her eyes
+brimmed with tears and she cried, 'Give me meat for the love of Allah,
+to whom belong Honour and Glory!' But I answered, 'Not so, by Allah,
+except thou yield thyself to me.' Quoth she, 'Better is death to me
+than the wrath and wreak of Allah the Most Highest;' and she rose and
+left the food untouched"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man set
+food before her, the woman said, "Give me meat for the love of Allah to
+whom be Honour and Glory!' But I answered, 'Not so, by Allah, except
+thou yield to me thy person.' Quoth she, 'Better is death than the
+wrath and wreak of Allah;' and she rose and left the food untouched and
+went away repeating these couplets,
+
+'O Thou, the One, whose grace doth all the world embrace; * Thine
+
+
+     ears have heard, Thine eyes have seen my case!
+
+
+Privation and distress have dealt me heavy blows; * The woes that
+
+
+     weary me no utterance can trace.
+
+
+I am like one athirst who eyes the landscape's eye, * Yet may not
+
+
+     drink a draught of streams that rail and race.
+
+
+My flesh would tempt me by the sight of savoury food * Whose joys
+
+
+     shall pass away and pangs maintain their place.'
+
+
+
+She then disappeared for two days, when she again came and knocked at
+the door; so I went out to her, and lo! hunger had taken away her
+voice; but, after a rest she said, 'O my brother, I am worn out with
+want and know not what to do, for I cannot show my face to any man but
+to thee. Say, wilt thou feed me for the love of Allah Almighty?' But I
+answered, 'Not so, except thou yield to me thy person.' And she entered
+my house and sat down. Now I had no food ready; but, when the meat was
+dressed and I laid it in a saucer, behold, the grace of Almighty Allah
+entered into me and I said to myself, 'Out on thee! This woman, weak of
+wit and faith, hath refrained from food till she can no longer, for
+stress of hunger; and, while she refuseth time after time, thou canst
+not forbear from disobedience to the Lord!' And I said, 'O my God, I
+repent to Thee of that which my flesh purposed!' Then I took the food
+and carrying it to her, said, 'Eat, for no harm shall betide thee: this
+is for the love of Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!' Then she
+raised her eyes to heaven and said, 'O my God, if this man say sooth, I
+pray Thee forbid fire to harm him in this world and the next, for Thou
+over all things art Omnipotent and Prevalent in answering the prayer of
+the penitent!' Then I left her and went to put out the fire in the
+brasier.[FN#483] Now the season was winter and the weather cold, and a
+live coal fell on my body: but by the decree of Allah (to whom be
+Honour and Glory!) I felt no pain and it became my conviction that her
+prayer had been answered. So I took the coal in my hand, and it burnt
+me not; and going in to her, I said, 'Be of good cheer, for Allah hath
+granted thy prayer!'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the blacksmith
+continued: "So I went in to her and said, 'Be of good cheer, for Allah
+hath granted thy prayer!' Then she dropped the morsel from her hand and
+said, 'O my God, now that Thou hast shown me my desire of him and hast
+granted me my prayer for him, take Thou my soul, for Thou over all
+things art Almighty!' And straightway He took her soul to Him, the
+mercy of Allah be upon her!" And the tongue of the case extemporised
+and spake on this theme,
+
+"She prayed: the Lord of grace her prayer obeyed; * And spared
+
+
+     the sinner, who for sin had prayed:
+
+
+He showed her all she prayed Him to grant; * And Death (as prayed
+
+
+     she) her portion made:
+
+
+Unto his door she came and prayed for food, * And sued his ruth
+
+
+     for what her misery made:
+
+
+He leant to error following his lusts, * And hoped to enjoy her
+
+
+     as her wants persuade;
+
+
+But he knew little of what Allah willed; * Nor was Repentance,
+
+
+     though unsought, denayed.
+
+
+Fate comes to him who flies from Fate, O Lord, * And lot and
+
+
+     daily bread by Thee are weighed."
+
+
+
+And they also tell of
+
+
+
+
+THE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT KING.
+
+There was once, among the children of Israel, a man of the devout, for
+piety acclaimed and for continence and asceticism enfamed, whose
+prayers were ever granted and who by supplication obtained whatso he
+wanted; and he was a wanderer in the mountains and was used to pass the
+night in worship. Now Almighty Allah had subjected to him a cloud which
+travelled with him wherever he went, and poured on him its
+water-treasures in abundance that he might make his ablutions and
+drink. After a long time when things were thus, his fervour somewhat
+abated, whereupon Allah took the cloud away from him and ceased to
+answer his prayers. On this account, great was his grief and long was
+his woe, and he ceased not to regret the time of grace and the miracle
+vouchsafed to him and to lament and bewail and bemoan himself, till he
+saw in a dream one who said to him, "An thou wouldest have Allah
+restore to thee thy cloud, seek out a certain King, in such a town, and
+beg him to pray for thee: so will Allah (be He extolled and exalted!)
+give thee back thy cloud and bespread it over thee by virtue of his
+pious prayers." And he began repeating these couplets,
+
+"Wend to that pious prayerful Emir, * Who can with gladness thy
+
+
+     condition cheer;
+
+
+An he pray Allah, thou shalt win thy wish; * And heavy rain shall
+
+
+     drop from welkin clear.
+
+
+He stands all Kings above in potent worth; * Nor to compare with
+
+
+     him doth aught appear:
+
+
+Near him thou soon shalt hap upon thy want, * And see all joy and
+
+
+     gladness draw thee near:
+
+
+Then cut the wolds and wilds unfounted till * The goal thou goest
+
+
+     for anigh shalt speer!"
+
+
+
+So the hermit set out for the town named to him in the dream; and,
+coming thither after long travel, enquired for the King's palace which
+was duly shown to him. And behold, at the gate he found a slave-officer
+sitting on a great chair and clad in gorgeous gear; so he stood to him
+and saluted him; and he returned his salam and asked him, "What is thy
+business?" Answered the devotee, "I am a wronged man, and come to
+submit my case to the King." Quoth the officer, "Thou hast no access to
+him this day; for he hath appointed unto petitioners and enquirers one
+day in every seven" (naming the day), "on which they may go in to him;
+so wend thy ways in welfare till then." The hermit was vexed with the
+King for thus veiling himself from the folk and said in thought, "How
+shall this man be a saint of the saints of Allah (to whom belong
+Majesty and Might!) and he on this wise?" Then he went away and awaited
+the appointed day. "Now" (quoth he)"when it came, I repaired to the
+palace, where I found a great number of folk at the gate, expecting
+admission; and I stood with them, till there came out a Wazir robed in
+gorgeous raiment and attended by guards and slaves, who said, 'Let
+those, who have petitions to present, enter.' So I entered with the
+rest and found the King seated facing his officers and grandees who
+were ranged according to their several ranks and degrees. The Wazir
+took up his post and brought forward the petitioners, one by one, till
+it came to my turn, when the King looked on me and said, 'Welcome to
+the 'Lord of the Cloud'! Sit thee down till I make leisure for thee.' I
+was confounded at his words and confessed his dignity and superiority;
+and, when the King had answered the petitioners and had made an end
+with them, he rose and dismissed his Wazirs and Grandees; then, taking
+my hand he led me to the door of the private palace, where we found a
+black slave, splendidly arrayed, with helm on head, and on his right
+hand and his left, bows and coats of mail. He rose to the King; and,
+hastening to obey his orders and forestall his wishes, opened the door.
+We went in, hand in hand, till we came to a low wicket, which the King
+himself opened and led me into a ruinous place of frightful desolation
+and thence passed into a chamber, wherein was naught but a
+prayer-carpet, an ewer for ablution and some mats of palm-leaves. Here
+the King doffed his royal robes and donned a coarse gown of white wool
+and a conical bonnet of felt. Then he sat down and making me sit,
+called out to his wife, 'Ho, such an one!' and she answered from within
+saying, 'Here am I.' Quoth he, 'Knowest thou who is our guest to-day?'
+Replied she, 'Yes, it is the Lord of the Cloud.' The King said, 'Come
+forth: it mattereth not for him.' And behold, there entered a woman, as
+she were a vision, with a face that beamed like the new moon; and she
+wore a gown and veil of wool."-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that 'when the King
+called to his wife, she came forth from the inner room; and her face
+beamed like the new moon; and she wore a gown and a veil of wool. Then
+said the King, 'O my brother, dost thou desire to hear our story or
+that we should pray for thee and dismiss thee?' Answered the hermit;
+'Nay, I wish to hear the tale of you twain, for that to me were
+preferable.' Said the King, 'My forefathers handed down the throne, one
+to the other, and it descended from great one to great one, in unbroken
+succession, till the last died and it came to me. Now Allah had made
+this hateful to me, for I would fain have gone awandering over earth
+and left the folk to their own affairs; but I feared lest they should
+fall into confusion and anarchy and misgovernment so as to swerve from
+divine law, and the union of the Faith be broken up. Wherefore,
+abandoning my own plans, I took the kingship and appointed to every
+head of them a regular stipend; and donned the royal robes; and posted
+slave-officers at the doors, as a terror to the dishonest and for the
+defence of honest folk and the maintenance of law and limitations. Now
+when free of this, I entered this place and, doffing my royal habit,
+donned these clothes thou seest; and this my cousin, the daughter of my
+father's brother, hath agreed with me to renounce the world and helpeth
+me to serve the Lord. So we are wont to weave these palm-leaves and
+earn, during the day, a wherewithal to break our fast at nightfall; and
+we have lived on this wise nigh upon forty years. Abide thou with us
+(so Allah have mercy on thee!) till we sell our mats; and thou shalt
+sup and sleep with us this night and on the morrow wend thy ways with
+that thou wishest, Inshallah!' So he tarried with them till the end of
+the day, when there came a boy five years old who took the mats they
+had made and carrying them to the market, sold them for a
+carat;[FN#484] and with this bought bread and beans and returned with
+them to the King. The hermit broke his fast and lay down to sleep with
+them; but in the middle of the night they both arose and fell to
+praying and weeping. When daybreak was near, the King said, "O my God,
+this Thy servant beseecheth Thee to return him his cloud; and to do
+this Thou art able; so, O my God, let him see his prayer granted and
+restore him his cloud." The Queen amen'd to his orisons and behold, the
+cloud grew up in the sky; whereupon the King gave the hermit joy and
+the man took leave of them and went away, the cloud companying him as
+of old. And whatsoever he required of Allah after this, in the names of
+the pious King and Queen, He granted it without fail and the man made
+thereon these couplets,
+
+"My Lord hath servants fain of piety; * Hearts in the Wisdom-
+
+
+    garden ranging free:
+
+
+Their bodies' lusts at peace, and motionless * For breasts that
+
+
+     bide in purest secresy.
+
+
+Thou seest all silent, awesome of their Lord, * For hidden things
+
+
+     unseen and seen they see."
+
+
+
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN DAMSEL.
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Omar bin al-Khattαb (whom Allah
+accept!), once levied for holy war an army of Moslems, to encounter the
+foe before Damascus, and they laid close siege to one of the
+Christians' strongholds. Now there were amongst the Moslems two men,
+brothers, whom Allah had gifted with fire and bold daring against the
+enemy; so that the commander of the besieged fortress said to his
+chiefs and braves, "Were but yonder two Moslems ta'en or slain, I would
+warrant you against the rest of their strain." Wherefore they left not
+to set for them all manner of toils and snares and ceased not to
+manoeuvre and lie in wait and ambush for them, till they took one of
+them prisoner and slew the other, who died a martyr. They carried the
+captive to the Captain of the fort, who looked at him and said,
+"Verily, to kill this man were indeed a pity; but his return to the
+Moslem would be a calamity."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the enemy
+carried their Moslem captive before the Captain of the fort, the
+Christian looked at him and said, "Verily to kill this man were a pity
+indeed; but his return to the Moslem would be a calamity. Oh that he
+might be brought to embrace the Nazarene Faith and be to us an aid and
+an arm!" Quoth one of his Patrician Knights, "O Emir, I will tempt him
+to abjure his faith, and on this wise: we know that the Arabs are much
+addicted to women, and I have a daughter, a perfect beauty, whom when
+he sees, he will be seduced by her." Quoth the Captain, "I give him
+into thy charge." So he carried him to his place and clad his daughter
+in raiment, such as added to her beauty and loveliness. Then he brought
+the Moslem into the room and set before him food and made the fair girl
+stand in his presence, as she were a handmaid obedient to her lord and
+awaiting his orders that she might do his bidding. When the Moslem saw
+the evil sent down upon him, he commended himself to Allah Almighty and
+closing his eyes, applied himself to worship and to reciting the Koran.
+Now he had a pleasant voice and a piercing wit; and the Nazarene damsel
+presently loved him with passionate love and pined for him with extreme
+repine. This lasted seven days, at the end of which she said to
+herself, "Would to Heaven he would admit me into the Faith of
+Al-Islam!" And the tongue of her case recited these couplets,
+
+"Wilt turn thy face from heart that's all thine own, * This heart
+
+
+     thy ransom and this soul thy wone?
+
+
+I'm ready home and kin to quit for aye, * And every Faith for
+
+
+     that of sword[FN#485] disown:
+
+
+I testify that Allah hath no mate: * This proof is stablished and
+
+
+     this truth is known.
+
+
+Haply shall deign He union grant with one * Averse, and hearten
+
+
+     heart love-overthrown;
+
+
+For ofttimes door erst shut, is opened wide, * And after evil
+
+
+     case all good is shown."
+
+
+
+At last her patience failed her and her breast was straitened and she
+threw herself on the ground before him, saying, "I conjure thee by thy
+Faith, that thou give ear to my words!" Asked he, "What are they?" and
+she answered, "Expound unto me Al-Islam." So he expounded to her the
+tenets of the Faith, and she became a Moslemah, after which she was
+circumcised[FN#486] and he taught her to pray. Then said she to him, "O
+my brother, I did but embrace Al-Islam for thy sake and to win thy
+favours." Quoth he, "The law of Al-Islam forbiddeth sexual commerce
+save after a marriage before two legal witnesses, and a dowry and a
+guardian are also requisite. Now I know not where to find witnesses or
+friend or parapherne; but, an thou can contrive to bring us out of this
+place, I may hope to make the land of Al-Islam, and pledge myself to
+thee that none other than thou in all Al-Islam shall be wife to me."
+Answered she, "I will manage that"; and, calling her father and mother,
+said to them, "Indeed this Moslem's heart is softened and he longeth to
+enter the faith, so I will grant him that which he desireth of my
+person; but he saith: 'It befitteth me not to do this in a town where
+my brother was slain. Could I but get outside it my heart would be
+solaced and I would do that which is wanted of me.' Now there is no
+harm in letting me go forth with him to another town, and I will be a
+surety to you both and to the Emir for that which ye wish of him."
+Therefore her father went to their Captain and told him this, whereat
+he joyed with exceeding joy and bade him carry them forth to a village
+that she named. So they went out and made the village where they abode
+the rest of their day, and when night fell, they got ready for the
+march and went their way, even as saith the poet,
+
+"'The time of parting,' cry they, 'draweth nigh': * 'How oft this
+
+
+     parting-threat?' I but reply:
+
+
+I've naught to do but cross the wild and wold * And, mile by
+
+
+     mile, o'er fountless wastes to fly,
+
+
+If the beloved seek another land * Sons of the road, whereso they
+
+
+     wend, wend I.
+
+
+I make desire direct me to their side, * The guide to show me
+
+
+     where the way doth lie."
+
+
+
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the prisoner and
+the lady abode in the village the rest of their day and, when night
+fell, made ready for the march and went upon their way; and travelled
+all night without stay or delay. The young Moslem, mounting a swift
+blood-horse and taking up the maiden behind him, ceased not devouring
+the ground till it was bright morning, when he turned aside with her
+from the highway and, alighting, they made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed
+the dawn-prayer. Now as they were thus engaged behold, they heard the
+clank of swords and clink of bridles and men's voices and tramp of
+horse; whereupon he said to her, "Ho, such an one, the Nazarenes are
+after us! What shall we do?: the horse is so jaded and broken down that
+he cannot stir another step." Exclaimed she, "Woe to thee! art thou
+then afraid and affrighted?" "Yes," answered he; and she said, "What
+didst thou tell me of the power of thy Lord and His readiness to
+succour those who succour seek? Come, let us humble ourselves before
+Him and beseech Him: haply He shall grant us His succour and endue us
+with His grace, extolled and exalted be He!" Quoth he, "By Allah, thou
+sayest well!" So they began humbling themselves and supplicating
+Almighty Allah and he recited these couplets,
+
+"Indeed I hourly need thy choicest aid, * And should, though
+
+
+     crown were placed upon my head:
+
+
+Thou art my chiefest want, and if my hand * Won what it wisheth,
+
+
+     all my wants were sped.
+
+
+Thou hast not anything withholdest Thou; * Like pouring rain Thy
+
+
+     grace is showered:
+
+
+I'm shut therefrom by sins of me, yet Thou, * O Clement, deignest
+
+
+     pardon-light to shed.
+
+
+O Care-Dispeller, deign dispel my grief! * None can, save Thou,
+
+
+     dispel a grief so dread."
+
+
+
+Whilst he was praying and she was saying, "Amen," and the thunder of
+horse-tramp nearing them, lo! the brave heard the voice of his dead
+brother, the martyr, speaking and saying, "O my brother, fear not, nor
+grieve! for the host whose approach thou hearest is the host of Allah
+and His Angels, whom He hath sent to serve as witnesses to your
+marriage. Of a truth Allah hath made His Angels glorify you and He
+bestoweth on you the meed of the meritorious and the martyrs; and He
+hath rolled up the earth for you as it were a rug so that, by morning,
+you will be in the mountains of Al-Medinah. And thou, when thou
+foregatherest with Omar bin al-Khattab (of whom Allah accept!) give him
+my salutation and say to him: 'Allah abundantly requite thee for
+Al-Islam, because thou hast counselled faithfully and hast striven
+diligently.'" Thereupon the Angels lifted up their voices in salutation
+to him and his bride, saying, "Verily, Almighty Allah appointed her in
+marriage to thee two thousand years before the creation of your father
+Adam (with whom be peace evermore!)." Then joy and gladness and peace
+and happiness came upon the twain; confidence was confirmed and
+established was the guidance of the pious pair. So when dawn appeared,
+they prayed the accustomed prayer and fared forward. Now it was the
+wont of Omar, son of Al-Khattab (Allah accept him!), to rise for
+morning-prayer in the darkness before dawn and at times he would stand
+in the prayer-niche with two men behind him, and begin reciting the
+Chapter entitled "Cattle"[FN#487] or that entitled "Women,"[FN#488]
+whereupon the sleeper awoke and he who was making his Wuzu-ablution
+accomplished it and he who was afar came to prayer; nor had he made an
+end of the first bow, ere the mosque was full of folk; then he would
+pray his second bow quickly, repeating a short chapter. But, on that
+morning he hurried over both first and second inclinations, repeating
+in each a short chapter; then, after the concluding salutation, turning
+to his companions, he said to them, "Come, let us fare forth to meet
+the bride and bridegroom"; at which they wondered, not understanding
+his words. But he went out and they followed him, till they came to the
+gate of the city, where they met the young Moslem who, when the day
+broke and the standards of Al-Medinah appeared to him, had pushed
+forward for the gate closely followed by his bride. There he was met by
+Omar who bade make a marriage feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then
+the young Moslem went in unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed
+him children,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Omar (on whom be
+peace!) bade make a marriage-feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then
+the young Moslem went in unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed
+him children, who fought in the Lord's way and preserved genealogies,
+for they gloried therein. And how excellent is what is said on such
+theme,
+
+"I saw thee weep before the gates and 'plain, * Whilst only
+
+
+     curious wight reply would deign:
+
+
+Hath eye bewitcht thee, or hath evil lot * 'Twixt thee and door
+
+
+     of friend set bar of bane?
+
+
+Wake up this day, O wretch, persist in prayer, * Repent as wont
+
+
+     repent departed men.
+
+
+Haply shall wash thy sins Forgiveness-showers; * And on thine
+
+
+     erring head some ruth shall rain:
+
+
+And prisoner shall escape despite his bonds; * And slave from
+
+
+     thraldom freedom shall attain."
+
+
+
+And they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till there
+came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies.
+And a tale is told by Sνdi Ibrahim bin Al-Khawwαs[FN#489](on whom be
+the mercy of Allah!) concerning himself and
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRISTIAN KING'S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM.
+
+"My spirit urged me, once upon a time, to go forth into the country of
+the Infidels; and I strove with it and struggled to put away from me
+this inclination; but it would not be rejected. So I fared forth and
+journeyed about the land of the Unbelievers and traversed it in all its
+parts; for divine grace enveloped me and heavenly protection
+encompassed me, so that I met not a single Nazarene but he turned away
+his eyes and drew off from me, till I came to a certain great city at
+whose gate I found a gathering of black slaves, clad in armour and
+bearing iron maces in their hands. When they saw me, they rose to their
+feet and asked me, 'Art thou a leach?'; and I answered, 'Yes.' Quoth
+they, 'Come speak to our King,' and carried me before their ruler, who
+was a handsome personage of majestic presence. When I stood before him,
+he looked at me and said, 'Art a physician, thou?' 'Yes,' quoth I; and
+quoth he to his officers, 'Carry him to her, and acquaint him with the
+condition before he enter.' So they took me out and said to me, 'Know
+that the King hath a daughter, and she is stricken with a sore disease,
+which no doctor hath been able to cure: and no leach goeth in to her
+and treateth, without healing her, but the King putteth him to death.
+So bethink thee what thou seest fitting to do.' I replied, 'The King
+drove me to her; so carry me to her.' Thereupon they brought me to her
+door and knocked; and behold, I heard her cry out from within, saying,
+'Admit to me the physician, lord of the wondrous secret!' And she began
+reciting,
+
+'Open the door! the leach now draweth near; * And in my soul a
+
+
+     wondrous secret speer:
+
+
+How many of the near far distant are![FN#490] * How many distant
+
+
+     far are nearest near!
+
+
+I was in strangerhood amidst you all: * But willed the
+
+
+     Truth[FN#491] my solace should appear.
+
+
+Joined us the potent bonds of Faith and Creed; * We met as
+
+
+     dearest fere greets dearest fere:
+
+
+He sued for interview whenas pursued * The spy, and blamed us
+
+
+     envy's jibe and jeer:
+
+
+Then leave your chiding and from blame desist, * For fie upon
+
+
+     you! not a word I'll hear.
+
+
+I care for naught that disappears and fleets; * My care's for
+
+
+     Things nor fleet nor disappear.'
+
+
+
+And lo! a Shaykh, a very old man, opened the door in haste and said to
+me, 'Enter.' So I entered and found myself in a chamber strewn with
+sweet-scented herbs and with a curtain drawn across one corner, from
+behind which came a sound of groaning and grame, weak as from an
+emaciated frame. I sat down before the curtain and was about to offer
+my salam when I bethought me of his words (whom Allah save and
+assain!), 'Accost not a Jew nor a Christian with the salam
+salutation;[FN#492] and, when ye meet them in the way, constrain them
+to the straitest part thereof.' So I withheld my salutation, but she
+cried out from behind the curtain, saying, 'Where is the salutation of
+Unity and Indivisibility, O Khawwas?' I was astonished at her speech
+and asked, 'How knowest thou me?'; whereto she answered, 'When the
+heart and thoughts are whole, the tongue speaketh eloquently from the
+secret recesses of the soul. I begged Him yesterday to send me one of
+His saints, at whose hands I might have deliverance, and behold, it was
+cried to me from the dark places of my house, 'Grieve not; for we soon
+will send thee Ibrahim the Basket-maker.' Then I asked her, 'What of
+thee?' and she answered, 'It is now four years since there appeared to
+me the Manifest Truth, and He is the Relator and the Ally, and the
+Uniter and the Sitter-by; whereupon my folk looked askance upon me with
+an evil eye and taxed me with insanity and suspected me of depravity,
+and there came not in to me doctor but terrified me, nor visitor but
+confounded me.' Quoth I, 'And who led thee to the knowledge of what
+thou wottest?' Quoth she, 'The manifest signs and visible portents of
+Allah; and, when the path is patent to thee, thou espiest with thine
+own eyes both proof and prover.' Now whilst we were talking, behold, in
+came the old man appointed to guard her and said, 'What doth thy
+doctor?'; and she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the
+healing.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the Shaykh,
+her guardian, went in to her he said, 'What doth thy doctor?'; and she
+replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.' Hereupon
+he manifested joy and gladness and accosted me with a cheerful
+countenance, then went and told the King, who enjoined to treat me with
+all honour and regard. So I visited her daily for seven days, at the
+end of which time she said to me, 'O Abu Ishak, when shall be our
+flight to the land of Al-Islam?' 'How canst thou go forth,' replied I,
+'and who would dare to aid thee?' Rejoined she, 'He who sent thee to
+me, driving thee as it were;' and I observed, 'Thou sayest sooth.' So
+when the morrow dawned, we fared forth by the city-gate and all eyes
+were veiled from us, by commandment of Him who when He desireth aught,
+saith to it, 'Be,' and it becometh;[FN#493] so that I journeyed with
+her in safety to Meccah, where she made a home hard by the Holy House
+of Allah and lived seven years; till the appointed day of her death.
+The earth of Meccah was her tomb, and never saw I any more steadfast in
+prayer and fasting than she; Allah send down upon her His mercies and
+have compassion on him who saith,
+
+'When they to me had brought the leach (and surely showed *
+
+
+     The signs of flowing tears and pining malady),
+
+
+The face-veil he withdrew from me, and 'neath it naught *
+
+
+     Save breath of one unsouled, unbodied, could he see.
+
+
+Quoth he, 'This be a sickness Love alone shall cure; *
+
+
+     Love hath a secret from all guess of man wide free.'
+
+
+Quoth they, 'An folk ignore what here there be with him *
+
+
+     Nature of ill and eke its symptomology,
+
+
+How then shall medicine work a cure?' At this quoth I *
+
+
+     'Leave me alone; I have no guessing specialty.'"
+
+
+
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE.
+
+A certain Prophet[FN#494] made his home for worship on a lofty
+mountain, at whose foot was a spring of running water, and he was wont
+to sit by day on the summit, that no man might see him, calling upon
+the name of Allah the Most Highest and watching those who frequented
+the spring. One day, as he sat looking upon the fountain, behold, he
+espied a horseman who came up and dismounted thereby and taking a bag
+from his neck, set it down beside him, after which he drank of the
+water and rested awhile, then he rode away, leaving behind him the bag
+which contained gold pieces. Presently up came another man to drink of
+the spring, who saw the bag and finding it full of money took it up;
+then, after satisfying his thirst, he made off with it in safety. A
+little after came a woodcutter wight with a heavy load of fuel on his
+back, and sat down by the spring to drink, when lo! back came the first
+horseman in great trouble and asked him, "Where is the bag which was
+here?" and when he answered, "I know nothing of it," the rider drew his
+sword and smote him and slew him. Then he searched his clothes, but
+found naught; so he left him and wended his ways. Now when the Prophet
+saw this, he said, "O Lord, one man hath taken a thousand dinars and
+another man hath been slain unjustly." But Allah answered him, saying,
+"Busy thyself with thy devotions, for the ordinance of the universe is
+none of thine affair. The father of this horseman had violently
+despoiled of a thousand dinars the father of the second horseman; so I
+gave the son possession of his sire's money. As for the woodcutter, he
+had slain the horseman's father, wherefore I enabled the son to obtain
+retribution for himself." Then cried the Prophet, "There is none other
+god than Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou art the Knower of
+Secrets."[FN#495]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prophet
+was bidden by inspiration of Allah to busy himself with his devotions
+and learned the truth of the case, he cried, "There is none other god
+but Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou and Thou alone wottest
+hidden things." Furthermore, one of the poets hath made these verses on
+the matter,
+
+"The Prophet saw whatever eyes could see, * And fain of other
+
+
+     things enquired he;
+
+
+And, when his eyes saw things misunderstood, * Quoth he, 'O Lord,
+
+
+     this slain from sin was free.
+
+
+This one hath won him wealth withouten work; * Albe appeared he
+
+
+     garbed in penury.
+
+
+And that in joy of life was slain, although * O man's Creator
+
+
+     free of sin he be.'
+
+
+God answered ''Twas his father's good thou saw'st * Him take; by
+
+
+     heirship not by roguery;
+
+
+Yon woodman too that horseman's sire had slain; * Whose son
+
+
+     avenged him with just victory:
+
+
+Put off, O slave of Me, this thought for I * In men have set
+
+
+     mysterious secrecy!
+
+
+Bow to Our Law and humble thee, and learn * For good and evil
+
+
+     issues Our decree.'"[FN#496]
+
+
+
+And a certain pious man hath told us the tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT.
+
+"I was once a ferryman on the Nile and used to ply between the eastern
+and the western banks. Now one day, as I sat in my boat, there came up
+to me an old man of a bright and beaming countenance, who saluted me
+and I returned his greeting; and he said to me, 'Wilt thou ferry me
+over for the love of Allah Almighty?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he
+continued, 'Wilt thou moreover give me food for Allah's sake?'; to
+which again I answered, 'With all my heart.' So he entered the boat and
+I rowed him over to the eastern side, remarking that he was clad in a
+patched gown and carried a gourd-bottle and a staff. When he was about
+to land, he said to me, 'I desire to lay on thee a heavy trust.' Quoth
+I, 'What is it?' Quoth he, 'It hath been revealed to me that my end is
+nearhand and that to-morrow about noon thou wilt come and find me dead
+under yonder tree. Wash me and wrap me in the shroud thou wilt see
+under my head and after thou hast prayed over me, bury me in this sandy
+ground and take my gown and gourd and staff, which do thou deliver to
+one who shall come and demand them of thee.' I marvelled at his words,
+and I slept there. On the morrow I awaited till noon the event he had
+announced, and then I forgot what he had said till near the hour of
+afternoon-prayer, when I remembered it and hastening to the appointed
+place, found him under the tree, dead, with a new shroud under his
+head, exhaling a fragrance of musk. So I washed him and shrouded him
+and prayed over him, then dug a hole in the sand and buried him, after
+I had taken his ragged gown and bottle and staff, with which I crossed
+the Nile to the western side and there nighted. As soon as morning
+dawned and the city gate opened, I sighted a young man known to me as a
+loose fellow, clad in fine clothes and his hands stained with Henna,
+who said to me, 'Art thou not such an one?' 'Yes,' answered I; and he
+said, 'Give me the trust.' Quoth I, 'What is that?' Quoth he, 'The
+gown, the gourd and the staff.' I asked him, 'Who told thee of them?'
+and he answered, 'I know nothing save that I spent yesternight at the
+wedding of one of my friends singing and carousing till daylight, when
+I lay me down to sleep and take my rest; and behold, there stood by me
+a personage who said, 'Verily Allah Almighty hath taken such a saint to
+Himself and hath appointed thee to fill his place; so go thou to a
+certain person (naming the ferryman), and take of him the dead man's
+gown and bottle and staff, for he left them with him for thee.' So I
+brought them out and gave them to him; whereupon he doffed his clothes
+and, donning the gown, went his way and left me.[FN#497] And when the
+glooms closed around me, I fell a-weeping; but, that night, while
+sleeping I saw the Lord of Holiness (glorified and exalted be He!) in a
+dream saying, 'O my servant, is it grievous to thee that I have granted
+to one of My servants to return to Me? Indeed, this is of My bounty,
+that I vouchsafe to whom I will, for I over all things am Almighty.' So
+I repeated these couplets,
+
+'Lover with loved[FN#498] loseth will and aim! * All choice (an
+
+
+     couldst thou know) were sinful shame.
+
+
+Or grant He favour and with union grace, * Or from thee turn
+
+
+     away, He hath no blame.
+
+
+An from such turning thou no joy enjoy * Depart! the place for
+
+
+     thee no place became.
+
+
+Or canst His near discern not from His far? * Then Love's in vain
+
+
+     and thou'rt a-rear and lame.
+
+
+If pine for Thee afflict my sprite, or men * Hale me to death,
+
+
+     the rein Thy hand shall claim!
+
+
+So turn Thee to or fro, to me 'tis one; * What Thou ordainest
+
+
+     none shall dare defame:
+
+
+My love hath naught of aim but Thine approof * And if Thou say we
+
+
+     part I say the same.'"
+
+
+
+And of the tales they tell is one concerning
+
+
+
+
+THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE.
+
+There was once a notable of the Children of Israel, a man of wealth who
+had a pious and blessed son. When his last hour drew nigh, his son sat
+down at his head and said to him, "O my lord, give me an injunction."
+Quoth the father, "O dear son, I charge thee, swear not by Allah or
+truly or falsely." Then he died and certain lewd fellows of the
+Children of Israel heard of the charge he had laid on his son and began
+coming to the latter and saying, "Thy father had such and such monies
+of mine, and thou knowest it; so give me what was entrusted to him or
+else make oath that there was no trust." The good son would not disobey
+his sire's injunction, so gave them all they claimed; and they ceased
+not to deal thus with him, till his wealth was spent and he fell into
+straitest predicament. Now the young man had a pious and blessed wife,
+who had borne him two little sons; so he said to her, "The folk have
+multiplied their demands on me and, while I had the wherewithal to free
+myself of debt, I rendered it freely; but naught is now left us, and if
+others make demands upon me, we shall be in absolute distress, I and
+thou; our best way were to save ourselves by fleeing to some place,
+where none knoweth us, and earn our bread among the lower of the folk."
+Accordingly, he took ship with her and his two children, knowing not
+whither he should wend; but, "When Allah judgeth, there is none to
+reverse His judgment;"[FN#499] and quoth the tongue of the case,
+
+"O flier from thy home when foes affright! * Whom led to weal and
+
+
+     happiness such flight,
+
+
+Grudge not this exile when he flees abroad * Where he on wealth
+
+
+     and welfare may alight.
+
+
+An pearls for ever did abide in shell, * The kingly crown they
+
+
+     ne'er had deckt and dight."
+
+
+
+The ship was wrecked, yet the man saved himself on a plank and his wife
+and children also saved themselves, but on other planks. The waves
+separated them and the wife was cast up in one country and one of the
+boys in another. The second son was picked up by a ship, and the surges
+threw the father on a desert island, where he landed and made the
+Wuzu-ablution. Then he called the prayer-call,—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man
+landed upon the island, he made the Wuzu-ablution to free himself from
+the impurities of the sea and called the call to prayer and stood up to
+his devotions, when, behold, there came forth of the sea, creatures of
+various kinds and prayed with him. When he had finished, he went up to
+a tree and stayed his hunger with its fruits; after which he found a
+spring of water and drank thereof and praised Allah, to whom be honour
+and glory! He abode thus three days and whenever he stood up to pray,
+the sea-creatures came out and prayed in the same manner as he prayed.
+Now after the third day, he heard a voice crying aloud and saying, "O
+thou just man, and pious, who didst so honour thy father and revere the
+decrees of thy Lord, grieve not, for Allah (be He extolled and
+exalted!) shall restore to thee all which left thy hand. In this isle
+are hoards and monies and things of price which the Almighty willeth
+thou shalt inherit, and they are in such a part of this place. So bring
+thou them to light; and verily, we will send ships unto thee; and do
+thou bestow charity on the folk and bid them to thee." So he sought out
+that place, and the Lord discovered to him the treasures in question.
+Then ships began resorting to him, and he gave abundant largesse to the
+crews, saying to them, "Be sure ye direct the folk unto me and I will
+give them such and such a thing and appoint to them this and that."
+Accordingly, there came folk from all parts and places, nor had ten
+years passed over him ere the island was peopled and the man became its
+King.[FN#500] No one came to him but he entreated him with munificence,
+and his name was noised abroad, through the length and breadth of the
+earth. Now his elder son had fallen into the hands of a man who reared
+him and taught him polite accomplishments; and, in like manner, the
+younger was adopted by one who gave him a good education and brought
+him up in the ways of merchants. The wife also happened upon a trader
+who entrusted to her his property and made a covenant with her that he
+would not deal dishonestly by her, but would aid her to obey Allah (to
+whom belong Majesty and Might!); and he used to make her the companion
+of his voyages and his travels. Now the elder son heard the report of
+the King and resolved to visit him, without knowing who he was; so he
+went to him and was well received by the King, who made him his
+secretary. Presently the other son heard of the King's piety and
+justice and was also taken into his service as a steward. Then the
+brothers abode awhile, neither knowing the other, till it chanced that
+the merchant, in whose home was their mother, also hearing of the
+King's righteous and generous dealing with the lieges, freighted a ship
+with rich stuffs and other excellent produce of the land, and taking
+the woman with him, set sail for the island. He made it in due course
+and landing, presented himself with his gift before the King; who
+rejoiced therein with exceeding joy and ordered him a splendid
+return-present. Now, there were, among the gifts, certain aromatic
+roots of which he would have the merchant acquaint him with the names
+and uses; so he said to him, "Abide with us this night."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King
+said, "Abide with us this night," the merchant replied, "We have in the
+ship one to whom I have promised to entrust the care of her to none
+save myself; and the same is a holy woman whose prayers have brought me
+weal and I have felt the blessing of her counsels." Rejoined the King,
+"I will send her some trusty men, who shall pass the night in the ship
+and guard her and all that is with her." The merchant agreed to this
+and abode with the King, who called his secretary and steward and said
+to them, "Go and pass the night in this man's ship and keep it safe,
+Inshallah!" So they went up into the ship and seating themselves, this
+on the poop and that on the bow, passed a part of the night in
+repeating the names of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). Then
+quoth one to the other, "Ho, such an one! The King bade us keep watch
+and I fear lest sleep overtake us; so, come, let us discourse of
+stories of fortune and of the good we have seen and the trials of
+life." Quoth the other, "O my brother, as for my trials Fate parted me
+from my mother and a brother of mine, whose name was even as thine; and
+the cause of our parting was this. My father took ship with us from
+such a place, and the winds rose against us and were contrary, so that
+the ship was wrecked and Allah broke our fair companionship." Hearing
+this the first asked, "What was the name of thy mother, O my brother?";
+and the second answered, "So and so." Thereat brother threw himself
+upon brother saying, "By Allah, thou art my very brother!" And each
+fell to telling the other what had befallen him in his youth, whilst
+the mother heard all they said, but held her peace and in patience
+possessed her soul. Now when it was morning, one said to the other,
+"Come, brother, let us go to my lodging and talk there;" and the other
+said, "'Tis well." So they went away and presently, the merchant came
+back and finding the woman in great trouble, said to her, "What hath
+befallen thee and why this concern?" Quoth she, "Thou sentest to me
+yesternight men who tempted me to evil, and I have been in sore annoy
+with them." At this, he was wroth and, repairing to the King, reported
+the conduct of his two trusty wights. The King summoned the twain
+forthwith, as he loved them for their fidelity and piety; and, sending
+for the woman, that he might hear from her own lips what she had to say
+against them, thus bespake her, "O woman, what hath betided thee from
+these two men in whom I trust?" She replied, "O King, I conjure thee by
+the Almighty, the Bountiful One, the Lord of the Empyrean, bid them
+repeat the words they spoke yesternight." So he said to them, "Say what
+ye said and conceal naught thereof." Accordingly, they repeated their
+talk, and lo! the King rising from his throne, gave a great cry and
+threw himself upon them, embracing them and saying, "By Allah, ye are
+my very sons!" Therewith the woman unveiled her face and said, "And by
+Allah, I am their very mother." So they were united and abode in all
+solace of life and its delight till death parted them; and so glory be
+to Him who delivereth His servant when he restoreth to Him, and
+disappointeth not his hope in Him and his trust! And how well saith the
+poet on the subject,
+
+"Each thing of things hath his appointed tide * When 'tis, O
+
+
+     brother, granted or denied.
+
+
+Repine not an affliction hit thee hard; * For woe and welfare aye
+
+
+     conjoint abide:
+
+
+How oft shall woman see all griefs surround * Yet feel a joyance
+
+
+     thrill what lies inside!
+
+
+How many a wretch, on whom the eyes of folk * Look down, shall
+
+
+     grace exalt to pomp and pride!
+
+
+This man is one long suffering grief and woe; * Whom change and
+
+
+     chance of Time hath sorely tried:
+
+
+The World divided from what held he dearest, * After long union
+
+
+     scattered far and wide;
+
+
+But deigned his Lord unite them all again, * And in the Lord is
+
+
+     every good descried.
+
+
+Glory to Him whose Providence rules all * Living, as surest
+
+
+     proofs for us decide.
+
+
+Near is the Near One; but no wisdom clearer * Shows him, nor
+
+
+     distant wayfare brings Him nearer."
+
+
+
+And this tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA'AFAR THE LEPER.[FN#501]
+
+"I had been many times to Meccah (Allah increase its honour!) and the
+folk used to follow me for my knowledge of the road and remembrance of
+the water-stations. It happened one year that I was minded to make the
+pilgrimage to the Holy House and visitation of the Tomb of His Prophet
+(on whom be blessing and peace!) and I said in myself, 'I well know the
+way and will fare alone.' So I set out and journeyed till I came to
+Al-Kadisνyah[FN#502] and, entering the mosque there, saw a man
+suffering from black leprosy seated in the prayer-niche. Quoth he on
+seeing me, 'O Abu al-Hasan, I crave thy company to Meccah.' Quoth I to
+myself, 'I fled from all my companions, and how shall I company with
+lepers?' So I said to him, 'I will bear no man company'; and he was
+silent at my words. Next day I walked on alone, till I came to
+Al-Akabah,[FN#503] where I entered the mosque and found the leper
+seated in the prayer-niche. So I said to myself, 'Glory be to Allah!
+how hath this fellow preceded me hither?' But he raised his head to me
+and said with a smile, 'O Abu al-Hasan, He doth for the weak that which
+surpriseth the strong!' I passed that night confounded at what I had
+seen; and, as soon as morning dawned, set out again by myself; but when
+I came to Arafat[FN#504] and entered the mosque, behold, there was the
+leper seated in the niche! So I threw myself upon him and kissing his
+feet said, 'O my lord, I crave thy company.' But he answered, 'This may
+in no way be.' Then I began weeping and wailing at the loss of his
+converse, when he said, 'Spare thy tears which will avail thee
+naught!'"-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Hasan
+continued: "Now when I saw the leper-man seated in the prayer-niche, I
+threw myself upon him and said, 'O my lord, I crave thy company;' and
+fell to kissing his feet. But he answered, 'This may in no way be!'
+Then I began weeping and wailing at the loss of his company when he
+said, 'Spare thy tears which will avail thee naught!'; and he recited
+these couplets,
+
+'Why dost thou weep when I depart and thou didst parting claim; *
+
+
+     And cravest union when we ne'er shall reunite the same?
+
+
+Thou lookedest on nothing save my weakness and disease; * And
+
+
+     saidst 'Nor goes nor comes, or night or day, this sickly
+
+
+     frame.
+
+
+Seest not how Allah (glorified His glory ever be!) * Deigneth to
+
+
+     grant His slave's petition wherewithal he came.
+
+
+If I, to eyes of men be that and only that they see, * And this
+
+
+     my body show itself so full of grief and grame,
+
+
+And have I naught of food that shall supply me to the place *
+
+
+     Where crowds unto my Lord resort impelled by single aim,
+
+
+I have a high Creating Lord whose mercies aye are hid; * A Lord
+
+
+     who hath none equal and no fear is known to Him.
+
+
+So fare thee safe and leave me lone in strangerhood to wone * For
+
+
+     He, the only One, consoles my loneliness so lone.'
+
+
+
+Accordingly, I left him; but every station I came to, I found he had
+foregone me, till I reached Al-Medinah, where I lost sight of him and
+could hear no tidings of him. Here I met Abu Yazνd al-Bustαmi and Abu
+Bakr al-Shibli and a number of other Shaykhs and learned men, to whom
+with many complaints, I told my case and they said, 'Heaven forbid that
+thou shouldst gain his company after this! He was Abu Ja'afar the
+leper, in whose name folk at all times pray for rain and by whose
+blessing-prayers their end attain.' When I heard their words, my desire
+for his company redoubled and I implored the Almighty to reunite me
+with him. Whilst I was standing on Arafat,[FN#505] one pulled me from
+behind, so I turned and behold, it was my man. At this sight I cried
+out with a loud cry and fell down in a fainting fit; but, when I came
+to myself he had disappeared from my sight. This increased my yearning
+for him and the ceremonies were tedious to me and I prayed Almighty
+Allah to give me sight of him; nor was it but a few days after, when
+lo! one pulled me from behind, and I turned and it was he again.
+Thereupon he said, 'Come, I conjure thee and ask thy want of me.' So I
+begged him to pray for me three prayers; first, that Allah would make
+me love poverty; secondly, that I might never lie down at night upon
+provision assured to me; and thirdly, that He would vouchsafe me to
+look upon His bountiful Face. So he prayed for me as I wished, and
+departed from me. And indeed Allah hath granted me what the devotee
+asked in prayer: to begin with He hath made me so love poverty that, by
+the Almighty! there is naught in the world dearer to me than it, and
+secondly since such a year, I have never lain down to sleep upon
+assured provision; withal hath He never let me lack aught. As for the
+third prayer, I trust that He will vouchsafe me that also, even as He
+hath granted the two precedent, for right Bountiful and Beneficent is
+His Godhead, and Allah have mercy on him who said:[FN#506]-
+
+Garb of Fakir, renouncement, lowliness;
+
+
+His robe of tatters and of rags his dress;
+
+
+
+And pallor ornamenting brow as though
+
+
+'Twere wanness such as waning crescents show.
+
+
+
+Wasted him prayer a-through the long-lived night,
+
+
+And flooding tears ne'er cease to dim his sight.
+
+
+
+Memory of Him shall cheer his lonely room:
+
+
+Th' Almighty nearest is in nightly gloom.
+
+
+
+The Refuge helpeth such Fakir in need;
+
+
+Help e'en the cattle and the winged breed:
+
+
+
+Allah for sake of him of wrath is fain,
+
+
+And for the grace of him shall fall the rain;
+
+
+
+And if he pray one day for plague to stay,
+
+
+'Twill stay, and 'bate man's wrong and tyrants slay.
+
+
+
+While folk are sad, afflicted one and each,
+
+
+He in his mercy's rich, the generous leach:
+
+
+
+Bright shines his brow; an thou regard his face
+
+
+Thy heart illumined shines by light of grace.
+
+
+
+O thou who shunnest souls of worth innate
+
+
+Departs thee (woe to thee!) of sins the weight.
+
+
+
+Thou thinkest to overtake them, while thou bearest
+
+
+Follies, which slay thee whatso way thou farest.
+
+
+
+Didst wot their worth thou hadst all honour showed,
+
+
+And tears in streamlets from thine eyes had flowed.
+
+
+
+To catarrh-troubled men flowers lack their smell;
+
+
+And brokers ken for how much clothes can sell;
+
+
+
+So haste and with thy Lord reunion sue,
+
+
+And haply Fate shall lend thee aidance due,
+
+
+
+Rest from rejection and estrangement-stress,
+
+
+And Joy thy wish and will shall choicely bless.
+
+
+
+His court wide open for the suer is dight:—
+
+
+One, very God, the Lord, th' Almighty might.'"
+
+
+
+And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS.[FN#507]
+
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before,
+a Grecian sage called Daniel, who had disciples and scholars and the
+wise men of Greece were obedient to his bidding and relied upon his
+learning. Withal had Allah denied him a man child. One night, as he lay
+musing and weeping over the lack of a son who might inherit his lore,
+he bethought him that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) heareth the
+prayer of those who resort to Him and that there is no doorkeeper at
+the door of His bounties and that He favoureth whom He will without
+compt and sendeth no supplicant empty away; nay He filleth their hands
+with favours and benefits. So he besought the Almighty, the Bountiful,
+to vouchsafe him a son to succeed him, and to endow him abundantly with
+His beneficence. Then he returned home and carnally knew his wife who
+conceived by him the same night.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Grecian sage
+returned home and knew his wife who conceived by him the same night. A
+few days after this he took ship for a certain place, but the ship was
+wrecked and he saved himself on one of her planks, while only five
+leaves remained to him of all the books he had. When he returned home,
+he laid the five leaves in a box and locking it, gave the key to his
+wife (who then showed big with child), and said to her, "Know that my
+decease is at hand and that the time draweth nigh for my translation
+from this abode temporal to the home which is eternal. Now thou art
+with child and after my death wilt haply bear a son: if this be so,
+name him Hαsib Karνm al-Dνn[FN#508] and rear him with the best of
+rearing. When the boy shall grow up and shall say to thee, 'What
+inheritance did my father leave me?'' give him these five leaves, which
+when he shall have read and understood, he will be the most learned man
+of his time." Then he farewelled her and heaving one sigh, departed the
+world and all that is therein—the mercy of Allah the Most Highest be
+upon Him! His family and friends wept over him and washed him and bore
+him forth in great state and buried him; after which they wended their
+ways home. But few days passed ere his widow bare a handsome boy and
+named him Hasib Karim al-Din, as her husband charged her; and
+immediately after his birth she summoned the astrologers, who
+calculated his ascendants and drawing his horoscope, said to her,
+"Know, O woman! that this birth will live many a year; but that will be
+after a great peril in the early part of his life, wherefrom can he
+escape, he will be given the knowledge of all the exact sciences." So
+saying they went their ways. She suckled him two years,[FN#509] then
+weaned him, and when he was five years old, she placed him in a school
+to learn his book, but he would read nothing. So she took him from
+school and set him to learn a trade; but he would not master any craft
+and there came no work from his hands. The mother wept over this and
+the folk said to her, "Marry him: haply he will take heart for his wife
+and learn him a trade." So she sought out a girl and married him to
+her; but, despite marriage and the lapse of time, he remained idle as
+before, and would do nothing. One day, some neighbours of hers, who
+were woodcutters, came to her and said, "Buy thy son an ass and cords
+and an axe and let him go with us to the mountain and we will all of us
+cut wood for fuel. The price of the wood shall be his and ours, and he
+shall provide thee and his wife with his share." When she heard this,
+she joyed with exceeding joy and bought her son an ass and cords and
+hatchet; then, carrying him to the woodcutters, delivered him into
+their hands and solemnly committed him to their care. Said they, "Have
+no concern for the boy, our Lord will provide for him: he is the son of
+our Shaykh." So they carried him to the mountain, where they cut
+firewood and loaded their asses therewith; then returned to the city
+and, selling what they had cut, spent the monies on their families.
+This they did on the next day and the third and ceased not for some
+time, till it chanced one day, a violent storm of rain broke over them,
+and they took refuge in a great cave till the downfall should pass
+away. Now Hasib Karim al-Din went apart from the rest into a corner of
+the cavern and sitting down, fell to smiting the floor with his axe.
+Presently he noted that the ground sounded hollow under the hatchet; so
+he dug there awhile and came to a round flagstone with a ring in it.
+When he saw this, he was glad and called his comrades the
+woodcutters,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib Karim
+al-Din saw the flagstone with the ring, he was glad and called his
+comrades the woodcutters, who came to him and, finding it was fact,
+soon pulled up the stone and discovered under it a trap-door, which,
+being opened, showed a cistern full of bees' honey.[FN#510] Then said
+they to one another, "This is a large store and we have nothing for it
+but to return to the city and fetch vessels wherein to carry away the
+honey, and sell it and divide the price, whilst one of us stands by the
+cistern, to guard it from outsiders." Quoth Hasib, "I will stay and
+keep watch over it till you bring your pots and pans." So they left him
+on guard there and, repairing to the city, fetched vessels, which they
+filled with honey and loading their asses therewith, carried them to
+the streets and sold the contents. They returned on the morrow and thus
+they did several days in succession, sleeping in the town by night and
+drawing off the stuff by day, whilst Hasib abode on guard by it till
+but little remained, when they said one to other, "It was Hasib Karim
+al-Din found the honey, and tomorrow he will come down to the city and
+complain against us and claim the price of it, saying, Twas I found
+it;' nor is there escape for us but that we let him down into the
+cistern, to bale out the rest of the honey, and leave him there; so
+will he die of hunger, and none shall know of him." They all fell in
+with this plot as they were making for the place; and, when they
+reached it, one said to him, "O Hasib, go down into the pit and bale
+out for us the rest of the honey." So he went down and passed up to
+them what remained of the honey, after which he said to them, "Draw me
+up, for there is nothing left." They made him no answer; but, loading
+their asses, went off to the city and left him alone in the cistern.
+Thereupon he fell to weeping and crying, "There is no Majesty and there
+is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Such was his case;
+but as regards his comrades, when they reached the city and sold the
+honey, they repaired to Hasib's mother, weeping, and said to her, "May
+thy head outlive thy son Hasib!" She asked, "What brought about his
+death?" and they answered, "We were cutting wood on the mountain- top,
+when there fell on us a heavy downfall of rain and we took shelter from
+it in a cavern; and suddenly thy son's ass broke loose and fled into
+the valley, and he ran after it, to turn it back, when there came out
+upon them a great wolf, who tore thy son in pieces and ravined the
+ass." When the mother heard this, she beat her face and strewed dust on
+her head and fell to mourning for her son; and she kept life and soul
+together only by the meat and drink which they brought her every day.
+As for the woodcutters they opened them shops and became merchants and
+spent their lives in eating and drinking and laughing and frolicking.
+Meanwhile Hasib Karim al-Din, who ceased not to weep and call for help,
+sat down upon the cistern edge when behold, a great scorpion fell down
+on him; so he rose and killed it. Then he took thought and said, "The
+cistern was full of honey; how came this scorpion here?" Accordingly he
+got up and examined the well right and left, till he found a crevice
+from which the scorpion had fallen and saw the light of day shining
+through it. So he took out his woodman's knife and enlarged the hole,
+till it was big as a window, then he crept through it and, after
+walking for some time, came to a vast gallery, which led him to a huge
+door of black iron bearing a padlock of silver wherein was a key of
+gold. He stole up to the door and, looking through the chink, saw a
+great light shining within; so he took the key and, opening the door,
+went on for some time, till he came to a large artificial lake, wherein
+he caught sight of something that shimmered like silver. He walked up
+to it and at last he saw, hard by a hillock of green jasper and on the
+hill top, a golden throne studded with all manner gems,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib
+reached the hillock he found it of green jasper surmounted by a golden
+throne studded with all manner gems, round which were set many stools,
+some of gold, some of silver and others of leek green emerald. He clomb
+the hillock and, counting the stools, found them twelve thousand in
+number; then he mounted the throne which was set on the centre and,
+seating himself thereon, fell to wondering at the lake and the stools,
+and he marvelled till drowsiness overcame him and he drops asleep.
+Presently, he was aroused by a loud snorting and hissing and rustling,
+so he opened his eyes; and, sitting up, saw each stool occupied by a
+huge serpent, an hundred cubits in length. At this sight, great fear
+get hold of him; his spittle dried up for the excess of his dread and
+he despaired of life, as all their eyes were blazing like live coals.
+Then he turned towards the lake and saw that what he had taken for
+shimmering water was a multitude of small snakes, none knoweth their
+compt save Allah the Most High. After awhile, there came up to him a
+serpent as big as a mule, bearing on its back a tray of gold, wherein
+lay another serpent which shone like crystal and whose face was as that
+of a woman[FN#511] and who spake with human speech. And as soon as she
+was brought up to Hasib, she saluted him and he returned the
+salutation. There upon, one of the serpents seated on the stools came
+up and, lifting her off the tray, set her on one of the seats and she
+cried out to the other serpents in their language, whereupon they all
+fell down from their stools and did her homage. But she signed to them
+to sit and they did so. Then she addressed Hasib, saying, "Have no fear
+of us, O youth; for I am the Queen of the Serpents and their Sultαnah."
+When he heard her speak on this wise, he took heart and she bade the
+serpents bring him somewhat of food.[FN#512] So they brought apples and
+grapes and pomegranates and pistachio-nuts and filberts and walnuts and
+almonds and bananas and set them before him, and the Queen-serpent
+said, "Welcome, O youth! What is thy name?" Answered he, "Hasib Karim
+al-Din;" and she rejoined, "O Hasib, eat of these fruits, for we have
+no other meat and fear thou have nothing from us at all." Hearing this,
+he ate his fill and praised Allah Almighty; and presently they took
+away the trays from before him, and the Queen said, "Tell me, O Hasib,
+whence thou art and how camest thou hither and what hath befallen
+thee." So he told her his story from first to last, the death of his
+father; his birth; his being sent to school where he learnt nothing;
+his becoming a wood cutter; his finding the honey- cistern; his being
+abandoned therein; his killing the scorpion; his widening the crevice;
+his finding the iron door and his coming upon the Queen, and he ended
+his long tale with saying, "These be my adventures from beginning to
+end and only Allah wotteth what will betide me after all this!" Quoth
+the Queen, after listening to his words, "Nothing save good shall
+betide thee:"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Serpent-queen had heard his story she said, "Nothing save good shall
+betide thee: but I would have thee, O Hasib, abide with me some time,
+that I may tell thee my history and acquaint thee with the wondrous
+adventures which have happened to me." "I hear and obey thy hest,"
+answered he; and she began to tell in these words,
+
+
+
+
+The Adventures of Bulukiya.
+
+"Know thou, O Hasib, there was once in the city of Cairo a King of the
+Banu Isra'νl, a wise and a pious, who was bent double by poring over
+books of learning, and he had a son named Bulϊkiyα. When he grew old
+and weak and was nigh upon death, his Grandees and Officers of state
+came up to salute him, and he said to them, 'O folk, know that at hand
+is the hour of my march from this world to the next, and I have no
+charge to lay on you, save to commend to your care my son Bulukiya.'
+Then said he, 'I testify that there is no god save the God;' and,
+heaving one sigh, departed the world the mercy of Allah be upon him!
+They laid him out and washed him and buried him with a procession of
+great state. Then they made his son Bulukiya Sultan in his stead; and
+he ruled the kingdom justly and the people had peace in his time. Now
+it befell one day that he entered his father's treasuries, to look
+about him, and coming upon an inner compartment and finding the
+semblance of a door, opened it and passed in. And lo! he found himself
+in a little closet, wherein stood a column of white marble, on the top
+of which was a casket of ebony; he opened this also and saw therein
+another casket of gold, containing a book. He read the book and found
+in it an account of our lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!)
+and how he should be sent in the latter days[FN#513] and be the lord of
+the first Prophets and the last. On seeing the personal description
+Bulukiya's heart was taken with love of him, so he at once assembled
+all the notables of the Children of Israel, the Cohens or diviners, the
+scribes and the priests, and acquainted them with the book, reading
+portions of it to them and, adding, 'O folk, needs must I bring my
+father out of his grave and burn him.' The lieges asked, 'Why wilt thou
+burn him?'; and he answered, 'Because he hid this book from me and
+imparted it not to me.' Now the old King had excerpted it from the
+Torah or Pentateuch and the Books of Abraham; and had set it in one of
+his treasuries and concealed it from all living. Rejoined they, 'O
+King, thy father is dead; his body is in the dust and his affair is in
+the hands of his Lord; thou shalt not take him forth of his tomb.' So
+he knew that they would not suffer him to do this thing by his sire and
+leaving them he repaired to his mother, to whom said he, 'O my mother,
+I have found, in one of my father's treasuries, a book containing a
+description of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!), a prophet who
+shall be sent in the latter days; and my heart is captivated with love
+of him. Wherefore am I resolved to wander over the earth, till I
+foregather with him; else I shall die of longing for his love.' Then he
+doffed his clothes and donned an Aba gown of goat's hair and coarse
+sandals, saying, 'O my mother, forget me not in thy prayers.' She wept
+over him and said, 'What will become of us after thee?'; but Bulukiya
+answered, 'I can endure no longer, and I commit my affair and thine to
+Allah who is Almighty.' Then he set out on foot Syria wards without the
+knowledge of any of his folk, and coming to the sea board found a
+vessel whereon he shipped as one of the crew. They sailed till he made
+an island, where Bulukiya landed with the crew, but straying away from
+the rest he sat down under a tree and sleep got the better of him. When
+he awoke, he sought the ship but found that she had set sail without
+him, and in that island he saw serpents as big as camels and palm
+trees, which repeated the names of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!)
+and blessed Mohammed (whom the Lord assain and save!), proclaiming the
+Unity and glorifying the Glorious; whereat he wondered."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya
+saw the serpents glorifying God and proclaiming the Unity, he wondered
+with extreme wonder. When they saw him, they flocked to him and one of
+them said to him, 'Who and whence art thou and whither goest thou. and
+what is thy name?' Quoth he, 'My name is Bulukiya; I am of the Children
+of Israel and, being distracted for love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless
+and keep!), I come in quest of him. But who are ye, O noble creatures?'
+Answered they, 'We are of the dwellers in the Jahannam-hell; and
+Almighty Allah created us for the punishment of Kafirs.' 'And how came
+ye hither?' asked he, and the Serpents answered, 'Know, O Bulukiya,
+that Hell[FN#514] of the greatness of her boiling, breatheth twice a
+year, expiring in the summer and inspiring in the winter, and hence the
+summer heat and winter cold. When she exhaleth, she casteth us forth of
+her maw, and we are drawn in again with her inhaled breath.' Quoth
+Bulukiya, 'Say me, are there greater serpents than you in Hell?'; and
+they said, 'Of a truth we are cast out with the expired breath but by
+reason of our smallness; for in Hell every serpent is so great, that
+were the biggest of us to pass over its nose it would not feel
+us.[FN#515]' Asked Bulukiya, 'Ye sing the praises of Allah and invoke
+blessings on Mohammed, whom the Almighty assain and save! Whence wot ye
+of Mohammed?'; and they answered, 'O Bulukiya, verily his name is
+written on the gates of Paradise; and, but for him, Allah had not
+created the worlds[FN#516] nor Paradise, nor heaven nor hell nor earth,
+for He made all things that be, solely on his account, and hath
+conjoined his name with His own in every place; wherefore we love
+Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!' Now hearing the serpents'
+converse did but inflame Bulukiya's love for Mohammed and yearning for
+his sight; so he took leave of them; and, making his way to the
+sea-shore, found there a ship made fast to the beach; he embarked
+therein as a seaman and sailed nor ceased sailing till he came to
+another island. Here he landed and walking about awhile found serpents
+great and small, none knoweth their number save Almighty Allah, and
+amongst them a white Serpent, clearer than crystal, seated in a golden
+tray borne on the back of another serpent as big as an elephant. Now
+this, O Hasib, was the Serpent-queen, none other than myself." Quoth
+Hasib, "And what answer didst thou make him?" Quoth she, "Know, O
+Hasib, that when I saw Bulukiya, I saluted him with the salam, and he
+returned my salutation, and I said to him, 'Who and what art thou and
+what is thine errand and whence comest thou and whither goest thou?'
+Answered he, 'I am of the Children of Israel; my name is Bulukiya, and
+I am a wanderer for the love of Mohammed, whose description I have read
+in the revealed scriptures, and of whom I go in search. But what art
+thou and what are these serpents about thee?' Quoth I, 'O Bulukiya, I
+am the Queen of the Serpents; and when thou shalt foregather with
+Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) bear him my salutation.' Then
+Bulukiya took leave of me and journeyed till he came to the Holy City
+which is Jerusalem. Now there was in that stead a man who was deeply
+versed in all sciences, more especially in geometry and astronomy and
+mathematics, as well as in white magic[FN#517] and Spiritualism; and he
+had studied the Pentateuch and the Evangel and the Psalms and the Books
+of Abraham. His name was Affan; and he had found in certain of his
+books, that whoso should wear the seal ring of our lord Solomon, men
+and Jinn and birds and beasts and all created things would be bound to
+obey him. Moreover, he had discovered that our lord Solomon had been
+buried in a coffin which was miraculously transported beyond the Seven
+Seas to the place of burial;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Affan had found
+in certain books that none, mortal or spirit, could pluck the seal ring
+from the lord Solomon's finger; and that no navigator could sail his
+ship upon the Seven Seas over which the coffin had been carried.
+Moreover, he had found out by reading that there was a herb of herbs
+and that if one express its juice and anoint therewith his feet, he
+should walk upon the surface of any sea that Allah Almighty had created
+without wetting his soles, but none could obtain this herb, without he
+had with him the Serpent-queen. When Bulukiya arrived at the Holy City,
+he at once sat down to do his devotions and worship the Lord; and,
+whilst he was so doing, Affan came up and saluted him as a True
+Believer. Then seeing him reading the Pentateuch and adoring the
+Almighty, he accosted him saying, 'What is thy name, O man; and whence
+comest thou and whither goest thou?' He answered, 'My name is Bulukiya;
+I am from the city of Cairo and am come forth wandering in quest of
+Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!' Quoth Affan, 'Come with me to
+my lodging that I may entertain thee.' 'To hear is to obey,' replied
+Bulukiya So the devotee took him by the hand and carried him to his
+house where he entreated him with the utmost honour and presentry said
+to him, 'Tell me thy history, O my brother, and how thou camest by the
+knowledge of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) that thy heart hath
+been taken with love of him and compelled thee to fare forth and seek
+him; and lastly tell me who it was directed thee in this road.' So he
+related to him his tale in its entirety; whereupon Affan, who well nigh
+lost his wits for wonder, said to him, 'Make tryst for me with the
+Queen of the Serpents and I will bring thee in company with Mohammed,
+albeit the date of his mission is yet far distant. We have only to
+prevail upon the Queen and carry her in a cage to a certain mountain
+where the herbs grow; and, as long as she is with us, the plants as we
+pass them will parley with human speech and discover their virtues by
+the ordinance of Allah the Most High. For I have found in my books that
+there is a certain herb and all who express its juice and anoint
+therewith their feet shall walk upon whatsoever sea Almighty Allah hath
+made, without wetting sole. When we have found the magical herb, we
+will let her go her way; and then will we anoint our feet with the
+juice and cross the Seven Seas, till we come to the burial place of our
+lord Solomon. Then we will take the ring off his finger and rule even
+as he ruled and win all our wishes; we will enter the Main of
+Murks[FN#518] and drink of the Water of Life, and so the Almighty will
+let us tarry till the End of Time and we shall foregather with
+Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!' Hearing these words Bulukiya
+replied, 'O Affan, I will make tryst for thee with the Serpent-queen
+and at once show thee her abiding place.' So Affan made him a cage of
+iron; and, providing himself with two bowls, one full of wine and the
+other of milk, took ship with Bulukiya and sailed till they came to the
+island, where they landed and walked upon it. Then Affan set up the
+cage, in which he laid a noose and withdrew after placing in it the two
+bowls; when he and Bulukiya concealed themselves afar off. Presently,
+up came the Queen of the Serpents (that is, myself) and examined the
+cage. When she (that is I) smelt the savour of the milk, she came down
+from the back of the snake which bore her tray and, entering the cage,
+drank up the milk. Then she went to the bowl of wine and drank of it,
+whereupon her head became giddy and she slept. When Affan saw this, he
+ran up and locking the cage upon her, set it on his head and made for
+the ship, he and Bulukiya. After awhile she awoke and finding herself
+in a cage of iron on a man's head and seeing Bulukiya walking beside
+the bearer, said to him, 'This is the reward of those who do no hurt to
+the sons of Adam.' Answered he, 'O Queen, have no fear of us, for we
+will do thee no hurt at all. We wish thee only to show us the herb
+which, when pounded and squeezed yieldeth a juice, and this rubbed upon
+the feet conferreth the power of walking dryshod upon what sea soever
+Almighty Allah hath created; and when we have found that, we will
+return thee to thy place and let thee wend thy way.' Then Affan and
+Bulukiya fared on for the hills where grew the herbs; and, as they went
+about with the Queen, each plant they passed began to speak and avouch
+its virtues by permission of Allah the Most High. As they were thus
+doing and the herbs speaking right and left, behold, a plant spoke out
+and said, 'I am the herb ye seek, and all who gather and crush me and
+anoint their feet with my juice, shall fare over what sea soever Allah
+Almighty hath created and yet ne'er wet sole.' When Affan heard this,
+he set down the cage from his head and, gathering what might suffice
+them of the herb, crushed it and filling two vials with the juice kept
+them for future use; and with what was left they anointed their feet.
+Then they took up the Serpent-queen's cage and journeyed days and
+nights, till they reached the island, where they opened the cage and
+let out her that is me. When I found myself at liberty, I asked them
+what use they would make of the juice; and they answered, 'We design to
+anoint our feet and to cross the Seven Seas to the burial place of our
+lord Solomon[FN#519] and take the seal ring from his finger.' Quoth I,
+'Far, far is it from your power to possess yourselves of the ring!'
+They enquired, 'Wherefore?' and I replied, 'Because Almighty Allah
+vouchsafed unto our lord Solomon the gift of this ring and
+distinguished him thereby, for that he said to him, 'O Lord, give me a
+kingdom which may not be obtained after me; for Thou verily art the
+Giver of kingdoms.[FN#520]' 'So that ring is not for you.' And I added,
+'Had ye twain taken the herb, whereof all who eat shall not die until
+the First Blast,[FN#521] it had better availed you than this ye have
+gotten; for ye shall nowise come at your desire thereby.' Now when they
+heard this, they repented them with exceeding penitence and went their
+ways."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya
+and Affan heard these words, they repented them with exceeding
+penitence and went their ways. Such was their case; but as regards
+myself" (continued the Serpent-queen) "I went in quest of my host and
+found it fallen in piteous case, the stronger of them having grown weak
+in my absence and the weaker having died. When they saw me, they
+rejoiced and flocking about me, asked, 'What hath befallen thee, and
+where hast thou been?' So I told them what had passed, after which I
+gathered my forces to "ether and repaired with them to the mountain
+Kaf, where I was wont to winter, summer-freshing in the place where
+thou now seest me, O Hasib Karim al-Din. This, then, is my story and
+what befell me." Thereupon Hasib marvelled at her words and said to
+her, "I beseech thee, of thy favour, bid one of thy guards bear me
+forth to the surface of the earth, that I may go to my people." She
+replied, "O Hasib, thou shalt not have leave to depart from us till
+winter come, and needs must thou go with us to the Mountain Kaf and
+solace thyself with the sight of the hills and sands and trees and
+birds magnifying the One God, the Victorious; and look upon Marids and
+Ifrits and Jinn, whose number none knoweth save Almighty Allah." When
+Hasib heard this, he was sore chafed and chagrined: then he said to
+her, "Tell me of Affan and Bulukiya; when they departed from thee and
+went their way, did they cross the Seven Seas and reach the
+burial-place of our lord Solomon or not; and if they did had they power
+to take the ring or not?" Answered she, "Know, that when they left me,
+they anointed their feet with the juice; and, walking over the water,
+fared on from sea to sea, diverting themselves with the wonders of the
+deep, nor ceased they faring till they had traversed the Seven Seas and
+came in sight of a mountain, soaring high in air, whose stones were
+emeralds and whose dust was musk; and in it was a stream of running
+water. When they made it they rejoiced, saying each to the other,
+'Verily we have won our wish'; and they entered the passes of the
+mountain and walked on, till they saw from afar a cavern surmounted by
+a great dome, shining with light. So they made for the cavern, and
+entering it beheld therein a throne of gold studded with all manner
+jewels, and about it stools whose number none knoweth save Allah
+Almighty. And they saw lying at full length upon the throne our lord
+Solomon, clad in robes of green silk inwoven with gold and broidered
+with jewels and precious minerals: his right hand was passed over his
+breast and on the middle finger was the seal ring whose lustre outshone
+that of all other gems in the place. Then Affan taught Bulukiya
+adjurations and conjurations galore and said to him, 'Repeat these
+conjurations and cease not repeating until I take the ring.' Then he
+went up to the throne; but, as he drew near unto it lo' c mighty
+serpent came forth from beneath it and cried out at him with so
+terrible a cry that the whole place trembled and sparks flew from its
+mouth, saying, 'Begone, or thou art a dead man' But Affan busied
+himself with his incantations and suffered himself not to be startled
+thereby. Then the serpent blew such a fiery blast at him, that the
+place was like to be set on fire, and said to him, Woe to thee! Except
+thou turn back, I will consume thee' Hearing these words Bulukiya left
+the cave, but Affan, who suffered himself not to be troubled, went up
+to the Prophet: then he put out his hand to the ring and touched it and
+strove to draw it off the lord Solomon's finger; and behold, the
+serpent blew on him once more and he became a heap of ashes. Such was
+his case; but as regards Bulukiya he fell down in a swoon."— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya saw Affan burnt up by the fire and become a
+heap of ashes, he fell down in a swoon. Thereupon the Lord (magnified
+be His Majesty!) bade Gabriel descend earthwards and save him ere the
+serpent should blow on him. So Gabriel descended without delay and,
+finding Affan reduced to ashes and Bulukiya in a fit, aroused him from
+his trance and saluting him asked, 'How camest thou hither?' Bulukiya
+related to him his history from first to last, adding, 'Know that I
+came not hither but for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and
+save!), of whom Affan informed me that his mission would take place at
+the End of Time; moreover that none should foregather with him but
+those who endured to the latter days by drinking of the Water of Life
+through means of Solomon's seal. So I companied him hither and there
+befell him what befell; but I escaped the fire and now it is my desire
+that thou inform me where Mohammed is to be found.' Quoth Gabriel, 'O
+Bulukiya, go thy ways, for the time of Mohammed's coming is yet far
+distant.' Then he ascended up to heaven forthright, and Bulukiya wept
+with sore weeping and repented of that which he had done, calling to
+mind my words, whenas I said to them, 'Far is it from man's power to
+possess himself of the ring.' Then he descended from the mountain and
+returned in exceeding confusion to the sea shore and passed the night
+there, marvelling at the mountains and seas and islands around him.
+When morning dawned, he anointed his feet with the herb-juice and
+descending to the water, set out and fared on over the surface of the
+seas days and nights, astonied at the terrors of the main and the
+marvels and wonders of the deep, till he came to an island as it were
+the Garden of Eden. So he landed and, finding himself in a great and
+pleasant island, paced about it and saw with admiration that its dust
+was saffron and its gravel carnelian and precious minerals; its hedges
+were of jessamine, its vegetation was of the goodliest of trees and of
+the brightest of odoriferous shrubs; its brushwood was of Comorin and
+Sumatran aloes-wood and its reeds were sugar-canes. Round about it were
+roses and narcissus and amaranths and gilly-flowers and chamomiles and
+white lilies and violets, and other flowers of all kinds and colours.
+Of a truth the island was the goodliest place, abounding in space, rich
+in grace, a compendium of beauty material and spiritual. The birds
+warbled on the boughs with tones far sweeter than chaunt of Koran and
+their notes would console a lover whom longings unman. And therein the
+gazelle frisked free and fain and wild cattle roamed about the plain.
+Its trees were of tallest height; its streams flowed bright; its
+springs welled with waters sweet and light; and all therein was a
+delight to sight and sprite. Bulukiya marvelled at the charms of the
+island but knew that he had strayed from the way he had first taken in
+company with Affan. He wandered about the place and solaced him with
+various spectacles until nightfall, when he climbed into a tree to
+sleep; but as he sat there, musing over the beauty of the site, behold,
+the sea became troubled and there rose up to the surface a great beast,
+which cried out with a cry so terrible that every living thing upon the
+isle trembled. As Bulukiya gazed upon him from the tree and marvelled
+at the bigness of his bulk, he was presently followed unexpectedly by a
+multitude of other sea beasts in kind manifolds, each holding in his
+fore-paw a jewel which shone like a lamp, so that the whole island
+became as light as day for the lustre of the gems. After awhile, there
+appeared, from the heart of the island, wild beasts of the land, none
+knoweth their number save Allah the Most High; amongst which Bulukiya
+noted lions and panthers and lynxes and other ferals; and these land
+beasts flocked down to the shore; and, foregathering with the sea
+beasts, conversed with them till daybreak, when they separated and each
+went his own way. Thereupon Bulukiya, terrified by what he had seen,
+came down from the tree and, making the sea shore, anointed his feet
+with the magical juice, and set out once more upon the surface of the
+water. He fared on days and nights over the Second Sea, till he came to
+a great mountain skirting which ran a Wady without end, the stones
+whereof were magnetic iron and its beasts, lions and hares and
+panthers. He landed on the mountain foot and wandered from place to
+place till nightfall, when he sat down sheltered by one of the base
+hills on the sea side, to eat of the dried fish thrown up by the sea.
+Presently, he turned from his meal and behold, a huge panther was
+creeping up to rend and ravin him; so he anointed his feet in haste
+with the juice and, descending to the surface of the water, fled
+walking over the Third Sea, in the darkness, for the night was black
+and the wind blew stark. Nor did he stay his course till he reached
+another island, whereon he landed and found there trees bearing fruits
+both fresh and dry.[FN#522] So he took of these fruits and ate and
+praised Allah Almighty; after which he walked for solace; about the
+island till eventide."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya
+(continued the Queen) walked for solace about the island till eventide,
+when he lay down to sleep. As soon as day brake, he began to explore
+the place and ceased not for ten days, after which he again made the
+shore and anointed his feet and, setting out over the Fourth Sea,
+walked upon it many nights and days, till he came to a third island of
+fine white sand without sign of trees or grass. He walked about it
+awhile but, finding its only inhabitants sakers which nested in the
+sand, he again anointed his feet and trudged over the Fifth Sea,
+walking night and day till he came to a little island, whose soil and
+hills were like crystal. Therein were the veins wherefrom gold is
+worked; and therein also were marvellous trees whose like he had never
+seen in his wanderings, for their blossoms were in hue as gold. He
+landed and walked about for diversion till it was nightfall, when the
+flowers began to shine through the gloom like stars. Seeing this sight,
+he marvelled and said, 'Assuredly, the flowers of this island are of
+those which wither under the sun and fall to the earth, where the winds
+smite them and they gather under the rocks and become the
+Elixir[FN#523] which the folk collect and thereof make gold.' He slept
+there all that night and at sunrise he again anointed his feet and,
+descending to the shore, fared on over the Sixth Sea nights and days,
+till he came to a fifth island. Here he landed and found, after walking
+an hour or so, two mountains covered with a multitude of trees, whose
+fruits were as men's heads hanging by the hair, and others whose fruits
+were green birds hanging by the feet; also a third kind, whose fruits
+were like aloes, if a drop of the juice fell on a man it burnt like
+fire; and others, whose fruits wept and laughed, besides many other
+marvels which he saw there. Then he returned to the sea shore and,
+finding there a tall tree, sat down beneath it till supper time when he
+climbed up into the branches to sleep. As he sat considering the
+wonderful works of Allah behold, the waters became troubled, and there
+rose therefrom the daughters of the sea, each mermaid holding in her
+hand a jewel which shone like the morning. They came ashore and,
+foregathering under the trees, sat down and danced and sported and made
+merry whilst Bulukiya amused himself with watching and wondering at
+their gambols, which were prolonged till the morning, when they
+returned to the sea and disappeared. Then he came down and, anointing
+his feet, set out on the surface of the Seventh Sea, over which he
+journeyed two whole months, without getting sight of highland or island
+or broadland or lowland or shoreland, till he came to the end thereof.
+And so doing he suffered exceeding hunger, so that he was forced to
+snatch up fishes from the surface of the sea and devour them raw, for
+stress of famine. In such case he pushed on till in early forenoon he
+came to the sixth island, with trees a-growing and rills a flowing,
+where he landed and walked about, looking right and left, till he came
+to an apple tree and put forth his hand to pluck of the fruit, when lo!
+one cried out to him from the tree, saying, 'An thou draw near to this
+tree and cut of it aught, I will cut thee in twain.' So he looked and
+saw a giant forty cubits high, being the cubit of the people of that
+day; whereat he feared with sore fear and refrained from that tree.
+Then said he to the giant, 'Why cost thou forbid me to eat of this
+tree?' Replied the other, 'Because thou art a son of Adam and thy
+father Adam forgot the covenant of Allah and sinned against Him and ate
+of the tree.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'What thing art thou and to whom
+belongeth this island, with its trees, and how art thou named?' Quoth
+the tall one, 'My name is Sharαhiyα and trees and island belong to King
+Sakhr;[FN#524] I am one of his guards and in charge of his dominion,'
+presently adding, 'But who art thou and whence comest thou hither?'
+Bulukiya told him his story from beginning to end and Sharahiya said,
+'Be of good cheer,' and brought him to eat. So he ate his fill and,
+taking leave of the giant, set out again and ceased not faring on over
+the mountains and sandy deserts for ten days; at the end of which time
+he saw, in the distance, a dust cloud hanging like a canopy in air;
+and, making towards it, he heard a mighty clamour, cries and blows and
+sounds of mellay. Presently he reached a great Wady, two months'
+journey long; and, looking whence the shouts came, he saw a multitude
+of horse men engaged in fierce fight and the blood running from them
+till it railed like a river. Their voices were thunderous and they were
+armed with lance and sword and iron mace and bow and arrow, and all
+fought with the utmost fury. At this sight he felt sore affright"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya saw the host in fight, he felt sore affright
+and was perplexed about his case; but whilst he hesitated, behold, they
+caught sight of him and held their hands one from other and left
+fighting. Then a troop of them came up to him, wondering at his make,
+and one of the horsemen said to him, 'What art thou and whence camest
+thou hither and whither art wending; and who showed thee the way that
+thou hast come to our country?' Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of Adam and
+am come out, distracted for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!); but I have wandered from my way.' Quoth the horseman,
+'Never saw we a son of Adam till now, nor did any ever come to this
+land.' And all marvelled at him and at his speech. 'But what are ye, O
+creatures?' asked Bulukiya; and the rider replied, 'We are of the
+Jαnn.' So he said, 'O Knight, what is the cause of the fighting amongst
+you and where is your abiding place and what is the name of this valley
+and this land?' He replied, 'Our abiding- place is the White Country;
+and, every year, Allah Almighty commandeth us to come hither and wage
+war upon the unbelieving Jann.' Asked Bulukiya, 'And where is the White
+Country?' and the horseman answered, 'It is behind the mountain Kaf,
+and distant seventy-five years journey from this place which is termed
+the Land of Shaddαd son of 'Αd: we are here for Holy War; and we have
+no other business, when we are not doing battle, than to glorify God
+and hallow him. More over, we have a ruler, King Sakhr highs, and needs
+must thou go with us to him, that he may look upon thee for his
+especial delight.' Then they fared on (and he with them) till they came
+to their abiding place; where he saw a multitude of magnificent tents
+of green silk, none knoweth their number save Allah the Most High, and
+in their midst a pavilion of red satin, some thousand cubits in
+compass, with cords of blue silk and pegs of gold and silver. Bulukiya
+marvelled at the sight and accompanied them as they fared on and
+behold, this was the royal pavilion. So they carried him into the
+presence of King Sakhr, whom he found seated upon a splendid throne of
+red gold, set with pearls and studded with gems; the Kings and Princes
+of the Jann being on his right hand, and on his left his Councillors
+and Emirs and Officers of state, and a multitude of others. The King
+seeing him bade introduce him, which they did; and Bulukiya went up to
+him and saluted him after kissing the ground before him. The King
+returned his salute and said, 'Draw near me, O mortal!' and Bulukiya
+went close up to him. Hereupon the King, commanding a chair to be set
+for him by his royal side, bade him sit down and asked him 'Who art
+thou?'; and Bulukiya answered, 'I am a man, and one of the Children of
+Israel.' 'Tell me thy story,' cried King Sakhr, 'and acquaint me with
+all that hath befallen thee and how thou camest to this my land.' So
+Bulukiya related to him all that had occurred in his wanderings from
+beginning to end."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya related to Sakhr what befell him in his
+wanderings, he marvelled thereat. Then he bade the servants bring food
+and they spread the tables and set on one thousand and five hundred
+platters of red gold and silver and copper, some containing twenty and
+some fifty boiled camels, and others some fifty head of sheep; at which
+Bulukiya marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then they ate and he ate with
+them, till he was satisfied and returned thanks to Allah Almighty;
+after which they cleared the tables and set on fruits, and they ate
+thereof, glorifying the name of God and invoking blessings on His
+prophet Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!) When Bulukiya heard
+them make mention of Mohammed, he wondered and said to King Sakhr, 'I
+am minded to ask thee some questions.' Rejoined the King, 'Ask what
+thou wilt,' and Bulukiya said, 'O King, what are ye and what is your
+origin and how came ye to know of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and
+save!) that ye draw near to him and love him?' King Sakhr answered, 'O
+Bulukiya, of very sooth Allah created the fire in seven stages, one
+above the other, and each distant a thousand years journey from its
+neighbour. The first stage he named Jahannam[FN#525] and appointed the
+same for the punishment of the transgressors of the True-believers, who
+die unrepentant; the second he named Lazα and appointed for
+Unbelievers: the name of the third is Jahνm and is appointed for Gog
+and Magog.[FN#526] The fourth is called Sa'νr and is appointed for the
+host of Iblis. The fifth is called Sakar and is prepared for those who
+neglect prayer. The sixth is called Hatamah and is appointed for Jews
+and Christians. The seventh is named Hαwiyah and is prepared for
+hypocrites. Such be the seven stages.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'Haply Jahannam
+hath least of torture for that it is the uppermost.' 'Yes,' quoth King
+Sakhr, 'the most endurable of them all is Jahannam; natheless in it are
+a thousand mountains of fire, in each mountain seventy thousand cities
+of fire, in each city seventy thousand castles of fire, in each castle
+seventy thousand houses of fire, in each house seventy thousand couches
+of fire and in each couch seventy thousand manners of torment. As for
+the other hells, O Bulukiya, none knoweth the number of kinds of
+torment that be therein save Allah Most Highest.' When Bulukiya heard
+this, he fell down in a fainting-fit, and when he came to himself, he
+wept and said, 'O King what will be my case?' Quoth Sakhr, 'Fear not,
+and know thou that whoso loveth Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!)
+the fire shall not burn him, for he is made free therefrom for his
+sake; and whoso belongeth to his Faith the fire shall fly him. As for
+us, the Almighty Maker created us of the fire for the first that he
+made in Jahannam were two of His host whom he called Khalνt and Malνt.
+Now Khalνt was fashioned in the likeness of a lion, with a tail like a
+tortoise twenty years' journey in length and ending in a member
+masculine; while Malνt was like a pied wolf whose tail was furnished
+with a member feminine. Then Almighty Allah commanded the tails to
+couple and copulate and do the deed of kind, and of them were born
+serpents and scorpions, whose dwelling is in the fire, that Allah may
+there with torment those whom He casteth therein; and these increased
+and multiplied. Then Allah commanded the tails of Khalit and Malit to
+couple and copulate a second time, and the tail of Malit conceived by
+the tail of Khalit and bore fourteen children, seven male and seven
+female, who grew up and intermarried one with the other. All were
+obedient to their sire, save one who disobeyed him and was changed into
+a worm which is Iblis (the curse of Allah be upon him!). Now Iblis was
+one of the Cherubim, for he had served Allah till he was raised to the
+heavens and cherished[FN#527] by the especial favour of the Merciful
+One, who made him chief of the Cherubim.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "'Iblis served God and became chief of Cherubim. When,
+however, the Lord created Adam (with whom be peace!), He commanded
+Iblis to prostrate himself to him, but he drew back; so Allah Almighty
+expelled him from heaven and cursed him.[FN#528] This Iblis had issue
+and of his lineage are the devils; and as for the other six males, who
+were his elders, they are the ancestors of the true believing Jann, and
+we are their descendants. Such, O Bulukiya is our provenance.[FN#529]'
+Bulukiya marvelled at the King's words and said, 'O King, I pray thee
+bid one of thy guards bear me back to my native land.' 'Naught of this
+may we do,' answered Sakhr, 'save by commandment of Allah Almighty;
+however, an thou desire to leave us and return home, I will mount thee
+on one of my mares and cause her carry thee to the farthest frontiers
+of my dominions, where thou wilt meet with the troops of another King,
+Barαkhiyα highs, who will recognize the mare at sight and take thee off
+her and send her back to us; and this is all we can do for thee, and no
+more.' When Bulukiya heard these words he wept and said, 'Do whatso
+thou wilt.' So King Sakhr caused bring the mare and, setting Bulukiya
+on her back, said to him, 'Beware lest thou alight from her or strike
+her or cry out in her face; for if thou do so she will slay thee; but
+abide quietly riding on her back till she stop with thee; then dismount
+and wend thy ways.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'I hear and I obey;' he then
+mounted and setting out, rode on a long while between the rows of
+tents; and stinted not riding till he came to the royal kitchens where
+he saw the great cauldrons, each holding fifty camels, hung up over the
+fires which blazed fiercely under them. So he stopped there and gazed
+with a marvel ever increasing till King Sakhr thinking him to be
+anhungered, bade bring him two roasted camels; and they carried them to
+him and bound them behind him on the mare's crupper. Then he took leave
+of them and fared on, till he came to the end of King Sakhr's
+dominions, where the mare stood still and Bulukiya dismounted and began
+to shake the dust of the journey from his raiment. And behold, there
+accosted him a party of men who, recognising the mare, carried her and
+Bulukiya before their King Barakhiya. So he saluted him, and the King
+returned his greeting and seated him beside himself in a splendid
+pavilion, in the midst of his troops and champions and vassal Princes
+of the Jann ranged to right and left; after which he called for food
+and they ate their fill and pronounced the Alhamdolillah. Then they set
+on fruits, and when they had eaten thereof, King Barakhiya, whose
+estate was like that of King Sakhr, asked his guest, 'When didst thou
+leave King Sakhr?' And Bulukiya answered, 'Two days ago.' Quoth
+Barakhiya, 'Dost thou know, how many days' journey thou hast come in
+these two days?' Quoth he, 'No,' and the King rejoined, 'Thou hast come
+a journey of threescore and ten months.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "Barakhiya said to Bulukiya, 'In two days thou hast come a
+journey of threescore and ten months; moreover when thou mountedst the
+mare, she was affrighted at thee, knowing thee for a son of Adam, and
+would have thrown thee; so they bound on her back these two camels by
+way of weight to steady her.' When Bulukiya heard this, he marvelled
+and thanked Allah Almighty for safety. Then said the King, 'Tell me thy
+adventures and what brought thee to this our land.' So he told him his
+story from first to last, and the King marvelled at his words, and kept
+Bulukiya with him two months." Upon this Hasib Karim al-Din after he
+had marvelled at her story, again besought the Serpent-queen saying, "I
+pray thee of thy goodness and graciousness command one of thy subjects
+conduct me to the surface of the earth, that I may return to my
+family;" but she answered, "O Hasib, I know that the first thing thou
+wilt do, after seeing the face of the earth will be to greet thy family
+and then repair to the Hammam bath and bathe; and the moment thou
+endest thine ablutions will see the last of me, for it will be the
+cause of my death." Quoth Hasib, "I swear that I will never again enter
+the Hammam bath so long as I live, but when washing is incumbent on me,
+I will wash at home." Rejoined the Queen, "I would not trust thee
+though thou shouldst swear to me an hundred oaths; for such abstaining
+is not possible, and I know thee to be a son of Adam for whom no oath
+is sacred. Thy father Adam made a covenant with Allah the most High,
+who kneaded the clay whereof He fashioned him forty mornings and made
+His angels prostrate themselves to him; yet after all his promise did
+he forget and his oath violate, disobeying the commandment of his
+Lord." When Hasib heard this, he held his peace and burst into tears;
+nor did he leave weeping for the space of ten days, at the end of which
+time he said to the Queen, "Prithee acquaint me with the rest of
+Bulukiya's adventures." Accordingly, she began again as follows: "Know,
+O Hasib, that Bulukiya, after abiding two months with King Barakhiya,
+farewelled him and fared on over wastes and deserts nights and days'
+till he came to a high mountain which he ascended. On the summit he
+beheld seated a great Angel glorifying the names of God and invoking
+blessings on Mohammed. Before him lay a tablet covered with characters,
+these white and those black,[FN#530] whereon his eyes were fixed, and
+his two wings were outspread to the full, one to the western and the
+other to the eastern horizon. Bulukiya approached and saluted the
+Angel, who returned his salam adding, 'Who art thou and whence comest
+thou and whither wendest thou and what is thy story?' Accordingly, he
+repeated to him his history, from first to last, and the Angel
+marvelled mightily thereat, whereupon Bulukiya said to him, 'I pray
+thee in return acquaint me with the meaning of this tablet and what is
+writ thereon; and what may be thine occupation and thy name.' Replied
+the Angel, 'My name is Michael, and I am charged with the shifts of
+night and day; and this is my occupation till the Day of Doom.'
+Bulukiya wondered at his words and at his aspect and the vastness of
+his stature and, taking leave of him, fared onwards, night and day,
+till he came to a vast meadow over which he walked observing that it
+was traversed by seven streams and abounded in trees. He was struck by
+its beauty and in one corner thereof he saw a great tree and under it
+four Angels. So he drew near to them and found the first in the
+likeness of a man, the second in the likeness of a wild beast, the
+third in the likeness of a bird and the fourth in the likeness of a
+bull, engaged in glorifying Almighty Allah, and saying, 'O my God and
+my Master and my Lord, I conjure Thee, by Thy truth and by the decree
+of Thy Prophet Mohammed (on whom be blessings and peace!) to vouchsafe
+Thy mercy and grant Thy forgiveness to all things created in my
+likeness; for Thou over all things art Almighty!' Bulukiya marvelled at
+what he heard but continued his journey till he came to another
+mountain and ascending it, found there a great Angel seated on the
+summit, glorifying God and hallowing Him and invoking blessings on
+Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!), and he saw that Angel
+continually opening and shutting his hands and bending and extending
+his fingers. He accosted him and saluted him; whereupon the Angel
+returned his salam and enquired who he was and how he came thither. So
+Bulukiya acquainted him with his adventures including his having lost
+the way; and besought him to tell him, in turn, who he was and what was
+his function and what mountain was that. Quoth the Angel, 'Know, O
+Bulukiya, that this is the mountain Kaf, which encompasseth the world;
+and all the countries the Creator hath made are in my grasp. When the
+Almighty is minded to visit any land with earthquake or famine or
+plenty or slaughter or prosperity, He biddeth me carry out His commands
+and I carry them out without stirring from my place; for know thou that
+my hands lay hold upon the roots of the earth,' "—And Shahrazed
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When the angel said, 'And know thou that my hands lay hold
+upon the roots of the earth,' he asked, 'And hath Allah created other
+worlds than this within the mountain Kaf?' The Angel answered, 'Yes, He
+hath made a world white as silver, whose vastness none knoweth save
+Himself, and hath peopled it with Angels, whose meat and drink are His
+praise and hallowing and continual blessings upon His Prophet Mohammed
+(whom Allah bless and keep!). Every Thursday night[FN#531] they repair
+to this mountain and worship in congregation Allah until the morning,
+and they assign the future recompense of their lauds and litanies to
+the sinners of the Faith of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and
+to all who make the Ghusl ablution of Friday; and this is their
+function until the Day of Resurrection.' Asked Bulukiya, 'And hath
+Allah created other mountains behind the mountain Kaf?'; whereto he
+answered, 'Yes, behind this mountain is a range of mountains five
+hundred years' journey long, of snow and ice, and this it is that
+wardeth off the heat of Jahannam from the world, which verily would
+else be consumed thereby. Moreover, behind the mountain Kaf are forty
+worlds, each one the bigness of this world forty times told, some of
+gold and some of silver and others of carnelian. Each of these worlds
+hath its own colour, and Allah hath peopled them with angels, that know
+not Eve nor Adam nor night nor day, and have no other business than to
+celebrate His praises and hallow Him and make profession of His Unity
+and proclaim His Omnipotence and supplicate Him on behalf of the
+followers of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). And know, also, O
+Bulukiya, that the earths were made in seven stages, one upon another,
+and that Allah hath created one of His Angels, whose stature and
+attributes none knoweth but Himself and who beareth the seven stages
+upon his shoulders. Under this Angel Almighty Allah hath created a
+great rock, and under the rock a bull, and under the bull a huge fish,
+and under the fish a mighty ocean.[FN#532] God once told Isa (with whom
+be peace! ) of this fish, and he said, 'O Lord show me the fish, that I
+may look upon it.' So the Almighty commanded an angel to take Isa and
+show him the fish. Accordingly, he took him up and carried him (with
+whom be peace!) to the sea, wherein the fish dwelt, and said, 'Look, O
+Isa, upon the fish.' He looked but at first saw nothing, when,
+suddenly, the fish darted past like lightning. At this sight Isa fell
+down aswoon, and when he came to himself, Allah spake to him by
+inspiration, saying, 'O Isa, hast thou seen the fish and comprehended
+its length and its breadth?' He replied, 'By Thy honour and glory, O
+Lord, I saw no fish; but there passed me by a great bull, whose length
+was three days' journey, and I know not what manner of thing this bull
+is.' Quoth Allah, 'O Isa, this that thou sawest and which was three
+days in passing by thee, was but the head of the fish;[FN#533] and know
+that every day I create forty fishes like unto this.' And Isa hearing
+this marvelled at the power of Allah the Almighty. Asked Bulukiya,
+'What hath Allah made beneath this sea which containeth the fish?'; and
+the Angel answered, 'Under the sea the Lord created a vast abyss of
+air, under the air fire, and under the fire a mighty serpent, by name
+Falak; and were it not for fear of the Most Highest, this serpent would
+assuredly swallow up all that is above it, air and fire and the Angel
+and his burden, without sensing it.'"—And Shahrazed perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the angel said to
+Bulukiya when describing the serpent, "'And were it not for fear of the
+Most Highest, this serpent would assuredly swallow up all that is above
+it, air and fire, and the Angel and his burden, without sensing it.
+When Allah created this serpent He said to it by inspiration, 'I will
+give thee somewhat to keep for me, so open thy mouth.' The serpent
+replied, 'Do whatso Thou wilt;' and opened his mouth and God placed
+Hell into his maw, saying, 'Keep it until the Day of Resurrection. When
+that time comes, the Almighty will send His angels with chains to bring
+Hell and bind it until the Day when all men shall meet; and the Lord
+will order Hell to go open its gates and there will issue therefrom
+sparks bigger than the mountains.' When Bulukiya heard these things he
+wept with sore weeping and, taking leave of the Angel, fared on
+westwards, till he came in sight of two creatures sitting before a
+great shut gate. As he drew near, he saw that one of the gatekeepers
+had the semblance of a lion and the other that of a bull; so he saluted
+them and they returned his salam and enquired who and whence he was and
+whither he was bound. Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of Adam, a wanderer
+for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and I have
+strayed from my way.' Then he asked them what they were and what was
+the gate before which they sat, and they answered, 'We are the
+guardians of this gate thou seest and we have no other business than
+the praise and hallowing of Allah and the invocation of blessings on
+Mohammed (whom may He bless and keep!).' Bulukiya wondered and asked
+them, 'What is within the gate?'; and they answered, 'We wot not.' Then
+quoth he, 'I conjure you, by the truth of your glorious Lord, open to
+me the gate, that I may see that which is therein.' Quoth they, 'We
+cannot, and none may open this gate, of all created beings save
+Gabriel, the Faithful One, with whom be peace!' Then Bulukiya lifted up
+his voice in supplication to Allah, saying, 'O Lord, send me thy
+messenger Gabriel, the Faithful One, to open for me this gate that I
+may see what be therein;' and the Almighty gave ear unto his prayer and
+commanded the Archangel to descend to earth and open to him the gate of
+the Meeting-place of the Two Seas. So Gabriel descended and, saluting
+Bulukiya, opened the gate to him, saying, 'Enter this door, for Allah
+commandeth me to open to thee.' So he entered and Gabriel locked the
+gate behind him and flew back to heaven. When Bulukiya found himself
+within the gate, he looked and beheld a vast ocean, half salt and half
+fresh, bounded on every side by mountain ranges of red ruby whereon he
+saw angels singing the praises of the Lord and hallowing Him. So he
+went up to them and saluted them and having received a return of his
+salam, questioned them of the sea and the mountains. Replied they,
+'This place is situate under the Arsh or empyreal heaven; and this
+Ocean causeth the flux and flow of all the seas of the world; and we
+are appointed to distribute them and drive them to the various parts of
+the earth, the salt to the salt and the fresh to the fresh,[FN#534] and
+this is our employ until the Day of Doom. As for the mountain ranges
+they serve to limit and to contain the waters. But thou, whence comest
+thou and whither art thou bound?' So he told them his story and asked
+them of the road. They bade him traverse the surface of the ocean which
+lay before him: so he anointed his feet with the juice of the herb he
+had with him, and taking leave of the angels, set out upon the face of
+the sea and sped on over the water nights and days; and as he was
+faring, behold, he met a handsome youth journeying along like himself,
+whereupon he greeted him and he returned his greeting. After they
+parted he espied four great Angels wayfaring over the face of the sea,
+and their going was like the blinding lightning; so he stationed
+himself in their road, and when they came up to him, he saluted them
+and said to them, 'I ask you by the Almighty, the Glorious, to tell me
+your names and whither are ye bound?' Replied the first Angel, 'My name
+is Gabriel and these my companions are called Isrαfνl and Mνkα'νl and
+Azrα'νl. There hath appeared in the East a mighty dragon, which hath
+laid waste a thousand cities and devoured their inhabitants; wherefore
+Allah Almighty hath commanded us to go to him and seize him and cast
+him into Jahannam.' Bulukiya marvelled at the vastness of their stature
+and fared on, as before, days and nights, till he came to an island
+where he landed and walked about for a while,"—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya landed
+on the island and walked about for a while, till he saw a comely young
+man with light shining from his visage, sitting weeping and lamenting
+between two built tombs. So he saluted him and he returned his
+salutation, and Bulukiya said to him, 'Who art thou and what are these
+two built tombs between which thou sittest, and wherefore this
+wailing?' He looked at him and wept with sore weeping, till he drenched
+his clothes with his tears; then said, 'Know thou, O my brother, mine
+is a marvellous story and a wondrous; but I would have thee sit by me
+and first tell me thy name and thine adventures and who thou art and
+what brought thee hither; after which I will, in turn, relate to thee
+my history.' So Bulukiya sat down by him and related to him all that
+had befallen him from his father's death,[FN#535] adding, 'Such is my
+history, the whole of it, and Allah alone knoweth what will happen to
+me after this.' When the youth heard his story, he sighed and said, 'O
+thou unhappy! How few things thou hast seen in thy life compared with
+mine. Know, O Bulukiya, that unlike thyself I have looked upon our lord
+Solomon, in his life, and have seen things past count or reckoning.
+Indeed, my story is strange and my case out of range, and I would have
+thee abide with me, till I tell thee my history and acquaint thee how I
+come to be sitting here.'" Hearing this much Hasib again interrupted
+the Queen of the Serpents and said to her, "Allah upon thee, O Queen,
+release me and command one of thy servants carry me forth to the
+surface of the earth, and I will swear an oath to thee that I will
+never enter the Hammam-bath as long as I live." But she said, "This is
+a thing which may not be nor will I believe thee upon thine oath." When
+he heard this, he wept and all the serpents wept on his account and
+took to interceding for him with their Queen, saying, "We beseech thee,
+bid one of us carry him forth to the surface of the earth, and he will
+swear thee an oath never to enter the bath his life long." Now when
+Yamlaykhα (for such was the Queen's name) heard their appeal, she
+turned to Hasib and made him swear to her an oath; after which she bade
+a serpent carry him forth to the surface of the earth. The serpent made
+ready, but as she was about to go away with him, he turned to Queen
+Yamlaykha and said, "I would fain have thee tell me the history of the
+youth whom Bulukiya saw sitting between two tombs." So she said: "Know,
+O Hasib, that when Bulukiya sat down by the youth and told him his
+tale, from first to last, in order that the other might also recount
+his adventures and explain the cause of his sitting between the two
+tombs."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya ended his recount, the youth said, 'How few
+things of marvel hast thou seen in thy life, O unhappy! Now I have
+looked upon our lord Solomon while he was yet living and I have
+witnessed wonders beyond compt and conception.' And he began to relate
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Janshah.[FN#536]
+
+'Know, O my brother, that my sire was a King called TeghmÏŠs, who
+reigned over the land of Kabul and the Banu Shahlαn, ten thousand
+warlike chiefs, each ruling over an hundred walled cities and a hundred
+citadels; and he was suzerain also over seven vassal princes, and
+tribute was brought to him from the broad lands between East and West.
+He was just and equitable in his rule and Allah Almighty had given him
+all this and had bestowed on him such mighty empire, yet had He not
+vouchsafed him a son (though this was his dearest wish) to inherit the
+kingdom after his decease. So one day it befell that he summoned the
+Olema and astrologers, the mathematicians and almanac-makers, and said,
+'Draw me my horoscope and look if Allah will grant me a son to succeed
+me.' Accordingly, they consulted their books and calculated his
+dominant star and the aspects thereof; after which they said to him,
+'Know, O King, that thou shalt be blessed with a son, but by none other
+than the daughter of the King of Khorαsαn.' Hearing this Teghmus joyed
+with exceeding joy and, bestowing on the astrologers and wizards
+treasure beyond numbering or reckoning, dismissed them. His chief Wazir
+was a renowned warrior, by name Ayn Zαr, who was equal to a thousand
+cavaliers in battle; so him he summoned and, repeating to him what the
+astrologers had predicted, he said, 'O Wazir, it is my will that thou
+equip thee for a march to Khorasan and demand for me the hand of its
+King Bahrwan's daughter.' Receiving these orders the Wazir at once
+proceeded to get ready for the journey and encamped without the town
+with his troops and braves and retinue, whilst King Teghmus made ready
+as presents for the King of Khorasan fifteen hundred loads of silks and
+precious stones, pearls and rubies and other gems, besides gold and
+silver; and he also prepared a prodigious quantity of all that goeth to
+the equipment of a bride; then, loading them upon camels and mules,
+delivered them to Ayn Zar, with a letter to the following purport.
+'After invoking the blessing of Heaven, King Teghmus to King Bahrwan,
+greeting. Know that we have taken counsel with the astrologers and
+sages and mathematicians, and they tell us that we shall have boon of a
+boy child, and that by none other than thy daughter. Wherefore I have
+despatched unto thee my Wazir Ayn Zar, with great store of bridal gear,
+and I have appointed him to stand in my stead and to enter into the
+marriage-contract in my name. Furthermore I desire that of thy favour
+thou wilt grant him his request without stay or delay; for it is my
+own, and all graciousness thou showest him, I take for myself; but
+beware of crossing me in this, for know, O King Bahrwan, that Allah
+hath bestowed upon me the Kingdom of Kabul, and hath given me dominion
+over the Banu Shahlan and vouchsafed me a mighty empire; and if I marry
+thy daughter, we will be, I and thou, as one thing in kingship; and I
+will send thee every year as much treasure as will suffice thee. And
+this is my desire of thee.' Then King Teghmus sealed the letter with
+his own ring and gave it to the Wazir, who departed with a great
+company and journeyed till he drew near the capital of Khorasan. When
+King Bahrwan heard of his approach, he despatched his principal Emirs
+to meet him,[FN#537] with a convoy of food and drink and other
+requisites, including forage for the steeds. So they fared forth with
+the train till they met the Wazir; then, alighting without the city,
+they exchanged salutations and abode there, eating and drinking, ten
+days; at the end of which time they mounted and rode on into the town,
+where they were met by King Bahrwan, who came out to greet the Wazir of
+King Teghmus and alighting, embraced him and carried him to his
+citadel. Then Ayn Zar brought out the presents and laid them before
+King Bahrwan, together with the letter of King Teghmus, which when the
+King read and understood, he joyed with joy exceeding and welcomed the
+Wazir, saying, 'Rejoice in winning thy wish; and know that if King
+Teghmus sought of me my life, verily I would give it to him.' Then he
+went in forthright to his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk, and
+acquainting them with the King of Kabul's demand sought counsel of
+them, and they said, 'Do what seemeth good to thee.'—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundredth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Bahrwan
+consulted his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk and they said,
+'Do what seemeth good to thee.' So he returned straightway to the
+Minister Ayn Zar and notified to him that his desire had been
+fulfilled; and the Wazir, abode with him two months, at the end of
+which time he said to him, 'We beseech thee to bestow upon us that
+wherefore we came, so we may depart to our own land.' 'I hear and
+obey,' answered the King. Then he prepared all the gear wanted for the
+wedding; and when this was done he assembled his Wazirs and all his
+Emirs and the Grandees of his realm and the monks and priests who tied
+the knot of marriage between his daughter and King Teghmus by proxy.
+And King Bahrwan bade decorate the city after the goodliest fashion and
+spread the streets with carpets. Then he equipped his daughter for the
+journey and gave her all manner of presents and rarities and precious
+metals, such as none may describe; and Ayn Zar departed with the
+Princess to his own country. When the news of their approach reached
+King Teghmus, he bade celebrate the wedding festivities and adorn the
+city; after which he went in unto the Princess and abated her
+maidenhead; nor was it long before she conceived by him and,
+accomplishing her months, bare a man-child like the moon on the night
+of its full. When King Teghmus knew that his wife had given birth to a
+goodly son, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and, summoning the sages and
+astrologers and mathematicians, said to them, 'I would that ye draw the
+horoscope of the newborn child with his ascendant and its aspects and
+acquaint me what shall befall him in his lifetime.' So they made their
+calculations and found them favourable; but, that he would, in his
+fifteenth year, be exposed to perils and hardships, and that if he
+survived, he would be happy and fortunate and become a greater king
+than his father and a more powerful. The King rejoiced greatly in this
+prediction and named the boy Janshah. Then he delivered him to the
+nurses, wet and dry, who reared him excellently well till he reached
+his fifth year, when his father taught him to read the Evangel and
+instructed him in the art of arms and lunge of lance and sway of sword,
+so that in less than seven years he was wont to ride a-hunting, and
+a-chasing; he became a doughty champion, perfect in all the science of
+the cavalarice and his father was delighted to hear of his knightly
+prowess. It chanced one day that King Teghmus and his son accompanied
+by the troops rode out for sport into the woods and wilds and hunted
+till mid afternoon of the third day, when the Prince started a gazelle
+of a rare colour, which fled before him. So he gave chase to it,
+followed by seven of King Teghmus's white slaves all mounted on swift
+steeds, and rode at speed after the gazelle, which fled before them
+till she brought them to the sea shore. They all ran at her to take her
+as their quarry, but she escaped from them and, throwing herself into
+the waves,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and First Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Janshah and
+the Mamelukes ran at the gazelle, to take her as their quarry, she
+escaped from them and, throwing herself into the waves, swam out to a
+fishing bark, that was moored near the shore, and sprang on board.
+Janshah and his followers dismounted and, boarding the boat, made prize
+of the gazelle and were minded to return to shore with her, when the
+Prince espied a great island in the offing and said to his merry men,
+'I have a longing to visit yonder island.' They answered, 'We hear and
+obey,' and sailed on till they came to the island, where they landed
+and amused themselves with exploring the place. Then they again
+embarked and taking with them the gazelle, set out to return homeward,
+but the murk of evening overtook them and they missed their way on the
+main. Moreover a strong wind arose and crave the boat into mid-ocean,
+so that when they awoke in the morning, they found themselves lost at
+sea. Such was their case; but as regards King Teghmus, when he missed
+his son, he commanded his troops to make search for him in separate
+bodies; so they dispersed on all sides and a company of them, coming to
+the sea shore, found there the Prince's white slave whom he had left in
+charge of the horses. They asked him what was become of his master and
+the other six, and he told them what had passed whereupon they took him
+with them and returned to the King and acquainted him with what they
+had learnt. When Teghmus heard their report, he wept with sore weeping
+and cast the crown from his head, biting his hands for vexation. Then
+he rose forthright and wrote letters and despatched them to all the
+islands of the sea. Moreover he got together an hundred ships and
+filling them with troops, sent them to sail about in quest of Janshah,
+while he himself withdrew with his troops to his capital, where he
+abode in sore concern. As for Janshah's mother, when she heard of his
+loss she buffeted her face and began the mourning ceremonies for her
+son making sure that he was dead. Meanwhile, Janshah and his men ceased
+not driving before the wind and those in search of them cruised about
+for ten days till, finding no trace they returned and reported failure
+to the King. But a stiff gale caught the Prince's craft which went
+spooning till they made a second island, where they landed and walked
+about. Presently they came upon a spring of running water in the midst
+of the island and saw from afar a man sitting hard by it. So they went
+up to him and saluted him, and he returned their salam, speaking in a
+voice like the whistle[FN#538] of birds. Whilst Janshah stood
+marvelling at the man's speech he looked right and left and suddenly
+split himself in twain, and each half went a different way.[FN#539]
+Then there came down from the hills a multitude of men of all kinds,
+beyond count and reckoning; and they no sooner reached the spring, than
+each one divided into two halves and rushed on Janshah and his
+Mamelukes to eat them. When the voyagers saw this, they turned and fled
+seawards; but the cannibals pursued them and caught and ate three of
+the slaves, leaving only three slaves who with Janshah reached the boat
+in safety; then launching her made for the water and sailed nights and
+days without knowing whither their ship went. They killed the gazelle,
+and lived on her flesh, till the winds drove them to a third island
+which was full of trees and waters and flower-gardens and orchards
+laden with all fashion of fruits: and streams strayed under the tree
+shade: brief, the place was a Garden of Eden. The island pleased the
+Prince and he said to his companions, 'Which of you will land and
+explore?' Then said one of the slaves, 'That will I do'; but he
+replied, 'This thing may not be; you must all land and explore the
+place while I abide in the boat.' So he set them ashore,"— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Prince set
+them ashore, and they searched the island, East and West, but found no
+one; then they fared on inland to the heart thereof, till they came to
+a Castle compassed about with ramparts of white marble, within which
+was a palace of the clearest crystal and, set in its centre a garden
+containing all manner fruits beyond description, both fresh and dry,
+and flowers of grateful odour and trees and birds singing upon the
+boughs. Amiddlemost the garden was a vast basin of water, and beside it
+a great open hall with a raised dais whereon stood a number of stools
+surrounding a throne of red gold, studded with all kinds of jewels and
+especially rubies and seeing the beauty of the Castle and of the Garden
+they entered and explored in all directions, but found no one there, so
+after rummaging the Castle they returned to Janshah and told him what
+they had seen. When he heard their report, he cried, 'Needs must I
+solace myself with a sight of it;' so he landed and accompanied them to
+the palace, which he entered marvelling at the goodliness of the place.
+They then visited every part of the gardens and ate of the fruits and
+continued walking till it waxed dark, when they returned to the estrade
+and sat down, Janshah on the throne in the centre and the three others
+on the stools ranged to the right and left. Then the Prince, there
+seated, called to mind his separation from his father's
+throne-city[FN#540] and country and friends and kinsfolk; and fell
+a-weeping and lamenting over their loss whilst his men wept around him.
+And as they were thus sorrowing behold, they heard a mighty clamour,
+that came from seaward and looking in the direction of the clamour saw
+a multitude of apes, as they were swarming locusts. Now the castle and
+the island belonged to these apes, who, finding the strangers' boat
+moored to the strand, had scuttled it and after repaired to the palace,
+where they came upon Janshah and his men seated." Here the Serpent-
+queen again broke off her recital saying, "All this, O Hasib, was told
+to Bulukiya by the young man sitting between the two tombs." Quoth
+Hasib, "And what did Janshah do with the apes?"; so the Queen resumed
+her tale: "He and his men were sore affrighted at the appearance of the
+apes, but a company of them came up to the throne whereon he sat and,
+kissing the earth before him, stood awhile in his presence with their
+paws upon their breasts in posture of respect. Then another troop
+brought to the castle gazelles which they slaughtered and skinned; and
+roasting pieces of the flesh till fit for food they laid them on
+platters of gold and silver and spreading the table, made signs to
+Janshah and his men to eat. The Prince and his followers came down from
+their seats and ate, and the apes ate with them, till they were
+satisfied, when the apes took away the meat and set on fruits of which
+they partook and praised Allah the most Highest. Then Janshah asked the
+apes by signs what they were and to whom the palace belonged, and they
+answered him by signals, 'Know ye that this island belonged of yore to
+our lord Solomon, son of David (on both of whom be peace!), and he used
+to come hither once every year for his solace,'"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Janshah
+asked the apes by signs to whom the palace belonged, they answered him
+by signals, "'Of a truth this place belonged of yore to our lord
+Solomon, son of David (on both of whom be peace!), who used to come
+hither once every year for his solace, and then wend his ways.'
+Presently the apes continued, 'And know, O King, that thou art become
+our Sultan and we are thy servants; so eat and drink, and whatso thou
+ever bid us, that will we do.' So saying, they severally kissed the
+earth between the hands of Janshah and all took their departure. The
+Prince slept that night on the throne and his men on the stools about
+him, and on the morrow, at daybreak, the four Wazirs or Captains of the
+apes presented themselves before him, attended by their troops, who
+ranged themselves about him, rank after rank, until the place was
+crowded. Then the Wazirs approached and exhorted him by signs to do
+justice amongst them and rule them righteously; after which the apes
+cried out to one another and went away, all save a small party which
+remained in presence to serve him. After awhile, there came up a
+company of apes with huge dogs in the semblance of horses, each wearing
+about his head a massive chain; and signed to Janshah and his three
+followers to mount and go with them. So they mounted, marvelling at the
+greatness of the dogs, and rode forth, attended by the four Wazirs and
+a host of apes like swarming locusts, some riding on dogs and others
+afoot till they came to the sea-shore. Janshah looked for the boat
+which brought him and finding it scuttled turned to the Wazirs and
+asked how this had happened to it; whereto they answered, 'Know, O
+King, that, when thou camest to our island, we kenned that thou wouldst
+be Sultan over us and we feared lest ye all flee from us, in our
+absence; and embark in the boat, so we sank it.' When Janshah heard
+this, he turned to his Mamelukes and said to them, 'We have no means of
+escaping from these apes, and we must patiently await the ordinance of
+the Almighty.' Then they fared on inland and ceased not faring till
+they came to the banks of a river, on whose other side rose a high
+mountain, whereon Janshah saw a multitude of Ghuls. So he turned to the
+apes and asked them, 'What are these Ghuls?' and they answered, 'Know,
+O King, that these Ghuls are our mortal foes and we come hither to do
+battle with them.' Janshah marvelled to see them riding horses, and was
+startled at the vastness of their bulk and the strangeness of their
+semblance; for some of them had heads like bulls and others like
+camels. As soon as the Ghuls espied the army of the apes, they charged
+down to the river bank and standing there, fell to pelting them with
+stones as big as maces; and between them there befell a sore fight.
+Presently, Janshah, seeing that the Ghuls were getting the better of
+the apes, cried out to his men, saying, 'Unease your bows and arrows
+and shoot at them your best shafts and keep them off from us.' They did
+so and slew of the Ghuls much people, when there fell upon them sore
+dismay and they turned to flee; but the apes, seeing Janshah's prowess,
+forded the river and headed by their Sultan chased the Ghuls, killing
+many of them in the pursuit, till they reached the high mountain where
+they disappeared. And while exploring the said mountain Janshah found a
+tablet of alabaster, whereon was written, 'O thou who enterest this
+land, know that thou wilt become Sultan over these apes and that from
+them there is no escape for thee, except by the passes that run east
+and west through the mountains. If thou take the eastern pass, thou
+wilt fare through a country swarming with Ghuls and wild beasts, Marids
+and Ifrits, and thou wilt come, after three months' journeying, to the
+ocean which encompasseth the earth; but, if thou travel by the western
+pass, it will bring thee, after four months' journeying, to the head of
+the Wady of Emmets.[FN#541] When thou hast followed the road, that
+leads through this mountain, ten days,' "—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah read this
+much upon the tablet and found, at the end of the inscription, "'Then
+thou wilt come to a great river, whose current is so swift that it
+blindeth the eyes. Now this river drieth up every Sabbath,[FN#542] and
+on the opposite bank lies a city wholly inhabited by Jews, who the
+faith of Mohammed refuse; there is not a Moslem among the band nor is
+there other than this city in the land. Better therefore lord it over
+the apes, for so long as thou shalt tarry amongst them they will be
+victorious over the Ghuls. And know also that he who wrote this tablet
+was the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!).' When Janshah
+read these words, he wept sore and repeated them to his men. Then they
+mounted again and, surrounded by the army of the apes who were
+rejoicing in their victory, returned to the castle. Here Janshah abode,
+Sultaning over them, for a year and a half. And at the end of this
+time, he one day commanded the ape-army to mount and go forth a hunting
+with him, and they rode out into the woods and wilds, and fared on from
+place to place, till they approached the Wady of Emmets, which Janshah
+knew by the description of it upon the alabaster tablet. Here he bade
+them dismount and they all abode there, eating and drinking a space of
+ten days, after which Janshah took his men apart one night and said, 'I
+purpose we flee through the Valley of Emmets and make for the town of
+the Jews; it may be Allah will deliver us from these apes and we will
+go God's ways.' They replied, 'We hear and we obey:' so he waited till
+some little of the night was spent then, donning his armour and girding
+his sword and dagger and such like weapons, and his men doing likewise,
+they set out and fared on westwards till morning. When the apes awoke
+and missed Janshah and his men, they knew that they had fled. So they
+mounted and pursued them, some taking the eastern pass and others that
+which led to the Wady of Emmets, nor was it long before the apes came
+in sight of the fugitives, as they were about to enter the valley, and
+hastened after them. When Janshah and his men saw them, they fled into
+the Emmet-valley; but the apes soon overtook them and would have slain
+them, when behold, there rose out of the earth a multitude of ants like
+swarming locusts, as big as dogs, and charged home upon the apes. They
+devoured many of their foes, and these also slew many of the ants; but
+help came to the emmets: now an ant would go up to an ape and smite him
+and cut him in twain, whilst ten apes could hardly master one ant and
+bear him away and tear him in sunder. The sore battle lasted till the
+evening but the emmets were victorious. In the gloaming Janshah and his
+men took to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "in the gloaming
+Janshah and his men took to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady
+till the morning. With the break of day, the apes were up and at them,
+which when the Prince saw, he shouted to his men, 'Smite with your
+swords.' So they bared their blades and laid on load right and left,
+till there ran at them an ape, with tusks like an elephant, and smote
+one of the Mamelukes and cut him in sunder. Then the apes redoubled
+upon Janshah and he fled with his followers into the lower levels of
+the valley, where he saw a vast river and by its side a mighty army of
+ants. When the emmets espied Janshah they pushed on and surrounded him,
+and one of the slaves fell to smiting them with his sword and cutting
+them in twain; whereupon the whole host set upon him and slew him. At
+this pass, behold, up came the apes from over the mountain and fell in
+numbers upon Janshah; but he tore off his clothes and, plunging into
+the river, with his remaining servant, struck out for the middle of the
+stream. Presently, he caught sight of a tree on the other bank; so he
+swam up to it and laying hold of one of its branches, hung to it and
+swung himself ashore, but as for the last Mameluke the current carried
+him away and dashed him to pieces against the mountain. Thereupon
+Janshah fell to wringing his clothes and spreading them in the sun to
+dry, what while there befell a fierce fight between the apes and the
+ants, until the apes gave up the pursuit and returned to their own
+land. Meanwhile, Janshah, who abode alone on the river-bank, could do
+naught but shed tears till nightfall, when he took refuge in a cavern
+and there passed the dark hours, in great fear and feeling desolate for
+the loss of his slaves. At daybreak awaking from his sleep he set out
+again and fared on nights and days, eating of the herbs of the earth,
+till he came to the mountain which burnt like fire, and thence he made
+the river which dried up every Sabbath. Now it was a mighty stream and
+on the opposite bank stood a great city, which was the capital of the
+Jews mentioned in the tablet. Here he abode till the next Sabbath, when
+the river dried up and he walked over to the other side and entered the
+Jew city, but saw none in the streets. So he wandered about till he
+came to the door of a homestead, which he opened and entering, espied
+within the people of the house sitting in silence and speaking not a
+syllable. Quoth he, 'I am a stranger and anhungered;' and they signed
+to him, as to say, 'Eat and drink, but speak not.'[FN#543] So he ate
+and drank and slept that night and, when morning dawned, the master of
+the house greeted him and bade him welcome and asked him, 'Whence
+comest thou and whither art thou bound?' At these words Janshah wept
+sore and told him all that had befallen him and how his father was King
+of Kabul; whereat the Jew marvelled and said, 'Never heard we of that
+city, but we have heard from the merchants of the caravans that in that
+direction lieth a land called Al-Yaman.' 'How far is that land from
+this place?' asked Janshah, and the Jew answered, 'The Cafilah
+merchants pretend that it is a two years and three months' march from
+their land hither.' Quoth Janshah, 'And when doth the caravan come?'
+Quoth the Jew, 'Next year 'twill come.' "—And Shahrazed perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jew was
+questioned anent the coming of the caravan, he replied, "'Next year
+'twill come.' At these words the Prince wept sore and fell a-sorrowing
+for himself and his Mamelukes; and lamenting his separation from his
+mother and father and all which had befallen him in his wanderings.
+Then said the Jew, 'O young man, do not weep, but sojourn with us till
+the caravan shall come, when we will send thee with it to thine own
+country.' So he tarried with the Jew two whole months and every day he
+went out walking in the streets for his solace and diversion. Now it
+chanced one day, whilst he paced about the main thoroughfares, as of
+wont, and was bending his steps right and left, he heard a crier crying
+aloud and saying, 'Who will earn a thousand gold pieces and a slave-
+girl of surpassing beauty and loveliness by working for me between
+morning and noontide?' But no one answered him and Janshah said in his
+mind, 'Were not this work dangerous and difficult, he would not offer a
+thousand diners and a fair girl for half a day's labour.' Then he
+accosted the crier and said, 'I will do the work;' so the man carried
+him to a lofty mansion where they found one who was a Jew and a
+merchant, seated on an ebony chair, to whom quoth the crier, standing
+respectfully before him, 'O merchant, I have cried every day these
+three months, and none hath answered, save this young man.' Hearing his
+speech the Jew welcomed Janshah, led him into a magnificent
+sitting-room and signalled to bring food. So the servants spread the
+table and set thereon all manner meats, of which the merchant and
+Janshah ate, and washed their hands. Then wine was served up and they
+drank; after which the Jew rose and bringing Janshah a purse of a
+thousand diners and a slave-girl of rare beauty, said to him, 'Take
+maid and money to thy hire.' Janshah took them and seated the girl by
+his side when the trader resumed, 'To-morrow to the work!'; and so
+saying he withdrew and Janshah slept with the damsel that night. As
+soon as it was morning, the merchant bade his slaves clothe him in a
+costly suit of silk whenas he came out of the Hammam-Bath. So they did
+as he bade them and brought him back to the house, whereupon the
+merchant called for harp and lute and wine and they drank and played
+and made merry till the half of the night was past, when the Jew
+retired to his Harim and Janshah lay with his slave-girl till the dawn.
+Then he went to the bath and on his return, the merchant came to him
+and said, 'Now I wish thee to do the work for me.' 'I hear and obey,'
+replied Janshah. So the merchant bade his slaves bring two she- mules
+and set Janshah on one, mounting the other himself. Then they rode
+forth from the city and fared on from morn till noon, when they made a
+lofty mountain, to whose height was no limit. Here the Jew dismounted,
+ordering Janshah to do the same; and when he obeyed the merchant gave
+him a knife and a cord, saying, 'I desire that thou slaughter this
+mule.' So Janshah tucked up his sleeves and skirts and going up to the
+mule, bound her legs with the cord, then threw her and cut her throat;
+after which he skinned her and lopped off her head and legs and she
+became a mere heap of flesh. Then said the Jew, 'Slit open the mule's
+belly and enter it and I will sew it up on thee. There must thou abide
+awhile and whatsoever thou seest in her belly, acquaint me therewith.'
+So Janshah slit the mule's belly and crept into it, whereupon the
+merchant sewed it up on him and withdrew to a distance,"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the merchant
+sewed up the mule's belly on Janshah and, withdrawing to a distance,
+hid himself in the skirts of the mountain. After a while a huge bird
+swooped down on the dead mule and snatching it up, flew up with it to
+the top of the mountain, where it set down the quarry and would have
+eaten it; but Janshah, feeling the bird begin to feed, slit the mule's
+belly and came forth. When the bird saw him, it took fright at him and
+flew right away; whereupon he stood up and looking right and left, saw
+nothing but the carcasses of dead men, mummied by the sun, and
+exclaimed, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
+the Glorious, the Great!' Then he looked down the precipice and espied
+the merchant standing at the mountain-foot, looking for him. As soon as
+the Jew caught sight of him, he called out to him, 'Throw me down of
+the stones which are about thee, that I may direct thee to a way
+whereby thou mayst descend.' So Janshah threw him down some two hundred
+of the stones, which were all rubies,[FN#544] chrysolites and other
+gems of price; after which he called out to him, saying, 'Show me the
+way down and I will throw thee as many more.' But the Jew gathered up
+the stones and, binding them on the back of the mule, went his way
+without answering a word and left Janshah alone on the mountain-top.
+When the Prince found himself deserted, he began to weep and implore
+help of Heaven, and thus he abode three days; after which he rose and
+fared on over the mountainous ground two month's space, feeding upon
+hill-herbs; and he ceased not faring till he came to its skirts and
+espied afar off a Wady full of fruitful trees and birds harmonious,
+singing the praises of Allah, the One, the Victorious. At this sight he
+joyed with great joy and stayed not his steps till, after an hour or
+so, he came to a ravine in the rocks, through which the rain torrents
+fell into the valley. He made his way down the cleft till he reached
+the Wady which he had seen from the mountain-top and walked on therein,
+gazing right and left, nor ceased so doing until he came in sight of a
+great castle, towering high in air. As he drew near the gates he saw an
+old man of comely aspect and face shining with light standing thereat
+with a staff of carnelian in his hand, and going up to him, saluted
+him. The Shaykh returned his salam and bade him welcome, saying, 'Sit
+down, O my son.' So he sat down at the door of the castle and the old
+man said to him, 'How camest thou to this land, untrodden by son of
+Adam before thee, and whither art thou bound?' When Janshah heard his
+words he wept bitterly at the thought of all the hardships he had
+suffered and his tears choked his speech. Quoth the Shaykh, 'O my son,
+leave weeping; for indeed thou makest my heart ache.' So saying, he
+rose and set somewhat of food before him and said to him, 'Eat.' He ate
+and praised Allah Almighty; after which the old man besought him
+saying, 'O my son, I would have thee tell me thy tale and acquaint me
+with thine adventures.' So Janshah related to him all that had befallen
+him, from first to last, whereat the Shaykh marvelled with exceeding
+marvel. Then said the Prince, 'Prithee inform me who is the lord of
+this valley and to whom doth this great castle belong?' Answered the
+old man, 'Know, O my son, this valley and all that is therein and this
+castle with all it containeth belong to the lord Solomon, son of David
+(on both be peace!). As for me, my name is Shaykh Nasr,[FN#545] King of
+the Birds; for thou must know that the lord Solomon committed this
+castle to my charge,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shaykh Nasr
+pursued, 'Thou must know that the lord Solomon com misted this castle
+to my charge and taught me the language of birds and made me ruler over
+all the fowls which be in the world; wherefore each and every come
+hither once in the twelvemonth, and I pass them in review: then they
+depart; and this is why I dwell here.' When Janshah heard this, he wept
+sore and said to the Shaykh, 'O my father, how shall I do to get back
+to my native land?' Replied the old man, 'Know, O my son, that thou art
+near to the mountain Kaf, and there is no departing for thee from this
+place till the birds come, when I will give thee in charge to one of
+them, and he will bear thee to thy native country. Meanwhile tarry with
+me here and eat and drink and divert thyself with viewing the
+apartments of this castle.' So Janshah abode with Shaykh Nasr, taking
+his pleasure in the Wady and eating of its fruits and laughing and
+making merry with the old man, and leading a right joyous life till the
+day appointed for the birds to pay their annual visit to the Governor.
+Thereupon the Shaykh said to him, 'O Janshah, take the keys of the
+castle and solace thyself with exploring all its apartments and viewing
+whatever be therein, but as regards such a room, beware and again
+beware of opening its door; and if thou gainsay me and open it and
+enter there, through nevermore shalt thou know fair fortune.' He
+repeated this charge again and again with much instance; then he went
+forth to meet the birds, which came up, kind by kind, and kissed his
+hands. Such was his case; but as regards Janshah, he went round about
+the castle, opening the various doors and viewing the apartments into
+which they led, till he came to the room which Shaykh Nasr had warned
+him not to open or enter. He looked at the door and its fashion pleased
+him, for it had on it a padlock of gold, and he said to himself, 'This
+room must be goodlier than all the others; would Heaven I wist what is
+within it, that Shaykh Nasr should forbid me to open its door! There is
+no help but that I enter and see what is in this apartment; for whatso
+is decreed unto the creature perforce he must fulfil.' So he put out
+his hand and unlocked the door and entering, found himself before a
+great basin; and hard by it stood a little pavilion, builded all of
+gold and silver and crystal, with lattice-windows of jacinth. The floor
+was paved with green beryl and balas rubies and emeralds and other
+jewels, set in the ground-work mosaic-fashion, and in the midmost of
+the pavilion was a jetting fountain in a golden basin, full of water
+and girt about with figures of beasts and birds, cunningly wrought of
+gold and silver and casting water from their mouths. When the zephyr
+blew on them, it entered their ears and therewith the figures sang out
+with birdlike song, each in its own tongue. Beside the fountain was a
+great open saloon with a high dais whereon stood a vast throne of
+carnelian, inlaid with pearls and jewels, over which was spread a tent
+of green silk fifty cubits in width and embroidered with gems fit for
+seal rings and purfled with precious metals. Within this tent was a
+closet containing the carpet of the lord Solomon (on whom be peace!);
+and the pavilion was compassed about with a vast garden full of fruit
+trees and streams; while near the palace were beds of roses and basil
+and eglantine and all manner sweet-smelling herbs and flowers. And the
+trees bore on the same boughs fruits fresh and dry and the branches
+swayed gracefully to the wooing of the wind. All this was in that one
+apartment and Janshah wondered thereat till he was weary of wonderment;
+and he set out to solace himself in the palace and the garden and to
+divert himself with the quaint and curious things they contained. And
+first looking at the basin he saw that the gravels of its bed were gems
+and jewels and noble metals; and many other strange things were in that
+apartment."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah saw many
+strange things and admirable in that apartment. Then he entered the
+pavilion and mounting the throne, fell asleep under the tent set up
+thereover. He slept for a time and, presently awaking, walked forth and
+sat down on a stool before the door. As he sat, marvelling at the
+goodliness of that place, there flew up from mid sky three birds, in
+dove-form but big as eagles, and lighted on the brink of the basin,
+where they sported awhile. Then they put off their feathers and became
+three maidens,[FN#546] as they were moons, that had not their like in
+the whole world. They plunged into the basin and swam about and
+disported themselves and laughed, while Janshah marvelled at their
+beauty and loveliness and the grace and symmetry of their shapes.
+Presently, they came up out of the water and began walking about and
+taking their solace in the garden; and Janshah seeing them land was
+like to lose his wits. He rose and followed them, and when he overtook
+them, he saluted them and they returned his salam; after which quoth
+he, 'Who are ye, O illustrious Princesses, and whence come ye?' Replied
+the youngest damsel, 'We are from the invisible world of Almighty Allah
+and we come hither to divert ourselves.' He marvelled at their beauty
+and said to the youngest, 'Have ruth on me and deign kindness to me and
+take pity on my case and on all that hath befallen me in my life.'
+Rejoined she, 'Leave this talk and wend thy ways'; whereat the tears
+streamed from his eyes, and he sighed heavily and repeated these
+couplets,
+
+'She shone out in the garden in garments all of green, * With
+
+
+     open vest and collars and flowing hair beseen:
+
+
+'What is thy name?' I asked her, and she replied, 'I'm she * Who
+
+
+     roasts the hearts of lovers on coals of love and teen.'
+
+
+Of passion and its anguish to her made my moan; * 'Upon a rock,'
+
+
+     she answered, 'thy plaints are wasted clean.'
+
+
+'Even if thy heart,' I told her, 'be rock in very deed, * Yet
+
+
+     hath God made fair water well from the rock, I
+
+
+     ween.'[FN#547]
+
+
+
+When the maidens heard his verses, they laughed and played and sang and
+made merry. Then he brought them somewhat of fruit, and they ate and
+drank and slept with him till the morning, when they donned their
+feather-suits, and resuming dove shape flew off and went their way. But
+as he saw them disappearing from sight, his reason well nigh fled with
+them, and he gave a great cry and fell down in a fainting fit and lay
+a-swooning all that day. While he was in this case Shaykh Nasr returned
+from the Parliament of the Fowls and sought for Janshah, that he might
+send him with them to his native land, but found him not and knew that
+he had entered the forbidden room. Now he had already said to the
+birds, 'With me is a young man, a mere youth, whom destiny brought
+hither from a distant land; and I desire of you that ye take him up and
+carry him to his own country.' And all answered, 'We hear and we obey.'
+So he ceased not searching for Janshah till he came to the forbidden
+door and seeing it open he entered and found the Prince lying a-swoon
+under a tree. He fetched scented waters and sprinkled them on his face,
+whereupon he revived and turned."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Tenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Shaykh Nasr
+saw Janshah lying a-swoon under the tree he fetched him somewhat of
+scented waters and sprinkled them on his face. Thereupon he revived and
+turned right and left, but seeing none by him save the Shaykh, sighed
+heavily and repeated these couplets,
+
+'Like fullest moon she shines on happiest night, * Soft sided
+
+
+     fair, with slender shape bedight.
+
+
+Her eye-babes charm the world with gramarye; * Her lips remind of
+
+
+     rose and ruby light.
+
+
+Her jetty locks make night upon her hips; * Ware, lovers, ware ye
+
+
+     of that curl's despight!
+
+
+Yea, soft her sides are, but in love her heart * Outhardens
+
+
+     flint, surpasses syenite:
+
+
+And bows of eyebrows shower glancey shafts * Despite the distance
+
+
+     never fail to smite.
+
+
+Then, ah, her beauty! all the fair it passes; * Nor any rival her
+
+
+     who see the light.'
+
+
+
+When Shaykh Nasr heard these verses, he said, 'O my son, did I not warn
+thee not to open that door and enter that room? But now, O my son, tell
+me what thou sawest therein and acquaint me with all that betided
+thee.' So Janshah related to him all that had passed between him and
+the three maidens, and Shaykh Nasr, who sat listening in silence said,
+'Know, O my son, that these three maidens are of the daughters of the
+Jann and come hither every year for a day, to divert themselves and
+make merry until mid afternoon, when they return to their own country.'
+Janshah asked, 'And where is their country?'; and the old man answered,
+'By Allah, O my son, I wot not:' presently adding, 'but now take heart
+and put away this love from thee and come with me, that I may send thee
+to thine own land with the birds.' When Janshah heard this, he gave a
+great cry and fell down in a trance; and presently he came to himself,
+and said, 'O my father indeed I care not to return to my native land:
+all I want is to foregather with these maidens and know, O my father,
+that I will never again name my people, though I die before thee.' Then
+he wept and cried, 'Enough for me that I look upon the face of her I
+love, although it be only once in the year!' And he sighed deeply and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+'Would Heaven the Phantom[FN#548] spared the friend at night *
+
+
+     And would this love for man were ever dight!
+
+
+Were not my heart afire for love of you, * Tears ne'er had
+
+
+     stained my cheeks nor dimmed my sight.
+
+
+By night and day, I bid my heart to bear * Its griefs, while
+
+
+     fires of love my body blight.'
+
+
+
+Then he fell at Shaykh Nasr's feet and kissed them and wept sore,
+crying, 'Have pity on me, so Allah take pity on thee and aid me in my
+strait so Allah aid thee!' Replied the old man, 'By Allah O my son, I
+know nothing of these maidens nor where may be their country; but, O my
+son, if thy heart be indeed set on one of them, tarry with me till this
+time next year for they will assuredly reappear; and, when the day of
+their coming draweth near, hide thyself under a tree in the garden. As
+soon as they have alighted and doffed their feather-robes and plunged
+into the lake and are swimming about at a distance from their clothes,
+seize the vest of her whom thy soul desireth. When they see thee, they
+will come a bank and she, whose coat thou hast taken, will accost thee
+and say to thee with the sweetest of speech and the most witching of
+smiles, 'Give me my dress, O my brother, that I may don it and veil my
+nakedness withal.' But if thou yield to her prayer and give her back
+the vest thou wilt never win thy wish: nay, she will don it and fly
+away to her folk and thou wilt nevermore see her again Now when thou
+hast gained the vest, clap it under thine armpit and hold it fast, till
+I return from the Parliament of the Fowls, when I will make accord
+between thee and her and send thee back to thy native land, and the
+maiden with thee. And this, O my son, is all I can do for thee, nothing
+more.' "—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eleventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "quoth Shaykh
+Nasr to Janshah, 'Hold fast the feather-robe of her thy soul desireth
+and give it not back to her till I return from the Parliament of the
+Fowls. And this, O my son, is all I can do for thee, nothing more.'
+When Janshah heard this, his heart was solaced and he abode with Shaykh
+Nasr yet another year, counting the days as they passed until the day
+of the coming of the birds. And when at last the appointed time arrived
+the old man said to him, 'Do as I enjoined thee and charged thee with
+the maidens in the matter of the feather-dress, for I go to meet the
+birds;' and Janshah replied, 'I hear and I obey, O my father.' Then the
+Shaykh departed whilst the Prince walked into the garden and hid
+himself under a tree, where none could see him. Here he abode a first
+day and a second and a third, but the maidens came not; whereat he was
+sore troubled and wept and sighed from a heart hard tried; and he
+ceased not weeping and wailing till he fainted away. When he came to
+himself, he fell to looking now at the basin and now at the welkin, and
+anon at the earth and anon at the open country, whilst his heart
+grieved for stress of love-longing. As he was in this case, behold, the
+three doves appeared in the firmament, eagle-sized as before, and flew
+till they reached the garden and lighted down beside the basin. They
+turned right and left; but saw no one, man or Jann; so they doffed
+their feather-suits and became three maidens. Then they plunged into
+the basin and swam about, laughing and frolicking; and all were
+mother-naked and fair as bars of virgin silver. Quoth the eldest, 'O my
+sister, I fear lest there be some one lying ambushed for us in the
+pavilion. Answered the second, 'O sister, since the days of King
+Solomon none hath entered the pavilion, be he man or Jann;' and the
+youngest added, laughing, 'By Allah, O my sisters, if there be any
+hidden there, he will assuredly take none but me.' Then they continued
+sporting and laughing and Janshah's heart kept fluttering for stress of
+passion: but he hid behind the tree so that he saw without being seen.
+Presently they swam out to the middle of the basin leaving their
+clothes on the bank. Hereupon he sprang to his feet, and running like
+the darting levee to the basin's brink, snatched up the feather-vest of
+the youngest damsel, her on whom his heart was set and whose name was
+Shamsah the Sun-maiden. At this the girls turned and seeing him, were
+affrighted and veiled their shame from him in the water. Then they swam
+near the shore and looking on his favour saw that he was bright faced
+as the moon on the night of fullness and asked him, 'Who art thou and
+how camest thou hither and why hast thou taken the clothes of the lady
+Shamsah?'; and he answered, 'Come hither to me and I will tell you my
+tale.' Quoth Shamsah, 'What deed is this, and why hast thou taken my
+clothes, rather than those of my sisters?' Quoth he, 'O light of mine
+eyes, come forth of the water, and I will recount thee my case and
+acquaint thee why I chose thee out.' Quoth she, 'O my lord and coolth
+of my eyes and fruit of my heart, give me my clothes, that I may put
+them on and cover my nakedness withal; then will I come forth to thee.'
+But he replied, 'O Princess of beautiful ones, how can I give thee back
+thy clothes and slay myself for love longing? Verily, I will not give
+them to thee, till Shaykh Nasr, the king of the birds, shall return.'
+Quoth she, 'If thou wilt not give me my clothes withdraw a little apart
+from us, that my sisters may land and dress themselves and lend me
+somewhat wherewithal to cover my shame.' 'I hear and obey,' answered
+he, and walked away from them into the pavilion, whereupon the three
+Princesses came out and the two elder, donning their dress, gave
+Shamsah somewhat thereof, not enough to fly withal, and she put it on
+and came forth of the water, and stood before him, as she were the
+rising full moon or a browsing gazelle. Then Shamsah entered the
+pavilion, where Janshah was still sitting on the throne; so she saluted
+him and taking seat near him, said, 'O fair of face, thou hast undone
+thyself and me; but tell us thy adventures that we may ken how it is
+with thee.' At these words he wept till he drenched his dress with his
+tears; and when she saw that he was distracted for love of her, she
+rose and taking him by the hand, made him sit by her side and wiped
+away the drops with her sleeve; and said she, 'O fair of face, leave
+this weeping and tell us thy tale.' So he related to her all that had
+befallen him and described to her all he had seen,"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the lady
+Shamsah said to Janshah, 'Tell us thy tale;' so he related to her all
+that had befallen him; and, after she had lent attentive ear she sighed
+and said, 'O my lord, since thou art so fondly in love with me, give me
+my dress, that I may fly to my folk, I and my sisters, and tell them
+what affection thou hast conceived for me, and after I will come back
+to thee and carry thee to thine own country.' When he heard this, he
+wept sore and replied, 'Is it lawful to thee before Allah to slay me
+wrongfully?' She asked, 'O my lord, why should I do such wrongous
+deed?'; and he answered, 'If I give thee thy gear thou wilt fly away
+from me, and I shall die forthright.' Princess Shamsah laughed at this
+and so did her sisters; then said she to him, 'Be of good cheer and
+keep thine eyes cool and clear, for I must needs marry thee.' So
+saying, she bent down to him and embraced him and pressing him to her
+breast kissed him between the eyes and on his cheeks. They clipped and
+clasped each other awhile, after which they drew apart and sat down on
+the throne. Then the eldest Princess went out into the garden and,
+plucking somewhat of fruits and flowers, brought them into the
+pavilion; and they ate and drank and laughed and sported and made
+merry. Now Janshah was singular in beauty and loveliness and slender
+shape and symmetry and grace, and the Princess Shamsah said to him, 'O
+my beloved, by Allah, I love thee with exceeding love and will never
+leave thee!' When he heard her words, his breast broadened and he
+laughed for joy till he showed his teeth; and they abode thus awhile in
+mirth and gladness and frolic. And when they were at the height of
+their pleasure and joyance, behold, Shaykh Nasr returned from the
+Parliament of the Fowls and came in to them; whereupon they all rose to
+him and saluted him and kissed his hands. He gave them welcome and bade
+them be seated. So they sat down and he said to Princess Shamsah,
+'Verily this youth loveth thee with exceeding love; Allah upon thee,
+deal kindly with him, for he is of the great ones of mankind and of the
+sons of the kings, and his father ruleth over the land of Kabul and his
+reign compasseth a mighty empire.' Quoth she, 'I hear and I obey thy
+behest'; and, kissing the Shaykh's hands stood before him in respect.
+Quoth he, 'If thou say sooth, swear to me by Allah that thou wilt never
+betray him, what while thou abidest in the bonds of life.' So she swore
+a great oath that she would never betray Janshah, but would assuredly
+marry him, and added, 'Know, O Shaykh Nasr, that I never will forsake
+him.' The Shaykh believed in her oath and said to Janshah, 'Thanks be
+to Allah, who hath made you arrive at this understanding!' Hereupon the
+Prince rejoiced with exceeding joy, and he and Shamsah abode three
+months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying and making merry."— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, "Janshah and the
+lady Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying
+and making merry. And at the end of that time she said to Janshah, 'I
+wish to go with thee to thy mother land, where thou shalt marry me and
+we will abide there.' 'To hear is to obey,' answered he and took
+counsel with Shaykh Nasr who said to him, 'Go thou home, I commend her
+to thy care.' Then said she, 'O Shaykh Nasr, bid him render me my
+feather-suit.' So the Shaykh bade Janshah give it to her, and he went
+straightways into the pavilion and brought it out for her. There upon
+she donned it and said to him, 'Mount my back and shut thine eyes and
+stop thine ears, so thou mayst not hear the roar of the revolving
+sphere; and keep fast hold of my feathers, lest thou fall off.' He did
+as she bade him and, as she stretched her wings to fly, Shaykh Nasr
+said, 'Wait a while till I describe to thee the land Kabul, lest you
+twain miss your way.' So she delayed till he had said his say and had
+bidden them farewell, commending the Prince to her care. She took leave
+of her sisters and bade them return to her folk and tell them what had
+befallen her with Janshah; then, rising into the air without stay or
+delay she flew off, like the wafts of the wind or the ramping leven.
+Her sisters also took flight and returning home delivered her message
+to their people. And she stayed not her course from the forenoon till
+the hour of mid- afternoon prayer (Janshah being still on her back),
+when she espied afar off a Wady abounding in trees and streams and she
+said to Janshah, 'I am thinking to alight in this valley, that we may
+solace ourselves amongst its trees and herbage and here rest for the
+night.' Quoth he, "Do what seemeth meet to thee!' So she swooped down
+from the lift and alighted in the Wady, when Janshah dismounted and
+kissing her between the eyes,[FN#549] sat with her awhile on the bank
+of a river there; then they rose and wandered about the valley, taking
+their pleasure therein and eating of the fruits of the trees, until
+nightfall, when they lay down under a tree and slept till the morning
+dawned. As soon as it was day, the Princess arose and, bidding Janshah
+mount, flew on with him till noon, when she perceived by the appearance
+of the buildings which Shaykh Nasr had described to her, that they were
+nearing the city Kabul. So she swooped down from the welkin and
+alighted in a wide plain, a blooming champaign, wherein were gazelles
+straying and springs playing and rivers flowing and ripe fruits
+growing. So Janshah dismounted and kissed her between the eyes; and she
+asked him, 'O my beloved and coolth of mine eyes, knowest thou how many
+days' journey we have come since yesterday?'; and he answered, 'No,'
+when she said, 'We have come thirty months' journey.' Quoth he,
+'Praised be Allah for safety!' Then they sat down side by side and ate
+and drank and toyed and laughed. And whilst they were thus pleasantly
+engaged, behold, there came up to them two of the King's Mamelukes of
+those who had been of the Prince's company, one of them was he whom he
+had left with the horses, when he embarked in the fishing-boat and the
+other had been of his escort in the chase. As soon as they saw Janshah,
+both knew him and saluted him; then said they, 'With thy leave, we will
+go to thy sire and bear him the glad tidings of thy coming.' Replied
+the Prince, 'Go ye to my father and acquaint him with my case, and
+fetch us tents, for we will tarry here seven days to rest ourselves
+till he make ready his retinue to meet us, that we may enter in
+stateliest state.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah
+said to the two Mamelukes, 'Go ye to my sire and acquaint him with my
+case and fetch us tents, for we will abide here seven days to rest
+ourselves, till he make ready his retinue to meet us that we may enter
+in the stateliest state.' So the officers hastened back to King Teghmus
+and said to him, 'Good news, O King of the age!' Asked he, 'What good
+tidings bring ye: is my son Janshah come back?'; and they answered,
+'Yes, thy son Janshah hath returned from his strangerhood and is now
+near at hand in the Kirαnν mead.' Now when the King heard this, he
+joyed with great joy and fell down in a swoon for excess of gladness;
+then, coming to himself, he bade his Wazir give each of the Mamelukes a
+splendid suit of honour and a sum of money. The minister replied, 'I
+hear and obey,' and forthright did his bidding and said to them, 'Take
+this in turn for the good tidings ye bring, whether ye lie or say
+sooth.' They replied, 'Indeed we lie not, for but now we sat with him
+and saluted him and kissed his hands and he bade us fetch him tents,
+for that he would sojourn in the meadow seven days, till such time as
+the Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees should come out to meet him.' Quoth
+the King, 'How is it with my son?' and quoth they, 'He hath with him a
+Houri, as he had brought her out of Paradise.' At this, King Teghmus
+bade beat the kettledrums and sound the trumpets for gladness, and
+despatched messengers to announce the good news to Janshah's mother and
+to the wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and Lords of the realm: so the
+criers spread themselves about the city and acquainted the people with
+the coming of Prince Janshah. Then the King made ready, and, setting
+out for the Kirani meadow with his horsemen and footmen, came upon
+Janshah who was sitting at rest with the lady Shamsah beside him and,
+behold, all suddenly drew in sight. The Prince rose to his feet and
+walked forward to meet them; and the troops knew him and dismounted, to
+salute him and kiss his hands: after which he set out preceded by the
+men in single file till he came to his sire, who, at sight of his son
+threw himself from his horse's back and clasped him to his bosom and
+wept flooding tears of joy. Then they took horse again with the retinue
+riding to the right and left and fared forward till they came to the
+river banks; when the troops alighted and pitched their tents and
+pavilions and standards to the blare of trump and the piping of fife
+and the dub-a-dub of drum and tom-tom. Moreover the King bade the tent
+pitchers set up a pavilion of red silk for the Princess Shamsah, who
+put off her scanty raiment of feathers for fine robes and, entering the
+pavilion, there took seat. And as she sat in her beauty, behold, the
+King and his son Janshah came in to her, and when she saw Teghmus, she
+rose and kissed the ground before him. The King sat down and seating
+Janshah on his right hand and Princess Shamsah on his left, bade her
+welcome and said to his son, 'Tell me all that hath befallen thee in
+this thy long strangerhood.' So Janshah related to him the whole of his
+adventures from first to last, whereat he marvelled with exceeding
+marvel and turning to the Princess, said, 'Laud to Allah for that He
+hath caused thee to reunite me with my son! Verily this is of His
+exceeding bounty!'"[FN#550]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Teghmus
+said to the lady Shamsah, 'Laud to Allah for that He hath caused thee
+to reunite me with my son! Verily this is of His exceeding bounty.' And
+now I would have thee ask of me what thou wilt, that I may do it in
+thine honour.' Quoth she, 'I ask of thee that thou build me a palace in
+the midst of a flower garden, with water running under it.' And the
+King answered, 'I hear and obey.' And behold, up came Janshah's mother,
+attended by all the wives of the Wazirs and Emirs and nobles and city
+notables. When her son had sight of her, he rose and leaving the tent,
+went forth to meet her and they embraced a long while, whilst the Queen
+wept for excess of joy and with tears trickling from her eyes repeated
+the following verses,
+
+'Joy so o'ercometh me, for stress of joy * In that which
+
+
+     gladdeneth me I fain shed tears:
+
+
+Tears are become your nature, O my eyes, * Who weep for joyance
+
+
+     as for griefs and fears.'
+
+
+
+And they complained to each other of all their hearts had suffered from
+the long separation. Then the King departed to his pavilion and Janshah
+carried his mother to his own tent, where they sat talking till there
+came up some of the lady Shamsah's attendants who said, The Princess is
+now walking hither in order to salute thee. When the Queen heard this,
+she rose and going to meet Shamsah, saluted her and seated her awhile
+by her side. Presently the Queen and her retinue of noble women, the
+spouses of the Emirs and Grandees, returned with Princess Shamsah to
+the tent occupied by her daughter-in-law and sat there. Meanwhile, King
+Teghmus gave great largesse to his levies and liege and rejoiced in his
+son with exceeding joy, and they tarried there ten days, feasting and
+merry making and living a most joyous life. At the end of this time,
+the King commanded a march and they all returned to the capital, so he
+took horse surrounded by all the troops with the Wazirs and
+Chamberlains to his right and left nor ceased they faring till they
+entered the city, which was decorated after the goodliest fashion; for
+the folk had adorned the houses with precious stuffs and jewellery and
+spread costly bro cedes under the hoofs of the horses. The drums beat
+for glad tidings and the Grandees of the kingdom rejoiced and brought
+rich gifts and the lookers-on were filled with amazement. Furthermore,
+they fed the mendicants and Fakirs and held high festival for the space
+of ten days, and the lady Shamsah joyed with exceeding joy whenas she
+saw this. Then King Teghmus summoned architects and builders and men of
+art and bade them build a palace in that garden. So they straightway
+proceeded to do his bidding; and, when Janshah knew of his sire's
+command he caused the artificers to fetch a block of white marble and
+carve it and hollow it in the semblance of a chest; which being done he
+took the feather- vest of Princess Shamsah wherewith she had flown with
+him through the air: then, sealing the cover with melted lead, he
+ordered them to bury the box in the foundations and build over it the
+arches whereon the palace was to rest. They did as he bade them, nor
+was it long before the palace was finished: then they furnished it and
+it was a magnificent edifice, standing in the midst of the garden, with
+streams flowing under its walls.[FN#551] Upon this the King caused
+Janshah's wedding to be celebrated with the greatest splendour and they
+brought the bride to the castle in state procession and went their
+ways. When the lady Shamsah entered, she smelt the scent of her
+feather-gear."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the lady
+Shamsah entered the new palace, she smelt the scent of her flying
+feather-gear and knew where it was and determined to take it. So she
+waited till midnight, when Janshah was drowned in sleep; then she rose
+and going straight to the place where the marble coffer was buried
+under the arches she hollowed the ground alongside till she came upon
+it; when she removed the lead where with it was soldered and, taking
+out the feather-suit, put it on. Then she flew high in air and perching
+on the pinnacle of the palace, cried out to those who were therein,
+saying, 'I pray you fetch me Janshah, that I may bid him farewell.' So
+they told him and he came out and, seeing her on the terrace roof of
+the palace, clad in her feather-raiment, asked her, 'Why hast thou done
+this deed?'; and she answered 'O my beloved and coolth of mine eyes and
+fruit of my heart, by Allah, I love thee passing dear and I rejoice
+with exceeding joy in that I have restored thee to thy friends and
+country and thou hast seen thy mother and father. And now, if thou love
+me as I love thee, come to me at Takni, the Castle of Jewels.' So
+saying, she flew away forthright to find her family and friends, and
+Janshah fell down fainting, being well-nigh dead for despair. They
+carried the news to King Teghmus, who mounted at once and riding to the
+palace, found his son lying senseless on the ground; whereat he wept
+knowing that the swoon was caused by the loss of his love, and
+sprinkled rose- water on his face.[FN#552] When the Prince came to
+himself and saw his sire sitting at his head, he wept at the thought of
+losing his wife and the King asked what had befallen him. So he
+replied, 'Know, O my father, that the lady Shamsah is of the daughters
+of the Jann and she hath done such and such' (telling him all that had
+happened); and the King said, 'O my son, be not troubled and thus
+concerned, for I will assemble all the merchants and wayfarers in the
+land and enquire of them anent that castle. If we can find out where it
+is, we will journey thither and demand the Princess Shamsah of her
+people, and we hope in Allah the Almighty that He will give her back to
+thee and thou shalt consummate thy marriage.' Then he went out and,
+calling his four Wazirs without stay or delay, bade them assemble all
+the merchants and voyagers in the city and question them of Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, adding, 'Whoso knoweth it and can guide us thither, I
+will surely give him fifty thousand gold pieces.' The Wazirs
+accordingly went forth at once and did as the King bade them, but
+neither trader nor traveller could give them news of Takni, the Castle
+of Jewels; so they returned and told the King. Thereupon he bade bring
+beautiful slave-girls and concubines and singers and players upon
+instruments of music, whose like are not found but with the Kings: and
+sent them to Janshah, so haply they might divert him from the love of
+the lady Shamsah. Moreover, he despatched couriers and spies to all the
+lands and islands and climes, to enquire for Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels, and they made quest for it two months long, but none could give
+them news thereof. So they returned and told the King, whereupon he
+wept bitter tears and going in to his son found Janshah sitting amidst
+the concubines and singers and players on harp and zither and so forth,
+not one of whom could console him for the lady Shamsah. Quoth Teghmus,
+O my son, I can find none who knoweth this Castle of Jewels; but I will
+bring thee a fairer one than she.' When Janshah heard this his eyes ran
+over with tears and he recited these two couplets,
+
+'Patience hath fled, but passion fareth not; * And all my frame
+
+
+     with pine is fever-hot:
+
+
+When will the days my lot with Shamsah join? * Lo, all my bones
+
+
+     with passion-lowe go rot!'
+
+
+
+Now there was a deadly feud between King Teghmus and a certain King of
+Hind, by name Kafνd, who had great plenty of troops and warriors and
+champions; and under his hand were a thousand puissant chieftains, each
+ruling over a thousand tribes whereof every one could muster four
+thousand cavaliers. He reigned over a thousand cities each guarded by a
+thousand forts and he had four Wazirs and under him ruled Emirs,
+Princes and Sovereigns; and indeed he was a King of great might and
+prowess whose armies filled the whole earth. Now King Teghmus had made
+war upon him and ravaged his reign and slain his men and of his
+treasures had made gain. But when it came to King Kafid's knowledge
+that King Teghmus was occupied with the love of his son, so that he
+neglected the affairs of the state and his troops were grown few and
+weak by reason of his care and concern for his son's state, he summoned
+his Wazirs and Emirs and said to them, 'Ye all know that whilom King
+Teghmus invaded our dominions and plundered our possessions and slew my
+father and brethren, nor indeed is there one of you, but he hath
+harried his lands and carried off his goods and made prize of his wives
+and slain some kinsmen of his. Now I have heard this day that he is
+absorbed in the love of his son Janshah, and that his troops are grown
+few and weak; and this is the time to take our blood revenge on him. So
+make ready for the march and don ye your harness of battle; and let
+nothing stay or delay you, and we will go to him and fall upon him and
+slay him and his son, and possess ourselves of his reign.'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Kafid, King
+of Hind, commanded his troops and armies to mount and make for the
+dominions of King Teghmus, saying, 'Get ye ready for the march and don
+ye your harness of war; and let nothing stay or delay you; so we will
+go to him and fall upon him and slay him and his son and possess
+ourselves of his reign.' They all answered with one voice, saying, 'We
+hear and obey,' and fell at once to equipping themselves and levying
+troops; and they ceased not their preparations for three months and,
+when all was in readiness, they beat the drums and sounded the trumps
+and flew the flags and banners: then King Kafid set out at the head of
+his host and they fared on till they reached the frontiers of the land
+of Kabul, the dominions of King Teghmus, where they began to harry the
+land and do havoc among the folk, slaughtering the old and taking the
+young prisoners. When the news reached King Teghmus, he was wroth with
+exceeding wrath and assembling his Grandees and officers of state, said
+to them 'Know that Kafid hath come to our land and hath entered the
+realm we command and is resolved to fight us hand to hand, and he
+leadeth troops and champions and warriors, whose number none knoweth
+save Allah Almighty; what deme deem ye?' Replied they, 'O King of the
+age, let us go out to him and give him battle and drive him forth of
+our country; and thus deem we.' So he bade them prepare for battle and
+brought forth to them hauberks and cuirasses and helmets and swords and
+all manner of warlike gear, such as lay low warriors and do to death
+the champions of mankind. So the troops and braves and champions
+flocked together and they set up the standards and beat the drums and
+sounded the trumpets and clashed the cymbals and piped on the pipes;
+and King Teghmus marched out at the head of his army, to meet the hosts
+of Hind. And when he drew near the foe, he called a halt, and encamping
+with his host in the Zahrαn Valley,[FN#553] hard by the frontier of
+Kabul despatched to King Kafid by messenger the following letter: 'Know
+that what thou hast done is of the doings of the villain rabble and
+wert thou indeed a King, the son of a King, thou hadst not done thus,
+nor hadst thou invaded my kingdom and slain my subjects and plundered
+their property and wrought upright upon them. Knowest thou not that all
+this is the fashion of a tyrant! Verily, had I known that thou durst
+harry my dominions, I had come to thee before thy coming and had
+prevented thee this long while since. Yet, even now, if thou wilt
+retire and leave mischief between us and thee, well and good; but if
+thou return not, meet me in the listed field and measure thyself with
+me in cut and thrust.' Lastly he sealed his letter and committed to an
+officer of his army and sent with him spies to spy him out news. The
+messenger fared forth with the missive and, drawing near the enemy's
+camp, he descried a multitude of tents of silk and satin, with pennons
+of blue sendal, and amongst them a great pavilion of red satin,
+surrounded by a host of guards. He ceased not to advance till he made
+this tent and found on asking that it was that of King Kafid, whom he
+saw seated on a chair set with jewels, in the midst of his Wazirs and
+Emirs and Grandees. So he brought out the letter and straightway there
+came up to him a company of guards, who took it from him and carried it
+to the King; and Kafid read it and wrote a reply to this purport:
+'After the usual invocations, We let King Teghmus know that we mean to
+take our blood-revenge on thee and wash out our stain and waste thy
+reign and rend the curtain in twain and slay the old men and enslave
+the young men. But to-morrow, come thou forth to combat in the open
+plain, and to show thee thrust and fight will I deign.' Then he sealed
+the letter and delivered it to the messenger, who carried it to King
+Teghmus."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid
+delivered the answering letter to the messenger who carried it to King
+Teghmus and delivered it, after kissing the ground between his hands.
+Then he reported all that he had seen, saying, 'O King of the age, I
+espied warriors and horsemen and footmen beyond count nor can I assist
+thee to the amount.' When Teghmus read the reply and comprehended its
+contents, he was with furious rage enraged and bade his Wazir Ayn Zar
+take horse and fall upon the army of Kafid with a thousand cavaliers,
+in the middle watch of the night when they would easily ride home and
+slay all before them. Ayn Zar replied, 'I hear and I obey,' and at once
+went forth to do his bidding. Now King Kafid had a Wazir,
+Ghatrafαn[FN#554] by name, whom he bade take five thousand horse and
+attack the host of King Teghmus in like manner. So Ghatrafan did his
+bidding and set out on his enterprise marching till midnight. Thus the
+two parties met halfway and the Wazir Ghatrafan fell upon the Wazir,
+Ayn Zar. Then man cried out against man and there befell sore battle
+between them till break of day, when Kafid's men were routed and fled
+back to their King in confusion. As Kafid saw this, he was wroth beyond
+measure and said to the fugitives, 'Woe to you! What hath befallen you,
+that ye have lost your captains?' and they replied, 'O King of the age,
+as the Wazir Ghatrafan rode forth to fall upon King Teghmus, there
+appeared to us halfway and when night was half over, the Wazir, Ayn
+Zar, with cavaliers and champions, and we met on the slopes of Wady
+Zahran; but ere we were where we found ourselves in the enemy's midst,
+eye meeting eye; and we fought a fierce fight with them from midnight
+till morning, many on either side being slain. Then the Wazir and his
+men fell to shouting and smiting the elephants on the face till they
+took fright at their furious blows, and turning tail to flee, trampled
+down the horsemen, whilst none could see other for the clouds of dust.
+The blood ran like a rain torrent and had we not fled, we had all been
+cut off to the last man.' When King Kafid heard this, he exclaimed,
+'May the sun not bless you and may he be wroth with you and sore be his
+wrath!' Meanwhile Ayn Zar, the Wazir, returned to King Teghmus and told
+him what had happened. The King gave him joy of his safety and rejoiced
+greatly and bade beat the drums and sound the trumpets, in honour of
+the victory; after which he called the roll of his troops and behold,
+two hundred of his stoutest champions had fallen. Then King Kafid
+marched his army into the field and drew them out ordered for battle in
+fifteen lines of ten thousand horses each, under the command of three
+hundred captains, mounted on elephants and chosen from amongst the
+doughtiest of his warriors and his champions. So he set up his
+standards and banners and beat the drums and blew the trumpets whilst
+the braves sallied forth, offering battle. As for King Teghmus, he drew
+out his troops line after line and lo! there were ten of ten thousand
+horses each, and with him were an hundred champions, riding on his
+right hand and on his left. Then fared forward to the fight each
+renowned knight, and the hosts clashed together in their might, whilst
+the earth for all its wideness was straitened because of the multitude
+of the cavaliers and ears were deafened by drums and cymbals beating
+and pipes and hautboys sounding and trumpets blaring and by the thunder
+of horse-tramp and the shouting of men. The dust arched in canopy over
+their heads and they fought a sore fight from the first of the day till
+the fall of darkness, when they separated and each army drew off to its
+own camp."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "each army drew
+off to its own camp. Then King Kafid called the roll of his troops and,
+finding that he had lost five thousand men, raged with great rage; and
+King Teghmus mustered his men and seeing that of them were slain three
+thousand riders, the bravest of his braves, was wroth with exceeding
+wrath. On the morrow King Kafid again pushed into the plain and did
+duty as before, while each man strove his best to snatch victory for
+himself; and Kafid cried out to his men, saying, 'Is there any of you
+will sally forth into the field and open us the chapter of fray and
+fight?' And behold came out from the ranks a warrior named Barkayk, a
+mighty man of war who, when he reached the King, alighted from his
+elephant and kissing the earth before him, sought of him leave to
+challenge the foe to combat singular. Then he mounted his elephant and
+driving into mid-field, cried out, 'Who is for duello, who is for
+derring do, who is for knightly devoir?' When King Teghmus heard this,
+he said to his troops, 'Which of you will do single battle with this
+sworder?' And behold, a cavalier came out from the ranks, mounted on a
+charger, mighty of make, and driving up to the King kissed the earth
+before him and craved his permission to engage Barkayk. Then he mounted
+again and charged at Barkayk, who said to him, 'Who art thou and what
+art thou called, that thou makest mock of me by coming out against me
+and challenging me, alone?' 'My name is Ghazanfar[FN#555] son of
+Kamkhνl,' replied the Kabul champion; and the other, 'I have heard tell
+of thee in my own country; so up and do battle between the ranks of the
+braves!' Hearing these words Ghazanfar drew a mace of iron from under
+his thigh and Barkayk took his good sword in hand, and they laid on
+load till Barkayk smote Ghazanfar on the head with his blade, but the
+morion turned the blow and no hurt befell him therefrom; whereupon
+Ghazanfar, in his turn, dealt Barkayk so terrible a stroke on the head
+with his mace, that he levelled him down to his elephant's back and
+slew him. With this out sallied another and crying to Ghazanfar, 'Who
+be thou that thou shouldst slay my brother?'; hurled a javelin at him
+with such force that it pierced his thigh and nailed his coat of mail
+to his flesh. Then Ghazanfar, feeling his hurt, hent his sword in hand
+and smote at Barkayk's brother and cut him in sunder, and he fell to
+the earth, wallowing in his life blood, whilst the challenger of Kabul
+galloped back to King Teghmus. Now when Kafid saw the death of his
+champions, he cried out to his troops, saying, 'Down with you to the
+plain and strike with might and main!' as also did King Teghmus, and
+the two armies fought the fiercest of fights. Horse neighed against
+horse and man cried out upon man and brands were bared, whilst the
+drums beat and the trumpets blared; and horseman charged upon horseman
+and every brave of renown pushed forward, whilst the faint of heart
+fled from the lunge of lance and men heard nought but slogan-cry and
+the clash and clang of armoury. Slain were the warriors that were
+slain[FN#556] and they stayed not from the mellay till the decline of
+the sun in the heavenly dome, when the Kings drew off their armies and
+returned each to its own camp.[FN#557] Then King Teghmus took tally of
+his men and found that he had lost five thousand, and four standards
+had been broken to bits, whereat he was sore an-angered; whilst King
+Kafid in like manner counted his troops and found that he had lost six
+hundred, the bravest of his braves, and nine standards were wanting to
+the full tale. The two armies ceased joining battle and rested on their
+arms three days' space, after which Kafid wrote a letter and sent it by
+messenger to a King called Fakun al-Kalb (with whom he claimed kinship
+by the spindle side): and this kinsman forthwith mustered his men and
+marched to meet the King of Hind."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Fakun
+mustered his men and marched to meet the King of Hind: and whileas King
+Teghmus was sitting at his pleasance, there came one in to him and
+said, 'I see from afar a cloud of dust spireing high in air and
+overspreading the lift.' So he commanded a company to fare forth and
+learn the meaning of this; and, crying, 'To hear is to obey,' they
+sallied out and presently returned and said to him, 'O King, when we
+drew near the cloud of dust, the wind rent it and it lifted and showed
+seven standards and under each standard three thousand horse, making
+for King Kafid's camp.' Then King Fakun joined himself to the King of
+Hind and saluting him, asked, 'How is it with thee, and what be this
+war in which thou arrest?'; and Kafid answered, 'Knowest thou not that
+King Teghmus is my enemy and the murtherer of my father and brothers?
+Wherefore I am come forth to do battle with him and take my brood wreak
+on him.' Quoth Fakun, 'The blessing of the sun be upon thee!'; and the
+King of Hind carried King Fakun al-Kalb to his tent and rejoiced in him
+with exceeding joy. Such was the case of the two hostile Kings; but as
+regards King Janshah, he abode two months shut up in his palace,
+without seeing his father or allowing one of the damsels in his service
+to come in to him; at the end of which time he grew troubled and
+restless and said to his attendants, 'What aileth my father that he
+cometh not to visit me?' They told him that he had gone forth to do
+battle with King Kafid, whereupon quoth Janshah, 'Bring me my steed,
+that I may go to my sire.' They replied, 'We hear and obey,' and
+brought his horse; but he said in himself, 'I am taken up with the
+thought of myself and my love and I deem well to mount and ride for the
+city of the Jews, where haply Allah shall grant me the boon to meet the
+merchant who hired me for the ruby business and may be he will deal
+with me as he dealt before, for none knoweth whence good cometh.' So he
+took with him a thousand horse and set out, the folk saying, 'At last
+Janshah hath fared forth to join his father in the field, and to fight
+by his side;' and they stinted not pushing on till dusk, when they
+halted for the night in a vast meadow. As soon as he knew that all his
+men were asleep, the Prince rose privily and girding his waist, mounted
+his horse and rode away intending to make Baghdad, because he had heard
+from the Jews that a caravan came thence to their city once in every
+two years and he made up his mind to journey thither with the next
+cafilah. When his men awoke and missed the Prince and his horse, they
+mounted and sought him right and left but, finding no trace of him,
+rejoined his father and told him what his son had done; whereat he was
+wroth beyond measure and cast the crown from his head, whilst the
+sparks were like to fly from his mouth, and he said 'There is no
+Majesty and there is no Might but in Allah! Verily I have lost my son,
+and the enemy is still before me.' But his Wazirs and vassals said to
+him, 'Patience, O King of the age! Patience bringeth weal in wake.'
+Meanwhile Janshah, parted from his lover and pained for his father, was
+in sore sorrow and dismay, with heart seared and eyes tear-bleared and
+unable to sleep night or day. But when his father heard the loss his
+host had endured, he declined battle, and fled before King Kafid, and
+retiring to his city, closed the gates and strengthened the walls.
+Thereupon King Kafid followed him and sat down before the town;
+offering battle seven nights and eight days, after which he withdrew to
+his tents, to tend his wounded while the citizens defended themselves
+as they best could, fortifying the place and setting up mangonels and
+other engines on the walls. Such was the condition of the two Kings,
+and war raged between them for a space of seven years."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Kings Teghmus
+and Kafid continued in this condition for seven years; but, as regards
+Janshah, he rode through wild and wold and when ever he came to a town
+he asked anent Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but none knew of it and all
+answered, 'Of a truth we never heard of such place, not even by name.'
+At last he happened to enquire concerning the city of the Jews from a
+merchant who told him that it was situated in the extreme Orient,
+adding, 'A caravan will start this very month for the city of Mizrakαn
+in Hind; whither do thou accompany us and we will fare on to Khorasan
+and thence to the city of Shima'ϊn and Khwαrazm, from which latter
+place the City of the Jews is distant a year and three months'
+journey.' So Janshah waited till the departure of the caravan, when he
+joined himself thereto and journeyed, till he reached the city of
+Mizrakan whence, after vainly asking for Takni, the Castle of Jewels,
+he set out and enduring on the way great hardships and perils galore
+and the extreme of hunger and thirst, he arrived at the town of
+Shima'un. Here he made enquiry for the City of the Jews, and they
+directed him to the road thither. So he fared forth and journeyed days
+and nights till he came to the place where he had given the apes the
+slip, and continued his journey thence to the river, on the opposite
+bank of which stood the City of the Jews. He sat down on the shore and
+waited till the Sabbath came round and the river dried up by decree of
+Allah Almighty, when he crossed over to the opposite bank and, entering
+the city, betook himself to the house wherein he had lodged on his
+former journey. The Jew and his family saluted him and rejoiced in his
+return and, setting meat and drink before him, asked, 'Where hast thou
+been during thine absence?'; and he answered, 'In the kingdom of
+Almighty Allah!'[FN#558] He lay with them that night and on the morrow
+he went out to solace himself with a walk about the city and presently
+heard a crier crying aloud and saying, 'O folk, who will earn a
+thousand gold pieces and a fair slave-girl and do half a day's work for
+us?' So Janshah went up to him and said, 'I will do this work.'[FN#559]
+Quoth the crier, 'Follow me,' and carrying him to the house of the Jew
+merchant, where he had been afore time, said, 'This young man will do
+thy need.' The merchant not recognising him gave him welcome and
+carried him into the Harim, where he set meat and drink before him, and
+he ate and drank. Then he brought him the money and formally made over
+to him the handsome slave-girl with whom he lay that night. As soon as
+morning dawned, he took the diners and the damsel and, committing them
+to his Jew host with whom he had lodged afore time, returned to the
+merchant, who mounted and rode out with him, till they came to the foot
+of the tall and towering mountain, where the merchant, bringing out a
+knife and cords, said to Janshah, 'Throw the mare.' So he threw her and
+bound her four legs with the cords and slaughtered her and cut off her
+head and four limbs and slit her belly, as ordered by the Jew;
+whereupon quoth he, 'Enter her belly, till I sew it up on thee; and
+whatsoever thou seest therein, tell me of it, for this is the work
+whose wage thou hast taken.' So Janshah entered the mare's belly and
+the merchant sewed it up on him; then, withdrawing to a fair distance,
+hid himself. And after an hour a great bird swooped down from the lift
+and, snatching up the carcass in his pounces soared high toward the
+sky. Then he perched upon the mountain peak and would have eaten the
+prey, but Janshah sensing his intent took out his knife and slit the
+mare's belly and came forth. The bird was scared at his sight and flew
+away, and Janshah went up to a place whence he could see below, and
+looking down, espied the merchant standing at the foot of the mountain,
+as he were a sparrow. So he cried out to him, 'What is thy will, O
+merchant?' Replied the Jew, 'Throw me down of the stones that lie about
+thee, that I may direct thee in the way down.' Quoth Janshah, 'Thou art
+he who didst with me thus and thus five years ago, and through thee I
+suffered hunger and thirst and sore toil and much trouble; and now thou
+hast brought me hither once more and thinkest to destroy me. By Allah,
+I will not throw thee aught!' So saying, he turned from him and set out
+for where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah took the
+way for where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds. And he ceased
+not faring on many days and nights, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted;
+eating, when he was anhungered, of the growth of the ground and
+drinking, when he thirsted, of its streams, till he came in sight of
+the Castle of the lord Solomon and saw Shaykh Nasr sitting at the gate.
+So he hastened up to him and kissed his hands; and the Shaykh saluted
+him and bade him welcome and said to him, 'O my son, what aileth thee
+that thou returnest to this place, after I sent thee home with the
+Princess Shamsah, cool of eyes and broad of breast?' Janshah wept and
+told him all that had befallen him and how she had flown away from him,
+saying, 'An thou love me, come to me in Takni, the Castle of Jewels;'
+at which the old man marvelled and said, 'By Allah, O my son, I know it
+not, nor, by the virtue of our lord Solomon, have I ever in my life
+heard its name!' Quoth Janshah, 'What shall I do? I am dying of love
+and longing.' Quoth Shaykh Nasr, 'Take patience until the coming of the
+birds, when we will enquire at them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels;
+haply one of them shall wot thereof.' So Janshah's heart was comforted
+and, entering the Palace, he went straight to the chamber which gave
+upon the Lake in which he had seen the three maidens. After this he
+abode with Shaykh Nasr for a while and, one day as he was sitting with
+him, the Shaykh said, 'O my son, rejoice for the time of the birds'
+coming draweth nigh.' Janshah gladdened to hear the news; and after a
+few days the birds began to come and Shaykh Nasr said to him, 'O my
+son, learn these names[FN#560] and address thyself with me to meet the
+birds.' Presently, the fowls came flying up and saluted Shaykh Nasr,
+kind after kind, and he asked them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but
+they all made answer, 'Never heard we of such a place.' At these words
+Janshah wept and lamented till he swooned away; whereupon Shaykh Nasr
+called a huge volatile and said to him, 'Carry this youth to the land
+of Kabul,' and described to him the country and the way thither. Then
+he set Janshah on the bird's back, saying, 'Be careful to sit straight
+and beware of leaning to either side, else thou wilt be torn to pieces
+in the air; and stop thine ears from the wind, lest thou be dazed by
+the noise of the revolving sphere and the roaring of the seas.' Janshah
+resolved to do his bidding and the bird took flight high in sky and
+flew with him a day and a night, till he set him down by the King of
+the Beasts, whose name was Shαh Badrν, and said to his rider, 'We have
+gone astray from the way directed by Shaykh Nasr.' And he would have
+taken him up again and flown on with him; but Janshah said, 'Go thy
+ways and leave me here; till I die on this spot or I find Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, I will not return to my country.' So the fowl left
+him with Shah Badri, King of the Beasts and flew away. The King
+thereupon said to him, 'O my son, who art thou and whence comest thou
+with yonder great bird?' So Janshah told him his story from beginning
+to end, whereat Shah Badri marvelled and said, 'By the virtue of the
+lord Solomon, I know not of this castle; but if any one of the beasts
+my subjects know it, we will reward him bountifully and send thee by
+him thither.' Hereat Janshah wept bitterly but presently he took
+patience and abode with Shah Badri, and after a short time the King of
+the Beasts said to him, 'O my son, take these tablets and commit to
+memory that which is therein; and when the beasts come, we will
+question them of the Castle of Jewels.' "—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the King of
+the Beasts said to Janshah, 'Commit to memory what is in these tablets;
+and whenas the beasts come, we will ask them anent that castle.' He did
+as the King bade him, and before long, up came the beasts, kind after
+kind, and saluted Shah Badri who questioned them of Takni, the Castle
+of Jewels, but they all replied, 'We know not this castle, nor ever
+heard we of it.' At this Janshah wept and lamented for that he had not
+gone with the bird that brought him from Shaykh Nasr's castle; but Shah
+Badri said to him, 'Grieve not, O my son, for I have a brother, King
+Shimαkh highs, who is older than I; he was once a prisoner to King
+Solomon, for that he rebelled against him; nor is there among the Jinn
+one elder than he and Shaykh Nasr. Belike he knoweth of this castle; at
+any rate he ruleth over all the Jinn in this country side.' So saying
+he set Janshah on the back of a beast and gave him a letter to his
+brother, commending him to his care. The beast set off with the Prince
+forthwith and fared on days and nights, till it came to King Shimakh's
+abiding place. And when it caught sight of the King it stood still afar
+off, whereupon Janshah alighted and walked on, till he found himself in
+the presence. Then he kissed hands and presented his brother's letter.
+The King read the missive and, having mastered the meaning, welcomed
+the Prince, saying, 'By Allah, O my son, in all my born days I never
+saw nor heard of this castle!' adding (as Janshah burst into tears),
+'but tell me thy story and who and whence thou art and whither thou art
+bound.' So Janshah related to him his history from beginning to end, at
+which Shimakh marvelled and said, 'O my son, I do not believe that even
+the lord Solomon ever saw this castle or heard thereof; but O my
+son,[FN#561] I know a monk in the mountains, who is exceeding old and
+whom all birds and beasts and Jann obey; for he ceased not his
+conjurations against the Kings of the Jann, till they submitted
+themselves to him in their own despite, by reason of the might of his
+oaths and his magic; and now all the birds and the beasts are his
+servants. I myself once rebelled against King Solomon and he sent
+against me this monk, the only being who could overcome me with his
+craft and his conjurations and his gramarye; then he imprisoned me, and
+since that time I have been his vassal. He hath travelled in all
+countries and quarters and knoweth all ways and regions and places and
+castles and cities; nor do I think there is any place hidden from his
+ken. So needs must I send thee to him; haply he may direct thee to the
+Castle of Jewels; and, if he cannot do this, none can; for all things
+obey him, birds and beasts and the very mountains and come at his beck
+and call, by reason of his skill in magic. Moreover, by the might of
+his egromancy he hath made a staff, in three pieces, and this he
+planteth in the earth and conjureth over it; whereupon flesh and blood
+issue from the first piece, sweet milk from the second and wheat and
+barley from the third; then he withdraweth the staff and returneth to
+his place which is highs the Hermitage of Diamonds. And this magical
+monk is a cunning inventor and artificer of all manner strange works;
+and he is a crafty warlock full of guiles and wiles, an arch deceiver
+of wondrous wickedness, who hath mastered every kind of magic and
+witchcraft. His name is YaghmÏŠs and to him I must needs send thee on
+the back of a big bird with four wings,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shimakh said
+to Janshah, 'I must needs send thee to the monk Yaghmus on the back of
+a big bird with four wings, each measuring thirty Hαshimi[FN#562]
+cubits in length; and it hath feet like those of an elephant, but it
+flieth only twice a year.' And there was with King Shimakh an officer,
+by name Timshun, who used every day to carry off two Bactrian[FN#563]
+camels from the land of Irak and cut them up for the bird that it might
+eat them. So King Shimakh bade the fowl take up Janshah and bear him to
+the cell of the hermit Yaghmus; and it rose into the air and flew on
+days and nights, till it came to the Mountain of the Citadels and the
+Hermitage of Diamonds where Janshah alighted and going up to the
+hermitage, found Yaghmus the Monk at his devotions. So he entered the
+chapel and, kissing the ground stood respectfully before the hermit.
+When Yaghmus saw him, he said, 'Welcome, O my son, O parted from thy
+home and garred ferforth to roam! Tell me the cause of thy coming
+hither.' So Janshah wept and acquainted him with all that had befallen
+him from beginning to end and that he was in quest of the Castle of
+Jewels. The Monk marvelled greatly at his story and said, 'By Allah, O
+my son, never in my life heard I of this castle, nor ever saw I one who
+had heard of it or had seen it, for all I was alive in the days of
+Noah, Allah's Prophet (on whom be peace!),[FN#564] and I have ruled the
+birds and beasts and Jinn ever since his time; nor do I believe that
+Solomon David son himself knew of it. But wait till the birds and
+beasts and chiefs of the Jann come to do their homage to me and I will
+question them of it; peradventure, some one of them may be able to give
+us news of it and Allah Almighty shall make all things easy to thee.'
+So Janshah homed with the hermit, until the day of the assembly, when
+all the birds and beasts and Jann came to swear fealty; and Yaghmus and
+his guest questioned them anent Takni, the Castle of Jewels; but they
+all replied, 'We never saw or heard of such a place.' At this, Janshah
+fell a weeping and lamenting and humbled himself before the Most High;
+but, as he was thus engaged, behold, there flew down from the heights
+of air another bird, big of bulk and black of blee, which had tarried
+behind the rest, and kissed the hermit's hands. Yaghmus asked it of
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and it answered, saying 'O Monk, when I
+and my brothers were small chicks we abode behind the Mountain Kaf on a
+hill of crystal, in the midst of a great desert; and our father and
+mother used to set out for it every morning and in the evening come
+back with our food. They went out early one day, and were absent from
+us a sennight and hunger was sore upon us; but on the eighth day they
+returned, both weeping, and we asked them the reason of their absence.
+Quoth they: 'A Marid swooped down on us and carried us off in his claws
+to Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and brought us before King Shahlan, who
+would have slain us; but we told him that we had left behind us a brood
+of fledgelings; so he spared our lives and let us go. And were my
+parents yet in the bonds of life they would give thee news of the
+castle.' When Janshah heard this, he wept bitter tears and said to the
+hermit, 'Prithee bid the bird carry me to his father and mother's nest
+on the crystal hill, behind the Mountain Kaf.' So the hermit said, 'O
+bird, I desire thee to obey this youth in whatsoever he may command
+thee.' 'I hear and obey thy bidding,' replied the fowl; and, taking
+Janshah on its back, flew with him days and nights without ceasing till
+it set him down on the Hill of Crystal and there alighted. And having
+delayed there a resting while, it again set him on its back and flew
+off and ceased not flying for two whole days till it reached the spot
+where the nest was."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the fowl ceased
+not flying with Janshah two full days; till it reached the spot where
+the nest was, and set him down there and said, 'O Janshah, this is
+where our nest was.' He wept sore and replied, 'I pray thee bear me
+farther on to where thy parents used to forage for food.' The bird
+consented; so it took him up again and flew on with him seven nights
+and eight days, till it set him down on the top of a high hill Karmus
+highs and left him there saying, 'I know of no land behind this hill.'
+Then it flew away and Janshah sat down on the hill-top and fell asleep.
+When he awoke, he saw a something gleaming afar off as it were
+lightning and filling the firmament with its flashings; and he wondered
+what this sheen could be without wotting that it was the Castle he
+sought. So he descended the mountain and made towards the light, which
+came from Takni, the Castle of Jewels, distant two months' journey from
+KarmÏŠs, the hill whereon he had alit, and its foundations were
+fashioned of red rubies and its buildings of yellow gold. Moreover, it
+had a thousand turrets builded of precious metals, and stones of price
+studded and set in the minerals brought from the Main of Murks, and on
+this account it was named the Castle of Jewels, Takni. It was a vast
+great castle and the name of its king was King Shahlan, the father of
+the lady Shamsah and her sisters. Such was the case with Janshah; but
+as regards Princess Shamsah, when she fled from Janshah, she made
+straight for the Castle of Jewels and told her father and mother all
+that had passed between the Prince and herself; how he had wandered the
+world and seen its marvels and wonders and how fondly he loved her and
+how dearly she loved him. Quoth they, 'Thou hast not dealt righteously
+with him, as Allah would have thee deal.' Moreover King Shahlan
+repeated the story to his guards and officers of the Marids of the Jinn
+and bade them bring him every mortal they should see. For the lady
+Shamsah had said to her parents, 'Janshah loveth me with passionate
+love and forsure he will follow me; for when flying from his father's
+roof I cried to him, 'An thou love me, seek me at Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels!' Now when Janshah beheld that sheen and shine, he made straight
+for it wishing to find out what it might be. And as chance would have
+it, Shamsah had that very day despatched a Marid on an occasion in the
+direction of the hill Karmus, and on his way thither he caught sight of
+a man, a mortal; so he hastened up to him and saluted him. Janshah was
+terrified at his sight, but returned his salam, and the Marid asked,
+'What is thy name?' and he answered, 'My name is Janshah, and I have
+fallen madly in love with a Jinniyah known as Princess Shamsah, who
+captivated me by her beauty and loveliness; but despite my dear love
+she fled from the palace wherein I placed her and behold, I am here in
+quest of her.' Herewith he wept with bitter weeping. The Marid looked
+at him and his heart burned with pity on hearing the sad tale, and he
+said, 'Weep not, for surely thou art come to thy desire. Know that she
+loveth thee fondly and hath told her parents of thy love for her, and
+all in yonder castle love thee for her sake; so be of good cheer and
+keep thine eyes cool of tear.' Then he took him on his shoulders and
+made off with him to the Castle of Jewels, Takni. Thereupon the bearers
+of fair tidings hastened to report his coming and when the news reached
+Shamsah and her father and mother, they all rejoiced with exceeding
+joy, and King Shahlan took horse and rode out, commanding all his
+guards and Ifrits and Marids honourably to meet the Prince."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Shahlan
+commanded all his guards and Ifrits and Marids to meet the Prince; and,
+as soon as he came up with him, he dismounted and embraced him, and
+Janshah kissed his hand. Then Shahlan bade put on him a robe of honour
+of many coloured silk, laced with gold and set with jewels, and a
+coronet such as man never saw, and, mounting him on a splendid mare of
+the steeds of the Kings of the Jinn, took horse himself and, with an
+immense retinue riding on the right hand and the left, brought him in
+great state to the Castle. Janshah marvelled at the splendour of this
+edifice, with its walls builded of rubies and other jewels and its
+pavement of crystal and jasper and emerald, and fell a weeping at the
+memory of his past miseries; but the King and Queen, Shamsah's mother,
+wiped away his tears and said, 'Now no more weeping and be of good
+cheer, for thou hast won to thy will.' Then Shahlan carried him into
+the inner court of the Castle, where he was received by a multitude of
+beautiful damsels and pages and black Jinn-slaves, who seated him in
+the place of honour and stood to do him service, whilst he was lost in
+amazement at the goodliness of the place, and its walls all edified of
+precious metals and jewels of price. Presently King Shahlan repaired to
+his hall of audience, where he sat down on his throne and, bidding the
+slave-girls and the pages introduce the Prince, rose to receive him and
+seated him by his side on the throne. Then he ordered the tables to be
+spread and they ate and drank and washed their hands; after which in
+came the Queen Shamsah's mother, and saluting Janshah, bade him welcome
+in these words, 'Thou hast come to thy desire after weariness and thine
+eyes shall now sleep after watching; so praised be Allah for thy
+safety!' Thus saying, she went away and forthwith returned with the
+Princess Shamsah, who saluted Janshah and kissed his hands, hanging her
+head in shame and confusion before him and her parents, after which as
+many of her sisters as were in the palace came up to him and greeted
+him in like manner. Then quoth the Queen to him, 'Welcome, O my son,
+our daughter Shamsah hath indeed sinned against thee, but do thou
+pardon her misdeed for our sakes.' When Janshah heard this, he cried
+out and fell down fainting, whereat the King marvelled and they
+sprinkled on his face rose water mingled with musk and civet, till he
+came to himself and, looking at Princess Shamsah, said, 'Praised be
+Allah who hath brought me to my desire and hath quenched the fire of my
+heart!' Replied she, 'May He preserve thee from the Fire!, but now tell
+me, O Janshah, what hath befallen thee since our parting and how thou
+madest thy way to this place; seeing that few even of the Jann ever
+heard of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; and we are independent of all the
+Kings nor any wotteth the road hither.' Thereupon he related to her
+every adventure and peril and hardship he had suffered and how he had
+left his father at war with King Kafid, ending with these words, 'And
+all for thy sake, my lady Shamsah!' Quoth the Queen, 'Now hast thou thy
+heart's desire, for the Princess is thy handmaid, and we give her in
+free gift to thee.' Janshah joyed exceedingly at these words and the
+Queen added, 'Next month, if it be the will of Almighty Allah, we will
+have a brave wedding and celebrate the marriage festival and after the
+knot is tied we will send you both back to thy native land, with an
+escort of a thousand Marids of our body-guard, the least of whom, an
+thou bid him slay King Kafid and his folk, would surely destroy them to
+the last man in the twinkling of an eye. Furthermore if it please thee
+we will send thee, year after year, a company of which each and every
+can so do with all thy foes.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the lady
+Shamsah's mother ended with saying, 'And if it so please thee we will
+send thee, year after year, a company of which each and every can
+destroy thy foes to the last man.' Then King Shahlan sat down on his
+throne and, summoning his Grandees and Officers of state, bade them
+make ready for the marriage- festivities and decorate the city seven
+days and nights. 'We hear and we obey,' answered they and busied
+themselves two months in the preparations, after which they celebrated
+the marriage of the Prince and Princess and held a mighty festival,
+never was there its like. Then they brought Janshah in to his bride and
+he abode with her in all solace of life and delight for two years, at
+the end of which time he said to her, 'Thy father promised to send us
+to my native land, that we might pass one year there and the next
+here.' Answered she, I hear and obey,' and going in to King Shahlan at
+nightfall told him what the Prince had said. Quoth he, 'I consent; but
+have patience with me till the first of the month, that I may make
+ready for your departure.' She repeated these words to her husband and
+they waited till the appointed time, when the King bade his Marids
+bring out to them a great litter of red gold, set with pearls and
+jewels and covered with a canopy of green silk, purfled in a profusion
+of colours and embroidered with precious stones, dazzling with its
+goodliness the eyes of every beholder. He chose out four of his Marids
+to carry the litter in whichever of the four quarters the riders might
+choose. Moreover, he gave his daughter three hundred beautiful damsels
+to wait upon her and bestowed on Janshah the like number of white
+slaves of the sons of the Jinn. Then the lady Shamsah took formal leave
+of her mother and sisters and all her kith and kin; and her father
+fared forth with them. So the four Marids took up the litter, each by
+one corner, and rising under it like birds in air, flew onward with it
+between earth and heaven till mid-day, when the King bade them set it
+down and all alighted. Then they took leave of one another and King
+Shahlan commended Shamsah to the Prince's care, and giving them in
+charge to the Marids, returned to the Castle of Jewels, whilst the
+Prince and Princess remounted the litter, and the Marids taking it up,
+flew on for ten whole days, in each of which they accomplished thirty
+months' journey, till they sighted the capital of King Teghmus. Now one
+of them knew the land of Kabul; so when he saw the city, he bade the
+others let down the litter at that populous place which was the
+capital."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Marid guards
+let down the litter at the capital of King Teghmus who had been routed
+and had fled from his foes into the city, where he was in sore straits,
+King Kafid having laid close siege to him. He sought to save himself by
+making peace with the King of Hind, but his enemy would give him no
+quarter; so seeing himself without resource or means of relief, he
+determined to strangle himself and to die and be at rest from this
+trouble and misery. Accordingly he bade his Wazirs and Emirs farewell
+and entered his house to take leave of his Harim; and the whole realm
+was full of weeping and wailing and lamentation and woe. And whilst
+this rout and hurly-burly was enacting, behold, the Marids descended
+with the litter upon the palace that was in the citadel, and Janshah
+bade them set it down in the midst of the Divan. They did his bidding
+and he alighted with his company of handmaids and Mamelukes; and,
+seeing all the folk of the city in straits and desolation and sore
+distress, said to the Princess, 'O love of my heart and coolth of mine
+eyes, look in what a piteous plight is my sire!' There upon she bade
+the Marid guard fall upon the beleaguering host and slay them, saying,
+'Kill ye all, even to the last man;' and Janshah commanded one of them,
+by name Karαtash,[FN#565] who was exceeding strong and valiant, to
+bring King Kafid to him in chains. So they set down the litter and
+covered it with the canopy; then, having waited till midnight, they
+attacked the enemy's camp one of them being a match for ten; or at
+least for eight. And while these smote the foes with iron maces, those
+mounted their magical elephants and soared high in the lift, and then
+swooping down and snatching up their opponents, tare them to pieces in
+mid air. But Karatash made straight for Kafid's tent where he found him
+lying in a couch; so he took him up, shrieking for fear, and flew with
+him to Janshah, who bade the four Marids bind him on the litter and
+hang him high in the air over his camp, that he might witness the
+slaughter of his men. They did as the Prince commanded them and left
+Kafid, who had swooned for fear, hanging between earth and air and
+buffeting his face for grief. As for King Teghmus, when he saw his son,
+he well-nigh died for excess of joy and, crying with a loud cry, fell
+down in a swoon. They sprinkled rose-water on his face, till he came to
+himself, when he and his son embraced and wept with sore weeping; for
+he knew not that the Jinn guard were battling with King Kafid's men.
+Then Princess Shamsah accosted the King and kissing his hand, said to
+him, 'Sire, be pleased to go up with me to the palace-roof and witness
+the slaughter of thy foes by my father's Marids.' So he went up to the
+terrace-roof and sitting down there with his daughter-in-law, enjoyed
+watching the Marids do havoc among the besiegers and break a way
+through the length and breadth of them. For one of them smote with his
+iron mace upon the elephants and their riders and pounded them till man
+was not to be distinguished from beast; whilst another shouted in the
+faces of those who fled, so that they fell down dead; and the third
+caught up a score of horsemen, beasts and all; and, towering with them
+high in air, cast them down on earth, so that they were torn in pieces.
+And this was high enjoyment for Janshah and his father and the lady
+Shamsah."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Teghmus and
+his son and daughter-in-law went up to the terrace roof and enjoyed a
+prospect of the Jinn-guards battling with the beleaguering host. And
+King Kafid (still hanging between heaven and earth) also saw the
+slaughter of his troops and wept sore and buffeted his face; nor did
+the carnage cease among the army of Hind for two whole days, till they
+were cut off even to the last man. Then Janshah commanded a Marid, by
+name Shimwαl, chain up King Kafid with manacles and fetters, and
+imprison him in a tower called the Black Bulwark. And when his bidding
+was done, King Teghmus bade beat the drums and despatched messengers to
+announce the glad news to Janshah's mother, informing her of his
+approach; whereupon she mounted in great joy and she no sooner espied
+her son than she clasped him in her arms and swooned away for stress of
+gladness. They sprinkled rose-water on her face, till she came to
+herself, when she embraced him again and again wept for excess of joy.
+And when the lady Shamsah knew of her coming, she came to her and
+saluted her; and they embraced each other and after remaining embraced
+for an hour sat down to converse. Then King Teghmus threw open the city
+gates and despatched couriers to all parts of the kingdom, to spread
+the tidings of his happy deliverance; whereupon all his princely
+Vassals and Emirs and the Grandees of the realm flocked to salute him
+and give him joy of his victory and of the safe return of his son; and
+they brought him great store of rich offerings and curious presents.
+The visits and oblations continued for some time, after which the King
+made a second and a more splendid bride-feast for the Princess Shamsah
+and bade decorate the city and held high festival. Lastly they unveiled
+and paraded the bride before Janshah, with apparel and ornaments of the
+utmost magnificence, and when her bridegroom went in to her he
+presented her with an hundred beautiful slave-girls to wait upon her.
+Some days after this, the Princess repaired to the King and interceded
+with him for Kafid, saying, 'Suffer him return to his own land, and if
+henceforward he be minded to do thee a hurt, I will bid one of the
+Jinn-guard snatch him up and bring him to thee.' Replied Teghmus, 'I
+hear and I obey,' and bade Shimwal bring him the prisoner, who came
+manacled and fettered and kissed earth between his hands. Then he
+commanded to strike off his chains and, mounting him on a lame mare,
+said to him, 'Verily Princess Shamsah hath interceded for thee: so
+begone to thy kingdom, but if thou fall again to thine old tricks, she
+will send one of the Marids to seize thee and bring thee hither.'
+Thereupon King Kafid set off home wards, in the sorriest of
+plights,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid set
+off homewards in the sorriest of plights, whilst Janshah and his wife
+abode in all solace and delight of life, making the most of its joyance
+and happiness. All this recounted the youth sitting between the tombs
+unto Bulukiya, ending with, 'And behold, I am Janshah who witnessed all
+these things, O my brother, O Bulukiya!' Then Bulukiya who was
+wandering the world in his love for Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+keep!) asked Janshah, 'O my brother, what be these two sepulchres and
+why sittest thou between them and what causeth thy weeping?' He
+answered, 'Know, O Bulukiya, that we abode in all solace and delight of
+life, passing one year at home and the next at Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels, whither we betook not ourselves but in the litter borne by the
+Marids and flying between heaven and earth.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'O my
+brother, O Janshah, what was the distance between the Castle and thy
+home?' Quoth he, 'Every day we accomplished a journey of thirty months
+and the time we took was ten days. We abode on this wise a many of
+years till, one year we set out for the Castle of Jewels, as was our
+wont, and on the way thither alighted from the litter in this island to
+rest and take our pleasure therein. We sat down on the riverbank and
+ate and drank; after which the Lady Shamsah, having a mind to bathe,
+put off her clothes and plunged into the water. Her women did likewise
+and they swam about awhile, whilst I walked on along the bank of the
+stream leaving them to swim about and play with one another. And
+behold, a huge shark of the monsters of the deep seized the Princess by
+the leg, without touching any of the girls; and she cried out and died
+forthright, whilst the damsels fled out of the river to the pavilion,
+to escape from the shark. But after awhile they returned and taking up
+her corpse carried her to the litter. Now when I saw her dead, I fell
+down fainting and they sprinkled water on my face, till I recovered and
+wept over her. Then I despatched the Jinn-guards to her parents and
+family, announcing what had befallen her; and in the shortest time they
+came to the spot and washed her and shrouded her, after which they
+buried her by the river-side and made mourning for her. They would have
+carried me with them to their own country; but I said to King Shahlan,
+'I beseech thee to dig me a grave beside her tomb, that, when I die, I
+may be buried by her side in that grave.' Accordingly, the King
+commanded one of his Marids to do as I wished, after which they
+departed and left me here to weep and mourn for her till I die. And
+this is my story and the cause of my sojourn between these two tombs.'
+And he repeated these two couplets,[FN#566]
+
+'The house, sweet heart, is now no home to me * Since thou art
+
+
+     gone, nor neighbour neighbourly,
+
+
+The friend whilom I took to heart, no more * Is friend, and
+
+
+     brightest lights lose brilliancy.'
+
+
+
+But when Bulukiya heard out Janshah's tale he marvelled,"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya
+heard out Janshah's tale he wondered and exclaimed, 'By Allah,
+methought I had indeed wandered over the world and compassed it about;
+but now I forget all I have seen after listening to these adventures of
+thine!' He was silent a while and then resumed, 'I beg thee, of thy
+favour and courtesy, to direct me in the way of safety.' So Janshah
+directed him into the right road, and Bulukiya farewelled him and went
+his ways." All this the Serpent-queen related to Hasib Karim al-Din,
+and he asked her, "But how knowest thou of these things?"; and she
+answered, "O Hasib, thou must ken that I had occasion, some five-
+and-twenty years ago, to send one of my largest serpents to Egypt and
+gave her a letter for Bulukiya, saluting him. So she went there
+willingly for she had a daughter in the land called Bint
+Shumukh[FN#567]; and after asking anent Bulukiya she found him and gave
+him my missive. He read it and replied to the messenger snake, 'Thou
+comest from the Queen of the Serpents whom I am minded to visit for I
+have an occasion to her.' She replied, 'I hear and obey.' Then she bore
+him to her daughter of whom she took leave and said to her companion,
+'Close thine eyes.' So he closed them and opening them again, behold,
+he found himself on the mountain where I now am. Then his guide carried
+him to a great serpent, whom he saluted; whereupon quoth she, 'Didst
+thou deliver the missive to Bulukiya?'; and she replied, 'Even so; and
+he hath accompanied me and here he standeth.' Presently Bulukiya asked
+after me, the Serpent-queen, and the great serpent answered, 'She hath
+gone to the mountain Kaf with all her host, as is her wont in winter;
+but next summer she will come hither again. As often as she goeth
+thither, she appointeth me to reign in her room, during her absence;
+and if thou have any occasion to her, I will accomplish it for thee.'
+Said he, 'I beg thee to bring me the herb, which whoso crusheth and
+drinketh the juice thereof, sickeneth not neither groweth grey nor
+dieth.' 'I will not bring it,' said the serpent, 'till thou tell me
+what befell thee since thou leftest the Queen of the Serpents, to go
+with Affan in quest of King Solomon's tomb.' So he related to her all
+his travels and adventures, together with the history of Janshah, and
+said at last, 'Grant me my request, that I may return to mine own
+country.' Replied the serpent, 'By the virtue of the lord Solomon, I
+know not where is to be found the herb whereof thou speakest.' Then she
+bade the serpent which had brought him thither, carry him back to
+Egypt: so the messenger obeyed her and said to him, 'Shut thine eyes!'
+He did so and, opening them again, found himself on the mountain
+Mukattam.[FN#568] When I returned from the mountain Kaf (added the
+Queen) the serpent, my deputy, informed me of Bulukiya's visit and gave
+me his salutations and repeated to me his story and his meeting with
+Janshah. And this, O Hasib, is how I came to know the adventures of
+Bulukiya and the history of Janshah." Thereupon Hasib said to her, "O
+Queen, deign recount to me what befell Bulukiya as regards his return
+to Egypt." She replied, "Know, O Hasib, that when he parted from
+Janshah he fared on nights and days till he came to a great sea; so he
+anointed his feet with the juice of the magical herb and, walking over
+the face of the waters, sped onwards till he came to an island
+abounding in trees and springs and fruits, as it were the Garden of
+Eden. He landed and walked about, till he saw an immense tree, with
+leaves as big as the sails of a ship. So he went up to the tree and
+found under it a table spread with all manner meats, whilst on a branch
+of the branches sat a great bird, whose body was of pearls and leek-
+green emeralds, its feet of silver, its beak of red carnelian and its
+plumery of precious metals; and it was engaged in singing the praises
+of Allah the Most High and blessing Mohammed (on whom be benediction
+and peace!)"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya
+landed and walked about the island he found therein many marvels,
+especially a bird whose body was of pearls and leek green emeralds and
+its plumery of precious metals; and it was engaged in singing the
+praises of Allah the Most High and blessing Mohammed (upon whom be
+benediction and peace!). Seeing this he said, 'Who and what art thou?'
+Quoth the bird, 'I am one of the birds of Eden and followed Adam when
+Allah Almighty cast him out thence. And know, O my brother, that Allah
+also cast out with him four leaves of the trees of the garden to cover
+his nakedness withal, and they fell to the ground after awhile. One of
+them was eaten by a worm, and of it came silk: the gazelles ate the
+second and thence proceeded musk, the third was eaten by bees and gave
+rise to honey, whilst the fourth fell in the land of Hind and from it
+sprang all manner of spices. As for me, I wandered over the face of
+earth till Allah deigned give me this island for a dwelling-place, and
+I took up my abode here. And every Friday from night till morning the
+Saints and Princes[FN#569] of the Faith flock to this place and make
+pious visitation and eat from this table spread by Allah Almighty; and
+after they have eaten, the table is taken up again to Heaven: nor doth
+the food ever waste or corrupt.' So Bulukiya ate his fill of the meats
+and praised the Great Creator. And presently, behold, there came up
+Al-Khizr[FN#570] (with whom be peace!), at sight of whom Bulukiya rose
+and saluting him, was about to withdraw, when the bird said to him,
+'Sit, O Bulukiya, in the presence of Al-Khizr, on whom be peace!' So he
+sat down again, and Al-Khizr said to him, 'Let me know who thou art and
+tell me thy tale.' Thereupon Bulukiya related to him all his adventures
+from beginning to end and asked, 'O my lord, how far is it hence to
+Cairo?' 'Five and ninety years' journey,' replied the Prophet;
+whereupon Bulukiya burst into tears; then, falling at Al-Khizr's feet,
+kissed them and said to him, 'I beseech thee deliver me from this
+strangerhood and thy reward be with Allah, for that I am nigh upon
+death and know not what to do.' Quoth Al-Khizr, 'Pray to Allah Almighty
+that He permit me to carry thee to Cairo, ere thou perish.' So Bulukiya
+wept and humbled himself before Allah who granted his prayer, and by
+inspiration bade Al-Khizr bear him to his people. Then said the
+Prophet, 'Lift thy head, for Allah hath heard thy prayer and hath
+inspired me to do what thou desires; so take fast hold of me with both
+thy hands and shut thine eyes.' The Prince did as he was bidden and
+Al-Khizr stepped a single step forwards, then said to him, 'Open thine
+eyes!' So Bulukiya opened his eyes and found himself at the door of his
+palace at Cairo. He turned, to take leave of Al-Khizr, but found no
+trace of him."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya,
+standing at the gate of his palace, turned to take leave of Al-Khizr,
+he found no trace of him and entered the palace. When his mother saw
+him, she cried with a loud cry and swooned away for excess of joy, and
+they sprinkled water upon her face. After awhile she came to herself
+and embraced her son and wept with sore weeping, whilst Bulukiya wept
+and laughed by turns. Then all his friends and kindred came and gave
+him joy of his safe return, and the news was noised abroad in the land
+and there came to him presents from all parts. Moreover, they beat the
+drums and blew the flutes and rejoiced mightily. Then Bulukiya related
+to them his adventures ending with recounting how Al-Khizr had set him
+down at his palace door, whereat they marvelled exceedingly and wept,
+till all were a-weary of weeping." Hasib wondered at the Queen's tale
+and shed many tears over it; then he again besought her to let him
+return to his family; but she said, "I fear me, O Hasib, that when thou
+gettest back to thy country thou wilt fail of thy promise and prove
+traitor to thine oath and enter the Hammam." But he swore to her
+another solemn oath that he would never again enter the baths as long
+as he lived; whereupon she called a serpent and bade her carry him up
+to the surface of the earth. So the serpent took him and led him from
+place to place, till she brought him out on the platform-edge of an
+abandoned cistern and there left him. Upon this he walked to the city
+and, coming to his house by the last of the day, at the yellowing of
+the sun, knocked at the door. His mother opened it and seeing her son
+screamed out and threw herself upon him and wept for excess of joy. His
+wife heard her mother-in-law weeping; so she came out to her and seeing
+her husband, saluted him and kissed his hands; and each rejoiced in
+other with exceeding joy of all three. Then they entered the house and
+sat down to converse and presently Hasib asked his mother of the
+woodcutters, who had left him to perish in the cistern. Quoth she,
+"They came and told me that a wolf had eaten thee in the Wady. As for
+them, they are become merchants and own houses and shops, and the world
+is grown wide for them. But every day they bring me meat and drink, and
+thus have they done until the present time." Quoth Hasib, "To-morrow do
+thou go to them and say, "My son Hasib Karim al-Din hath returned from
+his travels; so come ye to meet him and salute him." Accordingly, when
+morning dawned, she repaired to the woodcutters' houses and delivered
+to them her son's message, which when they heard, they changed colour,
+and saying, "We hear and obey," gave her each a suit of silk,
+embroidered with gold, adding, "Present this to thy good son[FN#571]
+and tell him that we will be with him to-morrow." She assented and
+returning to Hasib gave him their presents and message. Meanwhile, the
+woodcutters called together a number of merchants and, acquainting them
+with all that had passed between themselves and Hasib, took counsel
+with them what they should do. Quoth the merchants, "It behoveth each
+one of you to give him half his monies and Mamelukes." And they all
+agreed to do this; so on the next day, each of them took half his
+wealth and, going in to Hasib, saluted him and kissed his hands. Then
+they laid before him what they had brought, saying, "This is of thy
+bounties, and we are in thy hands." He accepted their peace- offering
+and said, "What is past is past: that which befell us was decreed of
+Allah, and destiny doeth away with dexterity." Quoth they, "Come, let
+us walk about and take our solace in the city and visit the Hammam."
+Quoth he, "Not so: I have taken an oath never again to enter the baths,
+so long as I live." Rejoined they, at least come to our homes that we
+may entertain thee." He agreed to this, and went to their houses and
+each of them entertained him for a night and a day; nor did they cease
+to do thus for a whole sennight, being seven in number. And now Hasib
+was master of monies and houses and shops, and the merchants of the
+city foregathered with him and he told them all that had befallen him.
+He became one of the chiefs of the guild and abode on this wise awhile,
+till it happened one day, as he was walking about the streets, that he
+passed the door of a Hammam, whose keeper was one of his companions.
+When the bathman, who was standing without, caught his eye he ran up to
+him and saluted him and embraced him, saying, "Favour me by entering
+the bath and there wash and be rubbed that I may show thee
+hospitality." Hasib refused, alleging that he had taken a solemn oath
+never again to enter the Hammam; but the bathman was instant with him,
+saying, "Be my three wives triply divorced, can thou enter not and be
+washed!" When Hasib heard him thus conjure him, he was confounded and
+replied, "O my brother, hast thou a mind to ruin my house and make my
+children orphans and lay a load of sin upon my neck?" But his friend
+threw himself at his feet and kissed them, saying, "My happiness
+dependeth upon thy entering, and be the sin on the neck of me!" Then
+all the servants of the bath set upon Hasib and dragging him in pulled
+off his clothes. But hardly had he sat down against the wall and begun
+to pour water on his head when a score of men accosted him, saying,
+"Rise, O man, and come with us to the Sultan, for thou art his debtor."
+Then they despatched one of them as messenger to the Sultan's Minister,
+who straightway took horse and rode, attended by threescore Mamelukes,
+to the baths, where he alighted and going in to Hasib, saluted him and
+said, "Welcome to thee!" Then he gave the bathman an hundred diners
+and, mounting Hasib on a horse he had brought with him, returned with
+him and all his men to the Sultan's palace. Here he bade them aid Hasib
+to dismount and, after seating him comfortably, set food before him;
+and when they had eaten and drunken and washed their hands, the Wazir
+clad him in two dresses of honour each worth five thousand diners and
+said to him, "Know that Allah hath been merciful to us in sending thee;
+for the Sultan is nigh upon death by leprosy, and the books tell us
+that his life is in thy hands. Then, accompanied by a host of Grandees,
+he took him wondering withal and carried him through the seven doorways
+of the palace, till they came to the King's chamber. Now the name of
+this King was Karazdαn, King of Persia and of the Seven Countries, and
+under his sway were an hundred sovereign princes sitting on chairs of
+red gold, and ten thousand valiant captains, under each one's hand an
+hundred deputies and as many headsmen armed with sword and axe. They
+found the King lying on his bed with his face swathed in a napkin, and
+groaning for excess of pain. When Hasib saw this ordinance, his wit was
+dazed for awe of the King; so he kissed the ground before him, and
+prayed a blessing on him. Then the Grand Wazir, whose name was ShamhÏŠr,
+rose and welcoming Hasib, seated him on a high chair at the King's
+right hand."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Shamhur
+rose to Hasib and seated him on a chair at the right hand of King
+Karazdan; after which he called for food and the tables were laid. And
+when they had eaten and drunken and washed their hands, Shamhur stood
+up (while all present also stood to do him honour) and, approaching
+Hasib said to him, "We are all thy servants and will give thee
+whatsoever thou askest, even were it one half the kingdom, so thou wilt
+but cure the King." Saying this, he led him by the hand to the royal
+couch, and Hasib, uncovering the King's face, saw that he was at last
+fatal stage of the disease; so he wondered at their hoping for a cure.
+But the Wazir kissed his hand and repeated his offers and ended with
+saying, "All we want of thee is to heal our King:" so he said to the
+Wazir, "True that I am the son of Allah's prophet, Daniel, but I know
+nothing of his art: for they put me thirty days in the school of
+medicine and I learnt nothing of the craft. I would well I knew
+somewhat thereof and might heal the King." Hearing this, the Grand
+Wazir said, "Do not multiply words upon us; for though we should gather
+together to us physicians from the East and from the West, none could
+cure the King save thou." Answered Hasib, "How can I make him whole,
+seeing I know neither his case nor its cure?" Quoth the Minister, "His
+healing is in thy hands," and quoth Hasib, "If I knew the remedy of his
+sickness, I would heal him." Thereupon the Wazir rejoined, "Thou
+keenest a cure right well; the remedy of his sickness is the Queen of
+the Serpents, and thou knowest her abiding-place and hast been with
+her." When Hasib heard this, he knew that all this came of his entering
+the Baths, and repented whenas repentance availed him naught; then said
+he, "What is the Queen of the Serpents? I know her not nor ever in all
+my life heard I of this name." Retorted the Wazir, "Deny not the
+knowledge of her, for I have proof that thou knowest her and hast
+passed two years with her." Repeated Hasib, "Verily, I never saw her
+nor even heard of her till this moment;" upon which Shamhur opened a
+book and, after making sundry calculations, raised his head and spake
+as follows. "The Queen of the Serpents shall foregather with a man who
+shall abide with her two years; then shall he return from her and come
+forth to the surface of the earth, and when he entereth the Hammam bath
+his belly will become black." Then said he, "Look at thy belly." So
+Hasib looked at his own belly and behold, it was black: but he
+persisted in his denial and said, "My belly was black from the day my
+mother bare me." Said the Wazir, "I had stationed three Mamelukes at
+the door of every Hammam, bidding them note all who entered and let me
+know when they found one whose belly was black: so, when thou
+enteredst, they looked at thy belly and, finding it black, sent and
+told me, after we had well-nigh lost hope of coming upon thee. All we
+want of thee is to show us the place whence thou camest out and after
+go thy ways; for we have those with us who will take the Queen of the
+Serpents and fetch her to us." Then all the other Wazirs and Emirs and
+Grandees flocked about Hasib who sorely repented of his misdeed; and
+they conjured him, till they were weary, to show them the abode of the
+Queen; but he ceased not saying, "I never saw nor heard of the matter."
+Then the Grand Wazir called the hangman and bade him strip Hasib and
+beat him a sore beating; and so they did till he saw death face to
+face, for excess of pain, and the Wazir said, "We have proof that thou
+knowest the abiding-place of the Queen of the Serpents: why wilt thou
+persist in denial? Show us the place whence thou camest out and go from
+us; we have with us one who will take her, and no harm shall befall
+thee." Then he raised him and bade give him a dress of honour of cloth
+of red gold, embroidered with jewels, and spoke him fair till Hasib
+yielded and said, "I will show you the place." At this the Wazir
+rejoiced with great joy and took horse with all his many and rode,
+guided by Hasib, and never drew rein till they came to the mountain
+containing the cavern wherein he had found the cistern full of honey.
+There all dismounted and followed him as he entered, sighing and
+weeping, and showed them the well whence he had issued; whereupon the
+Wazir sat down thereby and, sprinkling perfumes upon a chafing-dish,
+began to mutter charms and conjurations; for he was a crafty magician
+and diviner and skilled in spiritual arts. He repeated three several
+formulas of conjuration and between each threw fresh incense upon the
+fire, crying out and saying, "Come forth, O Queen of the Serpents!;"
+when behold, the water of the well sank down and a great door opened in
+the side, from which came a mighty noise of crying like unto thunder,
+so terrible that they thought the well had caved in and all present
+fell down fainting; nay, some even died for fright. Presently, there
+issued from the well a serpent as big as an elephant, casting out
+sparks, like red hot coals, from its eyes and mouth and bearing on its
+back a charger of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, in the midst
+whereof lay a serpent from whose body issued such splendour that the
+place was illumined thereby; and her face was fair and young and she
+spoke with most eloquent tongue. The Serpent-queen turned right and
+left, till her eyes fell upon Hasib, to whom said she "Where is the
+covenant thou madest with me, and the oath thou swearest to me, that
+thou wouldst never again enter the Hammam-bath? But there is no
+fighting against Fate nor hath any ever fled from that which is written
+on his forehead. Allah hath appointed the end of my life for thy hand
+to hend, and it is His will that slain I be and King Karazdan be healed
+of his malady." So saying, she wept with sore weeping and Hasib wept to
+see her weep. As for the abominable Wazir Shamhur; he put out his hand
+to lay hold of her; but she said to him, "Hold thy hand, O accursed, or
+I will blow upon thee and reduce thee to a heap of black ashes." Then
+she cried out to Hasib, saying, "Draw near me and take me in thine hand
+and lay me in the dish that is with you: then set it on thy head, for
+my death was fore-ordained, from Eternity without beginning,[FN#572] to
+be at thy hand, and thou hast no power to avert it." So he took her and
+laid her in the dish, and put it on his head, when the well returned to
+its former state. Then they set out on their return to the city, Hasib
+carrying the dish on his head, and when they were half-way behold, the
+Queen of the Serpents said to him privily, "Hearken, O Hasib, to my
+friendly counsel, for all thou hast broken faith with me and been false
+to thine oath, and hast done this misdeed, but it was fore-ordained
+from all eternity." He replied "To hear is to obey," and she continued,
+"It is this: when thou comest to the Wazir's house, he will bid thee
+behead me and cut me in three; but do thou refuse saying, 'I know not
+how to slaughter[FN#473]' and leave him to do it with his own hand and
+to work his wicked will. When he hath cut my throat and divided my body
+into three pieces there will come a messenger, to bid him to the King,
+so he will lay my flesh in a cauldron of brass and set it upon a
+brasier before going to the presence and he will say to thee, 'Keep up
+the fire under the cauldron till the scum rise; then skim it off and
+pour it into a phial to cool. Wait till it cool and then drink it, so
+shall naught of malady or pain be left in all thy body. When the second
+scum riseth, skim it off and pour it into a phial against my return
+from the King, that I may drink it for an ailment I have in my loins.'
+Then will he give thee the phials and go to the King, and when he is
+gone, do thou light the fire and wait till the first scum rise and set
+it in a phial; keep it by thee but beware of drinking it, or no good
+will befall thee. When the second scum riseth, skim it off and put it
+in a second phial and drink it down as soon as it cools. When the Wazir
+returneth and asketh thee for the second phial, give him the first and
+note what shall befall him;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Serpent-queen
+charged Hasib not to drink of the first scum and carefully to keep the
+second, saying, "When the Wazir returneth from the King and asketh for
+the second phial, give him the first and note what shall befall him;
+then drink the contents of the second phial and thy heart will become
+the home of wisdom. After this take up the flesh and, laying it in a
+brazen platter, carry it to the King and give him to eat thereof. When
+he hath eaten it and it hath settled in his stomach, veil his face with
+a kerchief and wait by him till noontide, when he will have digested
+the meat. Then give him somewhat of wine to drink and, by the decree of
+Allah Almighty, he will be healed of his unhealth and be made whole as
+he was. And give thou ear to the charge wherewith I charge thee; and
+keep it in thy memory with carefullest keeping." They ceased not faring
+till they came to the Wazir's house, and he said to Hasib, "Come in
+with me!" So he went in and the troops dispersed and fared each his own
+way; whereupon Hasib set down the platter and the Wazir bade him slay
+the Queen of the Serpents; but he said, "I know not how to slaughter
+and never in my born days killed I aught. An thou wilt have her throat
+cut, do it with thine own hand." So the Minister Shamhur took the Queen
+from the platter and slew her, seeing which Hasib wept bitter tears and
+the Wazir laughed at him, saying, "O weak of wits, how canst thou weep
+for the killing of a worm?" Then he cut her in three and, laying the
+pieces in a brass cauldron, set it on the fire and sat down to await
+the cooking of the flesh. And whilst he was sitting, lo! there came a
+slave from the King, who said to him, "The King calls for thee without
+stay or delay," and he answered saying, "I hear and I obey." So he gave
+Hasib two phials and bade him drink the first scum and keep the second
+against his return,[FN#574] even as the Queen of the Serpents had
+foretold; after which he went away with repeated charges and
+injunctions; and Hasib tended the fire under the cauldron till the
+first scum rose, when he skimmed it off and, setting it in one of the
+phials, kept it by him. He then fed the fire till the second scum rose;
+then he skimmed it off and, putting it in the other phial kept it for
+himself. And when the meat was done, he took the cauldron off the fire
+and sat awaiting the Wazir who asked him on return, "What hast thou
+done?" and answered Hasib, "I did thy bidding to the last word." Quoth
+the Wazir, "What hast thou done with the first phial?" "I drank its
+contents but now," replied Hasib, and Shamhur asked, "Thy body feeleth
+it no change?"; whereto Hasib answered, "Verily, I feel as I were on
+fire from front to foot." The villain Wazir made no reply hiding the
+truth but said, "Hand me the second phial, that I may drink what is
+therein, so haply I may be made whole of this ailing in my loins." So
+Hasib brought him the first phial and he drank it off, thinking it
+contained the second scum; but hardly had he done drinking when the
+phial fell from his hand and he swelled up and dropped down dead; and
+thus was exemplified in him the saying; "Whoso for his brother diggeth
+a pit, he shall be the first to fall into it." Now when Hasib saw this,
+he wondered and feared to drink of the second phial; but he remembered
+the Serpent-queen's injunction and bethought him that the Wazir would
+not have reserved the second scum for himself, had there been aught of
+hurt therein. So he said, "I put my trust in Allah,'[FN#575] and drank
+off the contents of the phial. No sooner had he done so, than the Most
+Highest made the waters of wisdom to well up in his heart and opened to
+him the fountains of knowledge, and joy and gladness overcame him. Then
+he took the serpent's flesh from the cauldron and, laying it on a
+platter of brass, went forth from the Wazir's house. On his way to the
+palace he raised his eyes and saw the seven Heavens and all that
+therein is, even to the Lote-tree, beyond which there is no
+passing,[FN#576] and the manner of the revolution of the spheres.
+Moreover, Allah discovered to him the ordinance of the planets and the
+scheme of their movements and the fixed stars; and he saw the contour
+of the land and sea, whereby he became informed with geometry,
+astrology and astronomy and mathematics and all that hangeth thereby;
+and he understood the causes and consequences of eclipses of the sun
+and moon. Then he looked at the earth and saw all minerals and
+vegetables that are therein and thereon; and he learned their
+properties, and their virtues, so that he became in an instant versed
+in medicine and chemistry and natural magic and the art of making gold
+and silver. And he ceased not carrying the flesh till he came to the
+palace, when he went in to King Karazdan, and kissing the ground before
+him, said, "May thy head survive thy Wazir Shamhur!" The King was
+mightily angered at the news of the Grand Wazir's death and wept for
+him, whilst his Emirs and his Grandees and officers also wept. Then
+said Karazdan, "He was with me but now, in all health, and went away to
+fetch me the flesh of the Queen of the Serpents, if it should be
+cooked; what befell him that he is now dead, and what accident hath
+betided him?" So Hasib told him the whole truth how the Minister had
+drunk the contents of the phial and had forthwith swelled out and died.
+The King mourned for his loss with mourning sore and said to Hasib,
+"What shall I do without Shamhur?" and Hasib answered "Grieve not, O
+King of the age; for I will cure thee within three days and leave no
+whit of disease in thy body." At this the King's breast waxed broad and
+he said, "I wish to be made whole of this affliction, though after a
+long term of years." So Hasib set the platter before the King and made
+him eat a slice of the flesh of the Serpent-queen. Then he covered him
+up and, spreading a kerchief over his face, bade him sleep and sat down
+by his side. He slept from noonday till sundown, while his stomach
+digested the piece of flesh, and presently he awoke. Hasib gave him
+somewhat of wine to drink and bade him sleep again; so he slept till
+the morning and when dawn appeared, Hasib repeated the treatment making
+him eat another piece of the flesh; and thus he did with him three days
+following, till he had eaten the whole, when his skin began to shrink
+and scale off and he perspired, so that the sweat ran down from his
+head to his heels. Therewith he became whole and there abode in him no
+trace of the disease, which when Hasib saw, he said, "There is no help
+for it but thou go to the Hammam." So he carried him to the bath and
+washed his body; and when he came forth, it was like a wand of silver
+and he was restored to health, nay, sounder than he was before he fell
+ill. Thereupon he donned his richest robes and, seating himself on his
+throne, deigned make Hasib sit beside him. Then he bade the tables be
+spread and they ate and washed their hands; after which he called for
+the service of wine and both drank their fill. Upon this all his Wazirs
+and Emirs and Captains and the Grandees of his realm and the notables
+of the lieges came in to him and gave him joy of his recovery; and they
+beat the drums and adorned the city in token of rejoicing. Then said
+the King to the assembly, "O Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees, this is
+Hasim Karim al-Din, who hath healed me of my sickness, and know all
+here present that I make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the Wazir
+Shamhur."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth King
+Karazdan to his Ministers and high lords, "He who healed me of my
+sickness is none other than Hasib Karim al-Din here present. Therefore
+I make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the Wazir Shamhur; and whoso
+loveth him loveth me, and whoso honoureth him honoureth me, and he who
+obeyeth him obeyeth me." "Hearkening and obedience," answered they and
+all rising flocked to kiss Hasib's hand and salute him and give him joy
+of the Wazirate. Then the King bestowed on him a splendid dress of gold
+brocade, set with pearls and gems, the least of which was worth five
+thousand gold pieces. Moreover, he presented to him three hundred male
+white slaves and the like number of concubines, in loveliness like
+moons, and three hundred Abyssinian[FN#577] slave-girls, beside five
+hundred mules laden with treasure and sheep and oxen and buffaloes and
+bulls and other cattle beyond count; and he commanded all his Wazirs
+and Emirs and Grandees and Notables and Mamelukes and his subjects in
+general to bring him gifts. Presently Hasib took horse and rode,
+followed by the Wazirs and Emirs and lords and all the troops, to the
+house which the King had set apart for him, where he sat down on a
+chair; and the Wazirs and Emirs came up to him and kissed hands and
+gave him joy of his Ministership, vying with one another in suit and
+service. When his mother and his household knew what had happened, they
+rejoiced with exceeding joy and congratulated him on his good fortune;
+and his quondam comrades the woodcutters also came and gave him joy.
+Then he mounted again and, riding to the house of the late Wazir
+Shamhur, laid hands on all that was therein and transported it to his
+own abode. On this wise did Hasib, from a dunsical know-nothing,
+unskilled to read writing, become, by the decree of Allah Almighty, an
+adept in every science and versed in all manner of knowledge, so that
+the fame of his learning was blazed abroad over the land and he became
+renowned as an ocean of lore and skill in medicine and astronomy and
+geometry and astrology and alchemy and natural magic and the Cabbala
+and Spiritualism and all other arts and sciences. One day, he said to
+his mother, "My father Daniel was exceeding wise and learned; tell me
+what he left by way of books or what not!" So his mother brought him
+the chest and, taking out the five leaves which had been saved when the
+library was lost, gave them to him saying, "These five scrolls are all
+thy father left thee." So he read them and said to her, "O my mother,
+these leaves are part of a book: where is the rest?" Quoth she, "Thy
+father made a voyage taking with him all his library and, when he was
+shipwrecked, every book was lost save only these five leaves. And when
+he was returned to me by Almighty Allah he found me with child and said
+to me: 'Haply thou wilt bear a boy; so take these scrolls and keep them
+by thee and whenas thy son shall grow up and ask what his father left
+him, give these leaves to him and say, 'Thy father left these as thine
+only heritance. And lo! here they are.' " And Hasib, now the most
+learned of his age, abode in all pleasure and solace, and delight of
+life, till there came to him the Destroyer of delights and the Severer
+of societies.[FN#578] And yet, O King, is not this tale of Bulukiya and
+Janshah more wondrous than the adventures of
+
+End of Volume V.
+
+                   Arabian Nights, Volume 5
+
+
+                           Footnotes
+
+
+
+[FN#1] This tale (one of those translated by Galland) is best and
+fullest in the Bresl. Edit. iii. 329.
+
+[FN#2] Europe has degraded this autumnal festival, the Sun-fκte Mihrgαn
+(which balanced the vernal Nau-roz) into Michaelmas and its
+goose-massacre. It was so called because it began on the 16th of Mihr,
+the seventh month; and lasted six days, with feasts, festivities and
+great rejoicings in honour of the Sun, who now begins his
+southing-course to gladden the other half of the world.
+
+[FN#3] "Hindν" is an Indian Moslem as opposed to "Hindϊ," a pagan, or
+Gentoo.
+
+[FN#4] The orig. Persian word is "Shαh-pϊr"=King's son: the Greeks (who
+had no sh) (preferred ); the Romans turned it into Sapor and the Arabs
+(who lack the p) into Sαbϊr. See p. x. Hamzζ ispahanensis Annalium
+Libri x.: Gottwaldt, Lipsiζ mdcccxlviii.
+
+[FN#5] The magic horse may have originated with the Hindu tale of a
+wooden Garuda (the bird of Vishnu) built by a youth for the purpose of
+a vehicle. It came with the "Moors" to Spain and appears in "Le Cheval
+de Fust," a French poem of the thirteenth Century. Thence it passed
+over to England as shown by Chaucer's "Half-told tale of Cambuscan
+(Janghνz Khan?) bold," as
+
+     "The wondrous steed of brass
+
+
+     On which the Tartar King did ride;"
+
+
+
+And Leland (Itinerary) derives "Rutlandshire" from "a man named Rutter
+who rode round it on a wooden horse constructed by art magic." Lane
+(ii. 548) quotes the parallel story of Cleomades and Claremond which
+Mr. Keightley (Tales and Popular Fictions, chapt. ii) dates from our
+thirteenth century. See Vol. i., p. 160.
+
+[FN#6] All Moslems, except those of the Mαliki school, hold that the
+maker of an image representing anything of life will be commanded on
+the Judgment Day to animate it, and failing will be duly sent to the
+Fire. This severity arose apparently from the necessity of putting down
+idol-worship and, perhaps, for the same reason the Greek Church admits
+pictures but not statues. Of course the command has been honoured with
+extensive breaching: for instance all the Sultans of Stambul have had
+their portraits drawn and painted.
+
+[FN#7] This description of ugly old age is written with true
+
+
+Arab verve.
+
+
+
+[FN#8] Arab. "Badinjαn": Hind. Bengan: Pers. Bαdingαn or Badiljαn; the
+Mala insana (Solanum pomiferum or S. Melongena) of the Romans, well
+known in Southern Europe. It is of two kinds, the red (Solanum
+lycopersicum) and the black (S. Melongena). The Spaniards know it as
+"berengeria" and when Sancho Panza (Part ii. chapt. 2) says, "The Moors
+are fond of egg-plants" he means more than appears. The vegetable is
+held to be exceedingly heating and thereby to breed melancholia and
+madness; hence one says to a man that has done something eccentric,
+"Thou hast been eating brinjalls."
+
+[FN#9] Again to be understood Hibernice "kilt."
+
+[FN#10] i.e. for fear of the evil eye injuring the palace and, haply,
+himself.
+
+[FN#11] The "Sufrah" before explained acting provision-bag and
+table-cloth.
+
+[FN#12] Eastern women in hot weather, lie mother-nude under a sheet
+here represented by the hair. The Greeks and Romans also slept stripped
+and in mediζval England the most modest women saw nothing indelicate in
+sleeping naked by their naked husbands. The "night-cap" and the
+"night-gown" are comparatively modern inventions.
+
+[FN#13] Hindu fable turns this simile into better poetry, "She was like
+a second and a more wondrous moon made by the Creator."
+
+[FN#14] "Sun of the Day."
+
+[FN#15] Arab. "Shirk"=worshipping more than one God. A theological term
+here most appropriately used.
+
+[FN#16] The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The Prince
+lands on the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and finding no one
+in the building goes back to the terrace. Suddenly he sees a beautiful
+girl approaching him with a party of her women, suggesting to him these
+couplets,
+
+     "She came without tryst in the darkest hour, *
+
+
+          Like full moon lighting horizon's night:
+
+
+     Slim-formed, there is not in the world her like *
+
+
+          For grace of form or for gifts of sprite:
+
+
+     'Praise him who made her from semen-drop,' *
+
+
+          I cried, when her beauty first struck my sight:
+
+
+     I guard her from eyes, seeking refuge with *
+
+
+          The Lord of mankind and of morning-light."
+
+
+
+The two then made acquaintance and "follows what follows."
+
+[FN#17] Arab. "Akαsirah," explained (vol. i., 75) as the plur. of
+Kisrα.
+
+[FN#18] The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty but to have a
+slave of his own. This was systematised by the servile rulers known in
+history as the Mameluke Beys and to the Egyptians as the Ghuzz. Each
+had his household of servile pages and squires, who looked forward to
+filling the master's place as knight or baron.
+
+[FN#19] The well-known capital of Al-Yaman, a true Arabia Felix, a
+Paradise inhabited by demons in the shape of Turkish soldiery and Arab
+caterans. According to Moslem writers Sana'a was founded by Shem son of
+Noah who, wandering southward with his posterity after his father's
+death, and finding the site delightful, dug a well and founded the
+citadel, Ghamdαn, which afterwards contained a Mason Carrιe rivalling
+(or attempting to rival) the Meccan Ka'abah. The builder was Surahbνl
+who, says M.C. de Perceval coloured its four faces red, white, golden
+and green; the central quadrangle had seven stories (the planets) each
+forty cubits high, and the lowest was a marble hall ceiling'd with a
+single slab. At the four corners stood hollow lions through whose
+mouths the winds roared. This palatial citadel-temple was destroyed by
+order of Caliph Omar. The city's ancient name was Azal or Uzal whom
+some identify with one of the thirteen sons of Joktan (Genesis xi. 27):
+it took its present name from the Ethiopian conquerors (they say) who,
+seeing it for the first time, cried "Hazα Sana'ah!" meaning in their
+tongue, this is commodious, etc. I may note that the word is Kisawahili
+(Zanzibarian) e.g. "Yαmbo sαnα—is the state good?" Sana'a was the
+capital of the Tabαbi'ah or Tobba Kings who judaized; and the
+Abyssinians with their Negush made it Christian while the Persians
+under Anushirwαn converted it to Guebrism. It is now easily visited but
+to little purpose; excursions in the neighborhood being deadly
+dangerous. Moreover the Turkish garrison would probably murder a
+stranger who sympathised with the Arabs, and the Arabs kill one who
+took part with their hated and hateful conquerors. The late Mr. Shapira
+of Jerusalem declared that he had visited it and Jews have great
+advantages in such travel. But his friends doubted him.
+
+[FN#20] The Bresl. Edit. (iii. 347) prints three vile errors in four
+lines.
+
+[FN#21] Alcove is a corruption of the Arab. Al-Kubbah (the dome)
+through Span. and Port.
+
+[FN#22] Easterns as a rule sleep with head and body covered by a sheet
+or in cold weather a blanket. The practice is doubtless hygienic,
+defending the body from draughts when the pores are open; but Europeans
+find it hard to adopt; it seems to stop their breathing. Another
+excellent practice in the East, and indeed amongst barbarians and
+savages generally, is training children to sleep with mouths shut: in
+after life they never snore and in malarious lands they do not require
+Outram's "fever-guard," a swathe of muslin over the mouth. Mr. Catlin
+thought so highly of the "shut mouth" that he made it the subject of a
+book.
+
+[FN#23] Arab. "Hanzal"=coloquintida, an article often mentioned by
+Arabs in verse and prose; the bright coloured little gourd attracts
+every eye by its golden glance when travelling through the brown-yellow
+waste of sand and clay. A favourite purgative (enough for a horse) is
+made by filling the inside with sour milk which is drunks after a
+night's soaking: it is as active as the croton-nut of the Gold Coast.
+
+[FN#24] The Bresl. Edit. iii. 354 sends him to the "land of Sνn"
+
+
+(China).
+
+
+
+[FN#25] Arab. "Yα Kisrawi!"=O subject of the Kisrα or Chosroλ; the
+latter explained in vol.i.,75.[Volume 1, Footnote # 128] "Fars" is the
+origin of "Persia"; and there is a hit at the prodigious lying of the
+modern race, whose forefathers were so famous as truth-tellers. "I am a
+Persian, but I am not lying now," is a phrase familiar to every
+traveller.
+
+[FN#26] There is no such name: perhaps it is a clerical error
+
+
+for "Har jαh"=(a man of) any place. I know an Englishman who in
+
+
+Persian called himself "Mirza Abdullah-i-Hνchmakαni"=Master
+
+
+Abdullah of Nowhere.
+
+
+
+[FN#27] The Bresl. Edit. (loc. cit.) gives a comical description of the
+Prince assuming the dress of an astrologer-doctor, clapping an old book
+under his arm, fumbling a rosary of beads, enlarging his turband,
+lengthening his sleeves and blackening his eyelids with antimony. Here,
+however, it would be out of place. Very comical also is the way in
+which he pretends to cure the maniac by "muttering unknown words,
+blowing in her face, biting her ear," etc.
+
+[FN#28] Arab. "Sar'a"=falling sickness. Here again we have in all its
+simplicity the old nursery idea of "possession" by evil spirits.
+
+[FN#29] Arab. "Nafahαt"=breathings, benefits, the Heb. Neshamah opp. to
+Nephesh (soul) and Ruach (spirit). Healing by the breath is a popular
+idea throughout the East and not unknown to Western Magnetists and
+Mesmerists. The miraculous cures of the Messiah were, according to
+Moslems, mostly performed by aspiration. They hold that in the days of
+Isa, physic had reached its highest development, and thus his miracles
+were mostly miracles of medicine; whereas, in Mohammed's time,
+eloquence had attained its climax and accordingly his miracles were
+those of eloquence, as shown in the Koran and Ahαdνs.
+
+[FN#30] Lit. "The rose in the sleeves or calyces." I take my English
+equivalent from Jeremy Taylor, "So I have seen a rose newly springing
+from the clefts of its hood," etc.
+
+[FN#31] These lines are from the Bresl. Edit. (v. 35). The four
+couplets in the Mac. Edit. are too irrelevant.
+
+[FN#32] Polo, which Lane calls "Goff."
+
+[FN#33] Arab. "Muffawak"=well-notched, as its value depends upon the
+notch. At the end of the third hemistitch Lane's Shaykh very properly
+reads "baghtatan" (suddenly) for "burhatan"=during a long time.
+
+[FN#34] "Uns" (which the vulgar pronounce Anas) "al- Wujud"=Delight of
+existing things, of being, of the world. Uns wa jud is the normal
+pun=love-intimacy and liberality; and the caranomasia (which cannot
+well be rendered in English) re-appears again and again. The story is
+throughout one of love; hence the quantity of verse.
+
+[FN#35] The allusion to a "written N" suggests the elongated not the
+rounded form of the letter as in Night cccxxiv.
+
+[FN#36] The fourteenth Arabic letter in its medial form resembling an
+eye.
+
+[FN#37] This is done by the man passing his fingers over the brow as if
+to wipe off perspiration; the woman acknowledges it by adjusting her
+head-veil with both hands. As a rule in the Moslem East women make the
+first advances; and it is truly absurd to see a great bearded fellow
+blushing at being ogled. During the Crimean war the fair sex of
+Constantinople began by these allurements but found them so readily
+accepted by the Giaours that they were obliged to desist.
+
+[FN#38] The greatest of all explorers and discoverers of the world will
+be he who finds a woman confessing inability to keep a secret.
+
+[FN#39] The original is intensely prosaicand so am I.
+
+[FN#40] Arab. "Sunnat," the practice of the Prophet. For this prayer
+and other silly and superstitious means of discovering the "right
+direction" (which is often very wrongly directed) see Lane, M.E. chapt.
+xi.
+
+[FN#41] Arab. "Bahr (sea or river) al-Kunuz": Lane (ii. 576)
+ingeniously identifies the site with the Upper Nile whose tribes,
+between Assouan (Syene) and Wady al-Subu'a are called the "Kunuz"lit.
+meaning "treasures" or "hoards." Philae is still known as the "Islet of
+Anas (for Uns) al-Wujud;" and the learned and accurate Burckhardt
+(Travels in Nubia p. 5) records the local legend that a mighty King
+called Al-Wujud built the Osirian temples. I can give no information
+concerning Jabal al-Sakla (Thakla), the Mount of the woman bereft of
+children, beyond the legend contained in Night ccclxxix.
+
+[FN#42] A religious mendicant (lit. a pauper), of whom there are two
+great divisions. The Shara'i acts according to the faith: the others
+(La Shara'i, or irreligious) are bound by no such prejudices and are
+pretty specimens of scoundrels. (Pilgrimage i.22.)
+
+[FN#43] Meaning his lips and palate were so swollen by drought.
+
+[FN#44] It is a pious act in time of mortal danger to face the
+
+
+Kiblah or Meccan temple, as if standing in prayer.
+
+
+
+[FN#45] Still the belief of the Badawi who tries to work upon the
+beast's compassion: "O great King I am a poor man, with wife and
+family, so spare me that Allah spare thee!" and so forth. If not
+famished the lion will often stalk off looking behind him as he goes;
+but the man will never return by the same path; "for," says he, "haply
+the Father of Roaring may repent him of a wasted opportunity." These
+lion-tales are very common, witness that of Androcles at Rome and a
+host of others. Una and her lion is another phase. It remained for M.
+Jules Gerard, first the chasseur and then the tueur, du lion, to assail
+the reputation of the lion and the honour of the lioness.
+
+[FN#46] Abu Haris=Father of spoils: one of the lion's hundred titles.
+
+[FN#47] "They" again for "she."
+
+[FN#48] Jaxartes and Oxus. The latter (Jayhun or Amu, Oxus or
+
+
+Bactros) is famous for dividing Iran from Turan, Persia from
+
+
+Tartaria. The lands to its north are known as Ma wara al-Nahr
+
+
+(Mawerannahar) or "What is behind the stream,"=Transoxiana and
+
+
+their capitals were successively Samarcand and Bokhara.
+
+
+
+[FN#49] Arab. "Dani was gharib"=friend and foe. The lines are partly
+from the Mac. Edit. and partly from the Bresl. Edit., v. 55.
+
+[FN#50] Arab. "Wa Rahmata-hu!" a form now used only in books.
+
+[FN#51] Before noted. The relationship, like that of foster- brother,
+has its rights, duties and privileges.
+
+[FN#52] Arab. "Istikharah," before explained as praying for direction
+by omens of the rosary, opening the Koran and reading the first verse
+sighted, etc., etc. At Al-Medinah it is called Khirah and I have
+suggested (Pilgrimage, ii. 287) that it is a relic of the Azlam or
+Kidah (divining arrows) of paganism. But the superstition is not local:
+we have the Sortes Virgilianae (Virgil being a magician) as well as
+Coranicae.
+
+[FN#53] Arab. "Wujud al-Habib," a pun, also meaning, "Wujud my
+beloved."
+
+[FN#54] Arab. "Khilal," as an emblem of attenuation occurring in
+Al-Hariri (Ass. of Alexandria, etc.); also thin as a spindle (Maghzal),
+as a reed, and dry as a pair of shears. In the Ass. of Barka'id the
+toothpick is described as a beautiful girl. The use of this cleanly
+article was enjoined by Mohammed:—"Cleanse your mouths with toothpicks;
+for your mouths are the abode of the guardian angels; whose pens are
+the tongues, and whose ink is the spittle of men; and to whom naught is
+more unbearable than remains of food in the mouth." A mighty apparatus
+for a small matter; but in very hot lands cleanliness must rank before
+godliness.
+
+[FN#55] The sense is ambiguous. Lane renders the verse:—"Thou
+resemblest it (rose) not of my portion" and gives two explanations
+"because HE is of my portion," or, "because HIS cheek cannot be rosy if
+MINE is not." Mr. Payne boldly translates
+
+"If the rose ape his cheek, 'Now God forfend,' I say, 'That of my
+portion aught to pilfer thou shouldst try'."
+
+[FN#56] Arab. "lif" (not "fibres which grow at the top of the trunk,"
+Lane ii. 577); but the fibre of the fronds worked like the cocoa-nut
+fibre which forms the now well-known Indian "coir." This "lif" is also
+called "filfil" or "fulfil" which Dr. Jonathan Scott renders "pepper"
+(Lane i. 8) and it forms a clean succedaneum for one of the uncleanest
+articles of civilisation, the sponge. It is used in every Hammam and is
+(or should be) thrown away after use.
+
+[FN#57] Arab. "Shinf;" a course sack, a "gunny-bag;" a net compared
+with such article.
+
+[FN#58] The eunuch tells him that he is not a "Sandali"=one whose penis
+and testes are removed; and consequently the highest valued. There are
+many ways of making the castrato; in some (as here) only the penis is
+removed, in other the testes are bruised or cut off; but in all cases
+the animal passion remains, for in man, unlike other animals, the fons
+veneris is the brain. The story of Abelard proves this. Juvenal derided
+the idea of married eunuchs and yet almost all of these neutrals have
+wives with whom they practise the manifold plaisirs de la petite oie
+(masturbation, tribadism, irrumation, tete-beche, feuille-de- rose,
+etc.), till they induce the venereal orgasm. Such was the account once
+given to me by a eunuch's wife; and I need hardly say that she, like
+her confrerie, was to be pitied. At the critical moment she held up a
+little pillow for her husband to bite who otherwise would have torn her
+cheeks or breasts.
+
+[FN#59] In real life the eunuch, as a rule, avoids all allusion to his
+misfortune, although the slave will often describe his being sold
+merrily enough.
+
+[FN#60] The visits are in dreamland. The ringdove thanks the
+
+
+Lord for her (his?) suffering in the holy martyrdom of love.
+
+
+
+[FN#61] Arab. "Hazar;" I have explained it as meaning "(the bird of) a
+thousand (songs)."
+
+[FN#62] The "Bulbul" had his day with us but he departed with Tommy
+Moore. We usually English the word by "nightingale;" but it is a kind
+of shrike or butcher-bird (Lanius Boulboul. Lath.).
+
+[FN#63] The "Hamam" is a lieu commun in Arabic poetry. I have noticed
+the world-wide reverence for the pigeon and the incarnation of the
+Third Person of the Hindu Triad (Shiva), as Kapoteshwara
+(Kapota-ishwara)"=pigeon or dove-god (Pilgrimage iii. 218).
+
+[FN#64] Arab. "Hamam al-Ayk." Mr. Payne's rendering is so happy that we
+must either take it from him or do worse.
+
+[FN#65] All primitive peoples translate the songs of birds with human
+language; but, as I have noticed, the versions differ widely. The
+pigeon cries, "Allah! Allah!" the dove "Karim, Tawwa" (Bountiful,
+Pardoner!) the Kata or sand-grouse "Man sakat salam" (who is silent is
+safe) yet always betrays itself by its lay of "Kat-ta" and lastly the
+cock "Uzkuru 'llah ya ghafilun" (Remember, or take the name of Allah,
+ye careless!).
+
+[FN#66] "Nay," the Dervish's reed pipe, symbol of the sighing absent
+lover (i.e. the soul parted from the Creator) so famed by the
+Mullah-i-Rum and Sir William Jones.
+
+[FN#67] Ba'albak=Ba'al (the God)-city (bek in Coptic and ancient
+Egyptian.) Such, at least, is the popular derivation which awaits a
+better. No cloth has been made there since the Kurd tribe of gallant
+robbers known as the "Harfush" (or blackguards) lorded it over old
+"Heliopolis."
+
+[FN#68] Thinking her to be a Jinn or Ghul in the shape of a fair woman.
+This Arab is a strange contrast to the English fisherman, and yet he is
+drawn with truth.
+
+[FN#69] Arab. "Habbaza!" (good this!) or "Habba" (how good!): so
+
+
+"Habba bihi," how dear he is to me.
+
+
+
+[FN#70] Arab. "Zind," and "Zindah" the names of the two sticks, upper
+and lower, hard and soft, by which fire was kindled before flint and
+steel were known. We find it in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Banu Haram) "no one
+sought ire from my fire-stick (i.e. from me as a fire-stick) and
+failed." See Night dccciii.
+
+[FN#71] Arab. "Nazih" i.e. travelled far and wide.
+
+[FN#72] "Rajab," lit.="worshipping:" it is the seventh lunar month and
+still called "Shahr-i-Khuda" (God's month) by the Persians because in
+pre-Islamitic times it formed with Muharram (or in its stead Safar), Zu
+'l-ka'adah and Zu-'l-Hijjah (Nos. 1 or 2; 7,11 and 12) the yearly
+peace, during which a man might not kill his father's murderer. The
+idea must have taken deep root, as Arab history records only six
+"impious (or sacrilegious) wars," waged despite the law. Europeans
+compare it with the Treuga Dei (truce of God) a seven-years peace
+established about A.D. 1032, by a Bishop of Aquitaine; and followed in
+A.D. 1245 by the Pax Regis (Royal Peace) under Louis VIII. of France.
+This compelled the relations of a murdered man to keep the peace for
+forty days after the offence was committed.
+
+[FN#73] His Majesty wrote sad doggrel. He is better at finessing, and
+his message was a trick because Rose-in-Hood had told him that at home
+there were special obstacles to the marriage.
+
+[FN#74] Arab. "Majzub"=drawn, attracted (literally); the popular term
+for one absorbed in the contemplation of the Deity. During this process
+the soul is supposed to quit the body leaving the latter irresponsible
+for its actions. I remember a scandal being caused in a village near
+Tunis by one of these men who suddenly started up from his seat in a
+dusty corner and, in presence of a small crowd of people, had
+connection with a she-donkey. The supporters of the holy man declared
+that the deed was proof positive of his exceptional holiness; but there
+were lewd fellows, Moslems Voltaireans, who had their doubts and held
+that the reverend man had so acted "for the gallery." A similar story
+is told with due reserve by the late Abbe Hamilton in his book on the
+Cyrenaic. There are three grand divisions of the Sufis; (1) Mukiman,
+the stationaries; (2) Salikan, the travellers, or progressives, and (3)
+Wasilan, those who reach the desired end. And No. 2 has two classes:
+the Salik-i-majzub, one progressing in Divine Love; and the other, who
+has made greater progress, is the Majzub-i-Salik (Dabistan iii. 251).
+
+[FN#75] Arab. "Sundus," a kind of brocade (low Lat. brocare to figure
+cloth), silk worked in high relief with gold and silver. The idea is
+figurative meaning it was hung outside and inside with fine stuff, like
+the Ka'abah, the "Bride of Meccah." The "lords" means simply the lost
+girl.
+
+[FN#76] Arab. "Ayn" lit. eye, also a fount, "the eye of the landscape"
+(a noble simile); and here a helper, guard, assistant.
+
+[FN#77] "Lord" for lady, i.e. she.
+
+[FN#78] Arab. "Fi'l-khawafik"=in the four quarters or among the
+flappers (standards) or amid palpitations of heart. The bride alludes
+to a festal reception in a town, with burning incense, drums, flags,
+etc., etc.
+
+[FN#79] In Egypt the shorter "honey-moon" lasts a week; and on the
+seventh day (pop. called Al-Subu'a) bride and bridegroom receive visits
+with all ceremony, of course in separate apartments. The seventh day
+(like the fortieth, the end of six months and the anniversary) is kept
+for births and deaths with Khatmahs (perlections) of the Koran "Saylah"
+family gatherings and so forth. The fortieth day ends the real
+honey-moon. See Night dccxcii.
+
+[FN#80] I have noted the popular practice, amongst men as well as
+women, of hiring the Hammam for private parties and picnicking in it
+during the greater part of the day. In this tale the bath would belong
+to the public and it was a mere freak of the bride to bathe with her
+bridegroom. "Respectable" people do not.
+
+[FN#81] She speaks in the last line as the barber or the bathman.
+
+[FN#82] Here the "Ana" begin; and they mostly date themselves. Of the
+following forty-nine, Lane (vol. Ii. P. 578 et seq.) gives only
+twenty-two and transforms them to notes in chapt. xviii. He could
+hardly translate several of them in a work intended to be popular. Abu
+Nowαs is a person carefully to be avoided; and all but anthropological
+students are advised to "skip" over anecdotes in which his name and
+abominations occur.
+
+[FN#83] Arab. "Ghilmαn," the counter part, I have said, of the
+so-called "Houris."
+
+[FN#84] Mosul boasts of never having been polluted with idolatrous
+worship, an exemption which it owes to being a comparatively modern
+place.
+
+[FN#85] The Aleppines were once noted for debauchery; and the saying is
+still "Halabi Shelebi" (for Chelebi)=the Aleppine is a fellow fine.
+
+[FN#86] Mr. Payne omits the last line. It refers to what Persian boys
+call, in half-Turkish phrase, "Alish Takish," each acting woman after
+he has acted man. The best wine is still made in monasteries and the
+co-called Sinai convent is world-famous for its "Rαki" distilled from
+raisins.
+
+[FN#87] i.e. what a difference there is between them!
+
+[FN#88] Arab. "Salli ala 'l-Nabi," a common phrase; meaning not only
+praise hm to avert the evil eye; but also used when one would impose
+silence upon a babbler. The latter will shuffle off by ejaculating "Al"
+and continue his chatter. (Pilgrimage ii.279.)
+
+[FN#89] Arab. "Sukαt" (plur. of Sαki, cupbearer, our old "skinker"):
+the pure gold (tibr) is the amber-coloured wine, like the Vino d'oro of
+the Libanus.
+
+[FN#90] That is, fair, white and read: Turkish slaves then abounded at
+Baghdad.
+
+[FN#91] A Wady near Meccah where one of Mohammed's battles was fought.
+The line means his waist is a thread connected broad breast and large
+hind quarters.
+
+[FN#92] Arab. "Zaurα" which may mean crooked, alluding to the
+well-known rib.
+
+[FN#93] A pun. Bakr was the name of the eponymus chief and it also
+means virgin, as in Abu Bakr.
+
+[FN#94] Arab. "Jαmi'ayn"=two cathedrals, any large (and consequently
+vicious) city.
+
+[FN#95] Arab. "Almα," before noticed: I cannot translate
+"damask-lipped" to suit European taste.
+
+[FN#96] Sherbet flavoured with musk or apple to cool the mouth of "hot
+coppers."
+
+[FN#97] Arab. "In'αsh" lit. raising from his bier. The whole tone is
+rollicking and slangy.
+
+[FN#98] i.e. In spite of himself: the phrase often occurs.
+
+[FN#99] Europeans usually write "Beni" for "Banu;" the oblique for the
+nominative. I prefer "Odhrah" or "Ozrah" to Udhrah; because the Ayn
+before the Zαl takes in pronunciation the more open sound.
+
+[FN#100] Possibly meaning that they were shrouded together; this would
+be opposed to Moslem sense of decorum in modern days, but the ancient
+were not so squeamish. See Night cccxi.
+
+[FN#101] This phase of passion in the "varium et mutabile" is often
+treated of by Oriental storytellers, and not unoften seen in real
+Eastern life.
+
+[FN#102] As has been said, "Sαhib" (preceding the name not following it
+as in India) is a Wazirial title in mediζval Islam.
+
+[FN#103] This parapet was rendered obligatory by Moses (Deut. xxii. 8)
+on account of the danger of leaving a flat roof without garde-fou.
+Eastern Christians neglect the precaution and often lose their children
+by the neglect.
+
+[FN#104] Arab. "Lauh." A bit of thin board washed white used for
+lessons as slates are amongst us, and as easily cleaned because the
+inks contain no minerals. It is a long parallelogram with triangular
+ears at the short sides; and the shape must date from ages immemorial
+as it is found, throughout Syria and its adjoinings, in the oldest rock
+inscriptions to which the form serves as a frame. Hence the "abacus" or
+counting table derived from the Gr. , a slab (or in Phenician "sand"),
+dust or sand in old days having been strewed on a table or tablet for
+school- boys' writings and mathematical diagrams.
+
+[FN#105] A pre-Islamic bard and friend to Tarafah the poet of the
+Suspended or "Prize Poem." The tale is familiar to all the Moslem East.
+Tarafah's Laura was one Khaulα.
+
+[FN#106] King of Hirah in Chaldζa, a drunken and bloodthirsty tyrant.
+When offended by the lampoons of the two poets he sent them with
+litterζ Bellerophontiζ to the Governor of Al-Bahrayn. Al-Mutalammis
+"smelt a rat" and destroyed his charged, but Tarafah was mutilated and
+buried alive, the victim of a trick which is old as (and older than)
+good King David and Uriah. Of course neither poet could read.
+
+[FN#107] On this occasion, and in presence of the women only, the groom
+first sees or is supposed to see the face of his wife. It is, I have
+said, the fashion for both to be greatly overcome and to appear as if
+about to faint: the groom looks especially ridiculous when so
+attitudinising.
+
+[FN#108] This leisurely operation of the "deed of kind" was sure to be
+noticed; but we do not find in The Nights any allusion to that
+systematic prolongatio veneris which is so much cultivated by Moslems
+under the name Imsαk = retention, withholding i.e. the semen. Yet
+Eastern books on domestic medicine consist mostly of two parts; the
+first of general prescriptions and the second of aphrodisiacs
+especially those qui prolongent le plaisir as did the Gaul by thinking
+of sa pauvre mθre. The Ananga-Ranga, by the Reverend Koka Pandit before
+quoted, gives a host of recipes which are used, either externally or
+internally, to hasten the paroxysm of the woman and delay the orgasm of
+the man (p. 27). Some of these are curious in the extreme. I heard of a
+Hindi who made a candle of frogs' fat and fibre warranted to retain the
+seed till it burned out; it failed notably because, relying upon it, he
+worked too vigorously. The essence of the "retaining art" is to avoid
+over-tension of the muscles and to pre-occupy the brain: hence in
+coition Hindus will drink sherbet, chew betel-nut and even smoke.
+Europeans ignoring the science and practice, are contemptuously
+compared with village-cocks by Hindu women who cannot be satisfied,
+such is their natural coldness, increased doubtless by vegetable diet
+and unuse of stimulants, with less than twenty minutes. Hence too while
+thousands of Europeans have cohabited for years with and have had
+families by "native women," they are never loved by them:—at least I
+never heard of a case.
+
+[FN#109] Abu 'l Abbas al-Rakαshi, a poet of the time. The saying became
+proverbial (Burckhardt's A. Proverbs No. 561) and there are variants,
+e.g. The night's promise is spread with butter that melteth when day
+ariseth.
+
+[FN#110] Koran xxvi. 5,6 or "And those who err (Arab. Al- ghαwϊn)
+follow the footsteps of the poets," etc.
+
+[FN#111] Half-brother of Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, the celebrated
+pretender.
+
+[FN#112] Grand-daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr and the most beautiful
+woman of her day.
+
+[FN#113] The Calc. Edit. by mistake reads "Izzah." Torrens (notes
+i.-xi.) remarks "The word Ghoonj is applied to this sort of
+blandishment (i.e. an affected gait), and says Burckhardt (Prov. No.
+685), "The women of Cairo flatter themselves that their Ghoonj is
+superior to that of all other females in the Levant." But Torrens did
+not understand and Burckhardt would not explain "Ghunj" except by
+"assumed airs" (see No. 714). It here means the art of moving in
+coition, which is especially affected, even by modest women, throughout
+the East and they have many books teaching the genial art. In China
+there are professors, mostly old women, who instruct young girls in
+this branch of the gymnastic.
+
+[FN#114] When reciting the Fαtihah (opening Koranic chapter), the hands
+are held in this position as if to receive a blessing falling from
+Heaven; after which both palms are passed down the face to distribute
+it over the eyes and other organs of sense.
+
+[FN#115] The word used is "bizα'at" = capital or a share in a
+mercantile business.
+
+[FN#116] This and the following names are those of noted traditionists
+of the eighth century, who derive back to Abdallah bin Mas'ÏŠd, a
+"Companion of the Apostle." The text shows the recognised formula of
+ascription for quoting a "Hadνs" = saying of Mohammed; and sometimes it
+has to pass through half a dozen mouths.
+
+[FN#117] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries who refer
+back to the "Father of the Kitten" (Abu Horayrah), an uncle of the
+Apostle.
+
+[FN#118] Eastern story-books abound in these instances. Pilpay says in
+"Kalilah was Dimnah," "I am the slave of what I have spoken and the
+lord of what I keep hidden." Sa'adi follows suit, "When thou speakest
+not a word, thou hast thy hand upon it; when it is once spoken it hath
+laid its hand on thee." Caxton, in the "Dyctes, or Sayings of
+Philosophers" (printed in 1477) uses almost the same words.
+
+[FN#119] i.e. for her husband's and her sin in using a man like a
+beast.
+
+[FN#120] See the Second Lady's story (tantτt Kadi, tantτt bandit), pp.
+20-26 by my friend Yacoub Artin Pasha in the Bulletin before quoted,
+series ii. No. 4 of 1883. The sharpers' trick is common in Eastern
+folk-lore, and the idea that underlies is always metempsychosis or
+metamorphosis. So, in the Kalilah wa Dimnah (new Syriac), the three
+rogues persuade the ascetic that he is leading a dog not a sheep.
+
+[FN#121] This is the popular prejudice and it has doubtless saved many
+a reputation. The bat is known to Moslems as the Bird of Jesus, a
+legend derived by the Koran from the Gospel of Infancy (1 chapt. xv.
+Hone's Apocryphal New Testament), in which the boy Jesus amuses herself
+with making birds of clay and commanding them to fly when (according to
+the Moslems) they became bats. These Apocryphal Gospels must be
+carefully read, if the student would understand a number of Moslem
+allusions to the Injνl which no Evangel contains.
+
+[FN#122] Because it quibbled away out of every question, a truly
+diplomatic art.
+
+[FN#123] This Caliph, the orthodox Abbaside of Egypt (A.D. 1261) must
+not be confounded with the Druze-god, the heretical Fatimite (A.D.
+996-1021). D'Herbelot (Hakem") gives details. Mr. S.L. Poole (The
+Academy, April 26, '79) is very severe on the slip of Mr. Payne.
+
+[FN#124] The beautiful name is Persian "Anϊshνn-rawαn" = Sweet of Soul;
+and the glorious title of this contemporary of Mohammed is "Al-Malik
+al-Adil" = the Just King. Kisra, the Chosroλ per excellentiam, is also
+applied to the godly Guebre of whom every Eastern dictionary gives
+details.
+
+[FN#125] "Sultan" is here an anachronism: I have noted that the title
+was first assumed independently by Mohammed of Ghazni after it had been
+conferred by the Caliph upon his father the Amir Al- Umarα (Mayor of
+the Palace), Sabuktagin A.D. 974.
+
+[FN#126] The "Sakkα" or water-carrier race is peculiar in Egypt and
+famed for trickery and intrigue. Opportunity here as elsewhere makes
+the thief.
+
+[FN#127] A famous saying of Mohammed is recorded when an indiscretion
+of his young wife Ayishah was reported to him, "There be no adultress
+without an adulterer (of a husband)." Fatimah the Apostle's daughter is
+supposed to have remained a virgin after bearing many children: this
+coarse symbolism of purity was known to the classics (Pausanias), who
+made Juno recover her virginity by bathing in a certain river every
+year. In the last phrase, "Al-Salaf" (ancestry) refers to Mohammed and
+his family.
+
+[FN#128] Khusrau Parwiz, grandson of Anushirwan, the Guebre King who
+tore his kingdom by tearing Mohammed's letter married the beautiful
+Maria or Irene (in Persian "Shνrνn = the sweet) daughter of the Greek
+Emperor Maurice: their loves were sung by a host of poets; and likewise
+the passion of the sculptor Farhαd for the same Shirin. Mr. Lyall
+writes "Parwκz" and holds "Parwνz" a modern form.
+
+[FN#129] he could afford it according to historians. His throne was
+supported by 40,000 silver pillars; and 1,000 globes, hung in the dome,
+formed an orrery, showing the motion of the heavenly bodies; 30,000
+pieces of embroidered tapestry overhung the walls below were vaults
+full of silver, gold and gems.
+
+[FN#130] Arab. "Khunsα," meaning also a catamite as I have explained.
+Lane (ii. 586) has it; "This fish is of a mixed kind." (!).
+
+[FN#131] So the model lovers became the ordinary married couple.
+
+[FN#132] Arab. "Jamm." Heb. "Yamm." Al-Harνri (Ass. Of Sinjar and
+Sαwah) uses the rare form Yam for sea or ocean.
+
+[FN#133] Al-Hadi, immediate predecessor of Harun al-Rashid, called
+"Al-Atbik": his upper lip was contracted and his father placed a slave
+over him when in childhood, with orders to say, "Musa! atbik!" (draw
+thy lips together) when he opened his mouth.
+
+[FN#134] Immediate successor of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Amin is an imposing
+physical figure, fair, tall, handsome and of immense strength;
+according to Al-Mas'ÏŠdi, he killed a lion with his own hands; but his
+mind and judgement were weak. He was fond of fishing; and his reply to
+the courtier bringing important news, "Confound thee! leave me! for
+Kausar (an eunuch whom he loved) hath caught two fish and I none,"
+reminds one of royal frivolity in France.
+
+[FN#135] Afterwards governor in Khorasan under Al-Maamun.
+
+[FN#136] Intendant of the palace under Harun al-Rashid.
+
+[FN#137] Moslem women have this advantage over their Western
+sisterhood: they can always leave the house of father or husband and,
+without asking permission, pay a week or ten days' visit to their
+friends. But they are not expected to meet their lovers.
+
+[FN#138] The tale of "Susannah and the Elders" in Moslem form.
+
+
+Dαniyαl is the Arab Daniel, supposed to have been buried at
+
+
+Alexandria. (Pilgrimage, i. 16.)
+
+
+
+[FN#139] According to Moslem law, laid down by Mohammed on a delicate
+occasion and evidently for a purpose, four credible witnesses are
+required to prove fornication, adultery, sodomy and so forth; and they
+must swear that actually saw rem in re, the "Kohl-needle in the
+Kohl-ιtui," as the Arabs have it. This practically prevents conviction
+and the sabre cuts the Gordian knot.
+
+[FN#140] Who, in such case, would represent our equerry.
+
+[FN#141] The Badawi not only always tells the truth, a perfect contrast
+with the townsfolk; he is blunt in speech addressing his Sultan "O
+Sa'νd!" and he has a hard rough humour which we may fairly describe as
+"wut." When you chaff him look out for falls.
+
+[FN#142] The answer is as old as the hills, teste the tale of what
+happened when Amasis (who on horseback) raised his leg, "broke wind and
+bad the messenger carry it back to Apries." Herod. Ii. 162. But for the
+full significance of the Badawi's most insulting reply see the Tale of
+Abu Hasan in Night ccccxi.
+
+[FN#143] Arab. "Yα sαki" al-Dakan" meaning long bearded (foolish) as
+well as frosty bearded.
+
+[FN#144] P. N. of the tribe, often mentioned in The Nights.
+
+[FN#145] Adnan, which whom Arab genealogy begins, is generally supposed
+to be the eighth (Al-Tabari says the fortieth) descendant from Ishmael
+and nine generations are placed between him and Fahr (Fihr) Kuraysh.
+The Prophet cut all disputes short by saying, "Beyond Adnan none save
+Allah wotteth and the genealogists lie." (Pilgrimage ii. 344) M.C. de
+Perceval dates Adnan about B.C. 130.
+
+[FN#146] Koran xxxiii., 38.
+
+[FN#147] Arab. "Arab al-Arabα," as before noticed (vol. i. 12) the pure
+and genuine blood as opposed to the "Musta'aribah," the "Muta'arribah,"
+the "Mosarabians" and other Araboids; the first springing from Khatan
+(Yaktan?) and the others from Adnan. And note that "Arabi" = a man of
+pure Arab race, either of the Desert or of the city, while A'arαbi
+applies only to the Desert man, the Badawi.
+
+[FN#148] Koran xxxviii. 2, speaking of the Unbelievers (i.e.
+non-Moslems) who are full of pride and contention.
+
+[FN#149] One of the Ashαb, or Companions of the Apostle, that is them
+who knew him personally. (Pilgrimage ii. 80, etc.) The Ashαb al-Suffah
+(Companions of the bench or sofa) were certain houseless Believers
+lodged by the Prophet. (Pilgrimage ii. 143).
+
+[FN#150] Hence Omar is entitled "Al-Adil = the Just." Readers will
+remember that by Moslem law and usage murder and homicide are offences
+to be punished by the family, not by society or its delegates. This
+system reappears in civilisation under the denomination of "Lynch Law,"
+a process infinitely distasteful to lawyers (whom it abolishes) and
+most valuable when administered with due discretion.
+
+[FN#151] Lane translates (ii. 592) "from a desire of seeing the face of
+God;" but the general belief of Al-Islam is that the essence of Allah's
+corporeal form is different from man's. The orthodox expect to "see
+their Lord on Doom-day as they see the full moon" (a tradition). But
+the Mu'atazilites deny with the existence of matter the corporiety of
+Alah and hold that he will be seen only with the spiritual eyes, i.e.
+of reason.
+
+[FN#152] See Gesta Romanorum, Tale cviii., "of Constancy in adhering to
+Promises," founded on Damon and Pythias or, perhaps, upon the Arabic.
+
+[FN#153] Arab. "Al-Ahrαm," a word of unknown provenance. It has been
+suggested that the singular form (Haram), preceded by the Coptic
+article "pi" (= the) suggested to the Greeks "Pyramis." But this word
+is still sub judice and every Egyptologist seems to propose his own
+derivation. Brugsch (Egypt i. 72) makes it Greek, the Egyptian being
+"Abumir," while "pir- am-us" = the edge of the pyramid, the corners
+running from base to apex. The Egyptologist proves also what the
+Ancients either ignored or forgot to mention, that each pyramid had its
+own name.
+
+[FN#154] Arab. "Ahkαm," in this matter supporting the
+
+
+"Pyramidologists."
+
+
+
+[FN#155] All imaginative.
+
+[FN#156] It has always been my opinion founded upon considerations too
+long to detail, that the larger Pyramids contain many unopened
+chambers. Dr. Grant Bey of Cairo proposed boring through the blocks as
+Artesian wells are driven. I cannot divine why Lane (ii, 592) chose to
+omit this tale, which is founded on historic facts and interests us by
+suggesting a comparison between Mediζval Moslem superstitions and those
+of our xixth Century, which to our descendants will appear as wild, if
+not as picturesque, as those of The Nights. The "inspired British inch"
+and the building by Melchisedek (the Shaykh of some petty Syrian
+village) will compare not unaptly with the enchanted swords, flexible
+glass and guardian spirits. But the Pyramidennarren is a race which
+will not speedily die out: it is based on Nature, the Pyramids
+themselves.
+
+[FN#157] Arab. "Rizm"; hence, through the Italian Risma our ream (= 20
+quires of paper, etc.), which our dictionaries derive from (!). See
+"frail" in Night dcccxxxviii.
+
+[FN#158] Arab. "Tarνkah" = the path trodden by ascetics and mystics in
+order to attain true knowledge (Ma'rifat in Pers. Dαnish). These are
+extensive subjects: for the present I must refer readers to the
+Dabistan, iii. 35 and iii. 29, 36-7.
+
+[FN#159] Alluding to the Fishαr or "Squeeze of the tomb." This is the
+Jewish Hibbut hakkeber which all must endure, save those who lived in
+the Holy Land or died on the Sabbath-eve (Friday night). Then comes the
+questioning by the Angels Munkar and Nakir (vulgarly called Nαkir and
+Nakνr) for which see Lane (M.E. chapt. xviii.). In Egypt a "Mulakkin"
+(intelligencer) is hired to prompt and instruct the dead. Moslems are
+beginning to question these facts of their faith: a Persian
+acquaintance of mine filled his dead father's mouth with flour and
+finding it in loco on opening the grave, publicly derided the belief.
+But the Mullahs had him on the hip, after the fashion of reverends,
+declaring that the answers were made through the whole body, not only
+by the mouth. At last the Voltairean had to quit Shiraz.
+
+[FN#160] Arab. "Walν" = a saint, Santon (Ital. Form) also a slave. See
+in Richardson (Dissert. iii.), an illustration of the difference
+between Wali and Wαli as exemplified by the Caliph al- Kαdir and Mahmϊd
+of Ghazni.
+
+[FN#161] Arab. "Tνn" = the tenacious clay puddled with chaff which
+serves as mortar for walls built of Adobe or sun dried brick. I made a
+mistake in my Pilgrimage (i.10) translating Ras al-Tνn the old Pharos
+of Alexandria, by "Headland of Figs." It is Headland of Clay, so called
+from the argile there found and which supported an old pottery.
+
+[FN#162] The danik (Pers. Dang) is the sixth of a dirham. Mr. S. L.
+Poole (The Acad. April 26, '79) prefers his uncle's translation "a
+sixth" (what of?) to Mr. Payne's "farthing." The latter at any rate is
+intelligible.
+
+[FN#163] The devotee was "Sαim al-dahr" i.e. he never ate nor drank
+from daylight to dark throughout the year.
+
+[FN#164] The ablution of a common man differs from that of an
+
+
+educated Moslem as much as the eating of a clown and a gentleman.
+
+
+Moreover there are important technical differences between the
+
+
+Wuzu of the Sunni and the Shi'ah.
+
+
+
+[FN#165] i.e., by honouring his father.
+
+[FN#166] This young saint was as selfish and unnatural a sinner as
+Saint Alexius of the Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), to whom my friend, the
+late Thomas Wright, administered just and due punishment.
+
+[FN#167] The verses are affecting enough, though by no means high
+poetry.
+
+[FN#168] The good young man cut his father for two reasons: secular
+power (an abomination to good Moslems) and defective title to the
+Caliphate. The latter is a trouble to Turkey in the present day and
+with time will prove worse.
+
+[FN#169] Umm Amrν (written Amrϊ and pronounced Amr') a matronymic,
+"mother of Amru." This story and its terminal verse is a regular Joe
+Miller.
+
+[FN#170] Abuse and derision of schoolmaster are staple subjects in the
+East as in the West, (Quem Dii oderunt pζdagogum fecerunt).
+Anglo-Indians will remember:
+
+     "Miyαn-ji ti-ti!
+
+
+     Bachche-kν gαnd men anguli kν thi!"
+
+
+     ("Schoolmaster hum!
+
+
+     Who fumbled and fingered the little boy's bum?")
+
+
+
+[FN#171] Arab. "Mujawirin" = the lower servants, sweepers, etc. See
+Pilgrimage ii. 161, where it is also applied to certain "settlers" at
+Al-Medinah. Burckhardt (No. 480) notices another meaning "foreigners
+who attend mosque-lectures" and quotes the saying, "A. pilgrimaged:"
+quoth B. "yes! and for his villanies resideth (Mujαwir) at Meccah."
+
+[FN#172] The custom (growing obsolete in Egypt) is preserved in
+Afghanistan where the learned wear turbans equal to the canoe- hats of
+the Spanish cardinals.
+
+[FN#173] Arab. "Makmarah," a metal cover for the usual brasier or pan
+of charcoal which acts as a fire-place. Lane (ii. 600) does not
+translate the word and seems to think it means a belt or girdle, thus
+blunting the point of the dominie's excuse.
+
+[FN#174] This story, a very old Joe Miller, was told to Lane as
+something new and he introduced it into his Modern Egyptians, end of
+chapt. ii.
+
+[FN#175] This tale is a mere abbreviation of "The King and his
+
+
+Wazir's Wife," in the Book of Sindibad or the Malice of Women,
+
+
+Night dcxxviii., {which see for annotations}.
+
+
+
+[FN#176] The older "Roe" which may be written "Rukh" or "Rukhkh."
+Colonel Yule, the learned translator of Marco Polo, has shown that
+"Roc's" feathers were not uncommon curiosities in mediζval ages; and
+holds that they were mostly fronds of the palm Raphia vinifera, which
+has the largest leaf in the vegetable kingdom and which the Moslems of
+Zanzibar call "Satan's date-tree." I need hardly quote "Frate Cipolla
+and the Angel Gabriel's Feather." (Decameron vi. 10.)
+
+[FN#177] The tale is told in a bald, disjointed style and will be
+repeated in Sindbad the Seaman where I shall again notice the "Roc."
+See Night dxxxvii., etc.
+
+[FN#178] Hνrah in Mesopotamia was a Christian city and
+
+
+principality subject to the Persian Monarchs; and a rival to the
+
+
+Roman kingdom of Ghassαn. It has a long history, for which see
+
+
+D'Herbelot.
+
+
+
+[FN#179] A pre-Islamite poet.
+
+[FN#180] Arab. "Bikα'a," alluding to the pilgrimages made to
+monasteries and here equivalent to, "Address ye to the road," etc.
+
+[FN#181] Whose by name was Abu Ali, a poet under the Abbasides (eighth
+and ninth centuries).
+
+[FN#182] A well-known quarter of Baghdad, often mentioned in The
+
+
+Nights.
+
+
+
+[FN#183] Another well-known poet of the time.
+
+[FN#184] Arab. "Sardαb": noticed before.
+
+[FN#185] A gigantic idol in the Ka'abah, destroyed by Mohammed: it gave
+name to a tribe.
+
+[FN#186] Arab. "Ya Kawwαd:" hence the Port. and Span.
+
+
+Alcoviteiro.
+
+
+
+[FN#187] Arab "Tufayli," a term before noticed; the class was as
+well-known in Baghdad and Cairo as in ancient Rome.
+
+[FN#188] Arab. "Jauzar"=a bubalus (Antilope defessa), also called "Aye"
+from the large black eyes. This bovine antelope is again termed Bakar
+al-Wahsh (wild cattle) or "Bos Sylvestris" (incerti generic, Forsk.).
+But Janzar also signifies hart, so I render it by "Ariel" (the
+well-known antelope).
+
+[FN#189] Arab. "Tarαib" plur. of tarνbah. The allusion is to the heart,
+and "the little him's a her."
+
+[FN#190] A well-known poet of the ninth century (A.D.).
+
+[FN#191] These easy deaths for love are a lieu common: See sundry of
+them in the Decameron (iv. 7, etc.); and, in the Heptameron (Nouv.
+Ixx.), the widow who lay down and died of love and sorrow that her
+passion had become known. For the fainting of lovers see Nouvelle xix.
+
+[FN#192] This is a favourite Badawi dish, but too expensive unless some
+accident happen to the animal. Old camel is much like bull-beef, but
+the young meat is excellent, although not relished by Europeans
+because, like strange fish, it has no recognised flavour. I have
+noticed it in my "First Footsteps" (p. 68, etc.). There is an old idea
+in Europe that the maniacal vengeance of the Arab is increased by
+eating this flesh, the beast is certainly vindictive enough; but a
+furious and frantic vengefulness characterises the North American
+Indian who never saw a camel. Mercy and pardon belong to the elect, not
+to the miserables who make up " humanity."
+
+[FN#193] i.e. of the Province Hazramaut, the Biblical Hazarmaveth (Gen.
+x. 26). The people are the Swill of Arabia and noted for thrift and
+hard bargains; hence the saying, If you meet a serpent and a Hazrami,
+slay the Hazrami. To prove how ubiquitous they are it is related that a
+man, flying from their society, reached the uttermost parts of China
+where he thought himself safe. But, as he was about to pass the night
+in some ruin, he heard a voice bard by him exclaim, "O Imαd al-Din!"
+(the name of the patron-saint of Hazramaut). Thereupon he arose and
+fled and he is, they say, flying still.
+
+[FN#194] Arab. "Fαl" alluding to the Sortes Coranicζ and other silly
+practices known to the English servant-girs when curious about her
+future and her futur.
+
+[FN#195] i.e., in Arab-land (where they eat dates) and Ajam, or lands
+non-Arab (where bread is the staff of life); that is, all the world
+over.
+
+[FN#196] This story is curious and ethnologically valuable. The Badawi
+who eructates as a civility, has a mortal hatred to a crepitus ventris;
+and were a by-stander to laugh at its accidental occurrence, he would
+at once be cut down as a "pundonor." The same is the custom amongst the
+Highlanders of Afghanistan, and its artificial nature suggests direct
+derivation, for the two regions are separated by a host of tribes,
+Persians and Baloch, Sindis and Panjαbis who utterly ignore the point
+of honour and behave like Europeans. The raids of the pre-Islamitic
+Arabs over the lands lying to the north-east of them are almost
+forgotten; still there are traces, and this may be one of them.
+
+[FN#197] Arab. "Al-Αr." The Badawi saying is "Al-nαr wa lα l- αr"
+(Hell-)fire, but not shame. The sentiment is noble. Hasan the Prophet's
+grandson, a poor creature demoralised by over- marrying, chose the
+converse, "Shame is better than Hell-fire." An old Arabic poem has,
+
+     "The Fire and not shame be the Lord of thee
+
+
+      And e'en to The Fire from shame go flee."
+
+
+
+Al-Hariri (Ass. of the Badawin) also has,
+
+     "For rather would I die my death than shame,—
+
+
+      On bier be borne than bear a caitiff's name."
+
+
+
+[FN#198] A grammarian and rhetorician of ninth century.
+
+[FN#199] Once existing in Syrian Hamαh (the Biblical Hamath); and so
+called because here died the Emperor Heraclius called by the Arabs
+"Hirakl."
+
+[FN#200] Till lately it was the custom to confine madmen in Syrian
+monasteries, hoping a cure from the patron Saint, and a terrible time
+they had of it. Every guide book relates the healing process as
+formerly pursued at the Maronite Convent Koshaya not far from Bayrut.
+The idiot or maniac was thrust headlong by the monks into a dismal
+cavern with a heavy chain round his neck, and was tied up within a span
+of the wall to await the arrival of Saint Anthony who especially
+affects this holy place. In very few weeks the patient was effectually
+cured or killed by cold, solitude and starvation.
+
+[FN#201] The Moslem Eve, much nearer the Hebrew "Hawah" = the
+"manifester," because (Gen. iii. 20) she was (to be) the mother of all
+that live ("Kull hayy").
+
+[FN#202] The mad lover says "they" for "she," which would be too
+familiar in speaking to strangers.
+
+[FN#203] i.e. falsely to report the death.
+
+[FN#204] A famous grammarian, etc., of the tenth century.
+
+[FN#205] The classical Amorium in Phrygia now Anatolia: Anbαr is
+
+
+a town (before mentioned) on the Euphrates; by the rules of
+
+
+Arabic grammar the word is pronounced (though never written)
+
+
+Ambαr.
+
+
+
+[FN#206] "Art thou not the slave of the Messiah, the Rαhib (monk)?"
+"No! I am the slave of Allah, the Rαghib (desirous of mercy from the
+Almighty). " A fair specimen of the Saj'a or rhymed prose. Abdallah
+(properly "Abdu'llah:") is a kind of neutral name, neither Jewish,
+Moslem nor Christian; hence I adopted it, (Pilgrimage i. 20.)
+
+[FN#207] Arab. "Hanut," prop. a tavern where liquors are sold, a term
+applied contemptuously to shops, inns, etc., kept by Christians.
+
+[FN#208] Arab. "Shirk" = syntheism of the "Mushrik" (one who makes
+other gods partners with God), a word pronounced "Mushrit" by the
+Wahhabis and the Badawin.
+
+[FN#209] Koran vii. 195. The passage declaims against the idols of the
+Arabs, sun, moon. stars, etc.
+
+[FN#210] This minor miracle is commonly reported, and is not, I
+believe, unknown to modern "Spiritualism." The dead Wali or Waliyah
+(Saintess) often impels the bier-bearers to the spot where he would be
+buried: hence in Cairo the tombs scattered about the city. Lane notices
+it, Mod. E. chaps. xxviii.
+
+[FN#211] Koran x. 36, speaking of being turned aside from the true
+worship.
+
+[FN#212] One of the Wazirs of al-Maamun, Kurrat al-Ayn = "coolness
+(i.e. delight) of the eyes" Ali bin Hishαm surnamed Abu'l-Hasan, was
+prefect of Baghdad under the same reign.
+
+[FN#213] The Mac. Edit. (ii. 448) reads for Kawαid (plur. of Kαid =
+Governors, Span. Alcayde) "Fawαid": hence Lane (ii. 606) translates "
+try thy heart."
+
+ [FN#214] The mats of Sind were famous even in my day, but under
+
+
+English rule native industries are killed out by Manchester and
+
+
+Birmingham.
+
+
+
+[FN#215] Sajαh was the name of a famous female impostor, a contemporary
+of "Musaylimah the Liar."
+
+[FN#216] A poet of Mohammed's day.
+
+[FN#217] A singer and composer of the first century (A. H.).
+
+[FN#218] Arab = a roe, a doe; also the Yoni (of women, mares and
+bitches). It is the Heb. Tabitha and the Greek Dorcas.
+
+[FN#219] Within the HudÏŠd al-Harem (bounds of the Holy Places), at
+Al-Medinah as well as Meccah, all "Muharramαt" (forbidden sins) are
+doubly unlawful, such as drinking spirits, immoral life, etc. The Imam
+Malik forbids slaying animals without, however, specifying any penalty.
+The felling of trees is a disputed point; and no man can be put to
+death except invaders, infidels and desecraters. (Pilgrimage ii. 167.)
+
+[FN#220] A poet of the first century (A.H.).
+
+[FN#221] In Arab. =a fawn beginning to walk, also the 28th lunar
+mansion or station, usually known as Batn al-Hut or Whale's belly.
+These mansions or houses, the constellations through which the moon
+passes in her course along her orbit, are much used in Moslem astrology
+and meteorology.
+
+[FN#222] Arab. Kalla-mα = it is seldom (rare) that etc. used in books.
+
+[FN#223] Dishonoured by his love being made public. So Hafiz,
+
+
+Petrarch and Camoens.
+
+
+
+[FN#224] Sixth Abbaside, A.D. 809-813.
+
+[FN#225] Ala'llah, tenth Abbaside, A. H. 232-47 (847-61), grandson of
+Al-Rashid who succeeded Al-Wαsik. He was a fanatic Sunni, much opposed
+to the Shi'ahs and he ordered the Christians to wear round their necks
+the Ghull (collar of wood, iron, or leather), to dress in yellow
+head-gear and girdles, use wooden stirrups and place figures of devils
+in front of their dwelling-houses. He also gave distinct dresses to
+their women and slaves. The Ghull, or collar, was also used for a
+punishment and vermin gathered under it when riveted round the neck:
+hence Golius calls it "pediculosum columbar."
+
+[FN#226] Wazir of the above. killed by al-Muntasir Billah A. H. 247 (=
+861).
+
+[FN#227] Easterns during purgation are most careful and deride the want
+of precaution in Europeans. They do not leave the house till all is
+passed off, and avoid baths, wine and women which they afterwards
+resume with double zest. Here "breaking the seal" is taking the girl's
+maidenhead.
+
+[FN#228] Johannes, a Greek favoured by Al-Mutawakkil and other
+
+
+Abbaside Caliphs.
+
+
+
+[FN#229] Lady of Shaykhs, elders in the faith and men of learning
+
+
+[FN#230] = A.D. 1166.
+
+
+[FN#231] Koran iv. 38. I have before noted what the advantages are.
+
+[FN#232] Koran ii. 282, "of those whom ye shall choose for witnesses."
+
+[FN#233] Koran iv. 175, "Whereas if there be two sisters, they inherit
+only two-thirds between them."
+
+[FN#234] The secondary meaning is "Fα'il" = the active sodomite and
+"Mafa'ÏŠl" = the passive, a catamite: the former is not an insulting
+word, the latter is a most injurious expression. "Novimus et qui te!"
+
+[FN#235] It is an unpleasant fact that almost all the poetry of Hαfiz
+is addressed to youths, as we see by the occasional introduction of
+Arabic (e.g., Afαka'llαh). Persian has no genders properly so called,
+hence the effect is less striking. Sa'di, the "Persian Moralist" begins
+one of the tales, "A certain learned man fell in love with a beautiful
+son of a blacksmith," which Gladwin, translating for the general,
+necessarily changed to "daughter."
+
+[FN#236] The famous author of the Anthology called Al-Hamαsah.
+
+[FN#237] i.e., teeth under the young mustachio.
+
+[FN#238] The "Silk man" and the celebrated author of the Makαmαt,
+assemblies or seances translated (or attempted) into all the languages
+of Europe. We have two in English, the first by Theodore Preston, M.A.
+(London, Madden, 1850); but it contains only twenty of the fifty
+pieces. The second by the late Mr. Chenery (before alluded to) ends
+with the twenty-sixth assembly: one volume in fact, the other never
+having been finished. English readers, therefore, are driven to the
+grand edition of the Makαmαt in folio by Baron Silvestre de Sacy.
+
+[FN#239] The sword of the eye has a Hamαil (baldrick worn over right
+shoulder, Pilgrimage i. 352) to support the "Ghimd" (vulg. Ghamad) or
+scabbard (of wood or leather): and this baldrick is the young whisker.
+
+[FN#240] The conceit of "Sulαfat" (ptisane, grape juice allowed to
+drain on the slabs) and "Sawαlif" (tresses, locks) has been explained.
+The newest wine is the most inebriating, a fact not much known in
+England, but familiar to the drinker of "Vino novo."
+
+[FN#241] Koran xii. 51, this said by the nobleman's (Potiphar's) wife
+who adds, "I selected him to lie with me; and he (Joseph) is one of
+those who speak truth."
+
+[FN#242] Here we have a specimen of the strained Saj'a or balanced
+prose: slave-girls (jawαrν) are massed with flowing tears (dam'u jαri)
+on account of the Kαfiyah or rhyme.
+
+[FN#243] The detected sodomite is punished with death according to
+Moslem law, but again comes the difficulty of proof. At Shiraz I have
+heard of a pious Moslem publicly executing his son.
+
+[FN#244] Koran xxvi. 165 et seq. The Lord speaks to the "people of Lot"
+(Sodomites). Mr. Payne renders "Min al-αlamνma," "from the four corners
+of the world."
+
+[FN#245] Meaning before and behind, a Moslemah "Bet Balmanno."
+
+[FN#246] Arab. " Lϊti," (plur. Lawαtν), much used in Persian as a
+buffoon, a debauchee, a rascal. The orig. sig. is "One of (the people
+of) Lot." The old English was Ingle or Yngle (a bardachio, a catamite,
+a boy kept for sodomy), which Minsheu says is, "Vox hispanica et
+significat Latinθ Inguen" (the groin). Our vulgar modern word like the
+Italian bugiardo is pop. derived from Fr. Bougre, alias Bulgarus, a
+Bulgarian, a heretic: hence Boulgrin (Rabelais i. chaps. ii.) is
+popularly applied to the Albigeois (Albigenses, whose persecution began
+shortly after A.D. 1200) and the Lutherans. I cannot but think that
+"bougre" took its especial modern signification after the French became
+acquainted with the Brazil, where the Huguenots (in A.D. 1555) were
+founding a Nouvelle France, alias Equinoctiale, alias Antarctique, and
+whence the savages were carried as curiosities to Paris. Their generic
+name was "Bugre" (properly a tribe in Southern Brazil, but applied to
+all the redskins) and they were all born Sodomites. More of this in the
+terminal Essay.
+
+[FN#247] His paper is the whiteness of his skin. I have quoted the
+Persian saying of a young beard: "his cheeks don mourning for his
+beauty's death."
+
+[FN#248] Arab. "Khabαl," lit. the pus which flows from the bodies of
+the damned.
+
+[FN#249] Most characteristic of Egypt is all this scene. Her reverence,
+it is true, sits behind a curtain; but her virtue uses language which
+would shame the lowest European prostitute; and which is filthy almost
+as Dean Swift's.
+
+[FN#250] Arab. "Niyat:" the Moslem's idea of intentions quite runs with
+the Christian's. There must be a "Niyat" or purpose of prayer or the
+devotion is valueless. Lane tells a pleasant tale of a thief in the
+Mosque, saying "I purpose (before Prayer) to carry off this nice pair
+of new shoes!"
+
+[FN#251] Arab. "Ya 'l-AjÏŠz" (in Cairo "Agooz" pronounced "Ago-o- oz"):
+the address is now insulting and would elicit "The old woman in thine
+eye" (with fingers extended). In Egypt the polite address is "O lady
+(Sitt), O pilgrimess, O bride, and O daughter" (although she be the
+wrong side of fifty). In Arabia you may say "O woman (Imraah)" but in
+Egypt the reply would be "The woman shall see Allah cut out thy heart!"
+So in Southern Italy you address "bella fι" (fair one) and cause a
+quarrel by "vecchiarella."
+
+[FN#252] Governor of Egypt, Khorasan, etc. under Al-Maamun.
+
+[FN#253] i.e., a companion, a solacer: it is also a man's name (vol. i.
+xxiv.).
+
+[FN#254] At Baghdad; evidently written by a Baghdad or Mosul man.
+
+[FN#255] A blind traditionist of Bassorah (ninth century).
+
+[FN#256] Arab. "Zaghab"=the chick's down; the warts on the cucumber
+which sometimes develop into projections.
+
+[FN#257] The Persian saying is, A kiss without moustachio is bread
+without salt.
+
+[FN#258] "And We will prove you with evil, and with good, for a trial
+of you; and unto Us shall ye return." (Koran xxi. 36.) The saying is
+always in the Moslem's mouth.
+
+[FN#259] Arab. "Sunnat," lit.=a law, especially applied to the habit
+and practice of the Apostle in religious and semi-religious matters,
+completing the "Hadis," or his spoken words. Anything unknown is
+entitled "Bida'ah"=innovation. Hence the strict Moslem is a model
+Conservative whose exemplar of life dates from the seventh century.
+This fact may be casuistically explained away; but is not less an
+obstacle to all progress and it will be one of the principal dangers
+threatening Al-Islam. Only fair to say that an "innovation" introduced
+by a perfect follower of the Prophet is held equal theoretically to a
+Sunnat; but vulgarly it is said, "The rabble will not take gold which
+is not coined."
+
+[FN#260] Arab. "Arsh"=the ninth Heaven, the Throne of the Deity, above
+the Seven Heavens of the planets and the Primum Mobile which, in the
+Ptolemaic system, sets them all in motion.
+
+[FN#261] This description of a good Moslem's death is at once concise,
+pathetic and picturesque.
+
+[FN#262] This is the first mention of coffee; apparently
+
+
+introduced by the scribe: the word rendered "coffee-makers" is
+
+
+"Kahwajiyah"; an Arab. plur. of a Turkish termination (-ji) to an
+
+
+Arab. word "Kahwah" (before noticed).
+
+
+
+[FN#263] Picnics are still made to Rauzah (Rodah) island: I have
+enjoyed many a one, but the ground is all private property.
+
+[FN#264] Arab. "Hosh," plur. Hνshαn, the low courts surrounded by mean
+lodgings which in "native" Cairo still contrast so strongly with the
+"gingerbread" of the new buildings.
+
+[FN#265] This is the Moslem equivalent of "thank you." He looks upon
+the donor as the channel through which Allah sends him what he wants
+and prays for more to come. Thus "May your shadow never be less" means,
+May you increase in prosperity so that I may gain thereby! And if a
+beggar is disposed to be insolent (a very common case), he will tell
+you his mind pretty freely on the subject, and make it evident to you
+that all you have is also his and that La propriιtι (when not shared)
+est le vol.
+
+[FN#266] I have noticed in my Pilgrimage (i. 51-53) the kindly care
+with which the stranger is treated by Moslems, a marvellous contrast to
+the ways of "civilization."
+
+[FN#267] Arab. "Dimyat," vulg. pronounced "Dumνyat."
+
+[FN#268] Where the door-keepers sit and receive their friends.
+
+[FN#269] This is a traveller's 'Kit' in the East.
+
+[FN#270] Arab. "Takht-rawαn," from Persian meaning "moveable throne."
+
+[FN#271] The use of the expression proved the speaker to be a
+
+
+Moslem Jinnν.
+
+
+
+[FN#272] The "haunted" house proper, known to the vulgar and to
+spiritualists becomes, I have said, amongst Moslems a place tenanted by
+Jinns.
+
+[FN#273] Needless to say there never was a Sultan or a King of Baghdad
+nor a Duke of Athens. This story would seem not to have been written by
+the author of "the Emir bin Tahir," etc. Night ccccxxiv.
+
+[FN#274] Plur. of Αlim=one learned in the law, a D.D. Mohammed did his
+best to abolish the priest and his craft by making each Moslem
+paterfamilias a pontifex in his own household and he severely condemned
+monkery and celibacy. But human nature was too much for him: even
+before his death ascetic associations began to crop up. Presently the
+Olema in Al-Islam formed themselves into a kind of clergy; with the
+single but highly important difference that they must (or ought to)
+live by some honest secular calling and not by the "cure of souls";
+hence Mahomet IV. of Turkey was solemnly deposed. So far and no farther
+Mohammed was successful and his success has secured for him the lively
+and lasting hatred of the ecclesiastical caste which he so honestly and
+wisely attempted to abate. Even to the present day missionaries have a
+good word for the Guebre and the Buddhist, the Brahmanist and the
+Confucian, but none for the Moslem: Dr. Livingstone, for one instance
+of many, evidently preferred the Fetichist, whom he could convert, to
+the Unitarian Faithful whom he could not.
+
+[FN#275] i.e. they recited seven times (an unusual number), for greater
+solemnity, the opening Chapter of the Koran which does general duty on
+such occasions as making covenants and swearing fealty. This
+proclaiming a King by acclamation suggests the origin of the old and
+venerable Portuguese institution.
+
+[FN#276] By affixing his own seal and that of the King. This in later
+times was supplanted by the "Tughrα," the imperial cypher or
+counter-mark (much like a writing master's flourish), with which Europe
+has now been made familiar through the agency of Turkish tobacco.
+
+[FN#277] Arab. "Wird"=the twenty-five last chapters of the Koran which
+are repeated, one or more at a time, after the end of the "Farz," or
+obligatory prayers and ad libitum with the Sunnat or customary, and the
+Nαfilah or supererogatory.
+
+[FN#278] The sensible creed of Al-Islam freely allows anthropophagy
+when it saves life; a contrast to the sentimentalism of the West which
+brings a "charge of cannibalism" against unfortunate expeditionists. I
+particularly allude to the scandalous pulings of the English Press over
+the gallant and unfortunate Greely voyage. (The Academy, Sept. 25,
+1884.)
+
+[FN#279] The story is mere Ζsopic: the "Two dogs" contains it all. One
+of Mohammed's sensible sayings is recorded and deserves
+repetition:—"Empire endureth with infidelity (idolatry, etc.), but not
+with tyranny."
+
+[FN#280] This couplet occurs in Night xxi. (vol. i. 207); so I give
+Torrens (p.207) by way of variety.
+
+[FN#281] Lane (ii. 636) omits this tale, "as it would not only require
+a volume of commentary but be extremely tiresome to most readers."
+Quite true; but it is valuable to Oriental Students who are beginning
+their studies, as an excellent compendium of doctrine and practice
+according to the Shafi'ν School.
+
+[FN#282] Pronounced Aboo 'l-Husn = Father of Beauty, a fancy name.
+
+[FN#283] As in most hot climates so in Egypt the dead are buried at
+once despite the risk of vivisepulture. This seems an instinct with the
+Semitic (Arabian) race teste Abraham, as with the Gypsy. Hence the
+Moslems have invoked religious aid. The Mishkαt al-Masαbih (i. 387)
+makes Mohammed say, "When any one of you dieth you may not keep him in
+the house but bear him quickly to his grave"; and again, "Be quick in
+raising up the bier: for if the dead have been a good man, it is good
+to bear him gravewards without delay; and if bad, it is frowardness ye
+put from your necks."
+
+[FN#284] This biting of the hand in Al-Harνri expresses bitterness of
+repentance and he uses more than once the Koranic phrase (chapter vii.,
+148) "Sukita fν aydνhim," lit. where it (the biting) was fallen upon
+their hands; i.e. when it repented them; "sukita" being here not a
+passive verb as it appears, but an impersonal form uncommon in Arabic.
+The action is instinctive, a survival of the days when man was a
+snarling and snapping animal (physically) armed only with claws and
+teeth.
+
+[FN#285] Arab. "'Alam," applied to many things, an "old man" of stones
+(Kαkϊr), a signpost with a rag on the top, etc.
+
+[FN#286] The moon of Ramazan was noticed in Night ix. That of Sha'aban
+(eighth month) begins the fighting month after the conclusion of the
+Treuga Dei in Rajab. See Night ccclxxviii.
+
+[FN#287] These lines have occurred in Night cccxix. I give Mr.
+
+
+Payne's version for variety.
+
+
+
+[FN#288] i.e. in her prime, at fourteen to fifteen.
+
+[FN#289] i.e. pale and yellow.
+
+[FN#290] The word means the wood; but it alludes to a preparation made
+by levigating it on a stone called in India "Sandlαsα." The gruel-like
+stuff is applied with the right hand to the right side of the neck,
+drawing the open fingers from behind forwards so as to leave four
+distinct streaks, then down to the left side, and so on to the other
+parts of the body.
+
+[FN#291] Arab. "Haykal" which included the Porch, the Holy and
+
+
+the Holy of Holies. The word is used as in a wider sense by
+
+
+Josephus A. J. v. v. 3. In Moslem writings it is applied to a
+
+
+Christian Church generally, on account of its images.
+
+
+
+[FN#292] These lines having occurred before, I here quote Mr.
+
+
+Payne.
+
+
+
+[FN#293] Arab writers often mention the smile of beauty, but rarely,
+after European fashion, the laugh, which they look upon as undignified.
+A Moslem will say "Don't guffaw (Kahkahah) in that way; leave giggling
+and grinning to monkeys and Christians." The Spaniards, a grave people,
+remark that Christ never laughed. I would draw the reader's attention
+to a theory of mine that the open-hearted laugh has the sound of the
+vowels a and o; while e, i, and u belong to what may be roughly classed
+as the rogue order.
+
+[FN#294] i.e. gaining the love of another, love.
+
+[FN#295] i.e. the abrogated passages and those by which they are
+abrogated. This division is necessary for "inspired volumes," which
+always abound in contradictions. But the charge of "opportunism"
+brought against the Koran is truly absurd; as if "revelation" could
+possibly be aught save opportune.
+
+[FN#296] Koran iv. 160, the chapter "Women."
+
+[FN#297] She unveiled, being a slave-girl and for sale. If a free woman
+show her face to a Moslem, he breaks out into violent abuse, because
+the act is intended to let him know that he is looked upon as a small
+boy or an eunuch or a Chriastian—in fact not a man.
+
+[FN#298] Ilah=Heb. El, a most difficult root, meaning strength,
+interposition, God (Numen) "the" (article) "don't" (do not), etc. etc.
+
+[FN#299] As far as I know Christians are the only worshippers who kneel
+as if their lower legs were cut off and who "join hands" like the
+captive offering his wrists to be bound (dare manus). The posture,
+however, is not so ignoble as that of the Moslem "Sijdah" (prostration)
+which made certain North African tribes reject Al-Islam saying, "These
+men show their hind parts to heaven."
+
+[FN#300] i.e. saying "I intend (purpose) to pray (for instance) the
+two-bow prayer (ruka'tayn) of the day-break," etc.
+
+[FN#301] So called because it prohibits speaking with others till the
+prayer is ended.
+
+[FN#302] Lit. "any thing opposite;" here used for the Ka'abah towards
+which men turn in prayer; as Guebres face the sun or fire and idolators
+their images. "Al-Kiblatayn" (= the two Kiblahs) means Meccah and
+Jerusalem, which was faced by Moslems as well as Jews and Christians
+till Mohammed changed the direction. For the occasion of the change see
+my Pilgrimage, ii. 320.
+
+[FN#303] Which includes Tayammum or washing with sand. This is a very
+cleanly practice in a hot, dry land and was adopted long before
+Mohammed. Cedrenus tells of baptism with sand being administered to a
+dying traveller in the African desert.
+
+[FN#304] The Koranic order for WuzÏŠ is concise and as usual obscure,
+giving rise to a host of disputes and casuistical questions. Its text
+runs (chapt. v.), "O true believers, when you prepare to pray, wash
+(Ghusl) your faces, and your hands unto the elbows; and rub (Mas-h)
+your hands and your feet unto the ankles; and if ye be unclean by
+having lain with a woman, wash (Ghusl) yourselves all over." The
+purifications and ceremonious ablutions of the Jews originated this
+command; and the early Christians did very unwisely in not making the
+bath obligatory. St. Paul (Heb. xi. 22) says, "Let us draw near with a
+true heart…having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
+bodies washed with clean (or pure) water." But this did not suffice.
+Hence the Eastern Christian, in hot climates where cleanliness should
+rank before godliness, is distinguished by his dirt which as a holy or
+reverend man he makes still dirtier, and he offers an ugly comparison
+with the Moslem and especially the Hindu. The neglect of commands to
+wash and prohibitions to drink strong waters are the two grand physical
+objections of the Christian code of morality.
+
+[FN#305] Arab. "Istinshαk"=snuffing up water from the palm of the right
+hand so as to clean thoroughly the nostrils. This "function" is
+unreasonably neglected in Europe, to the detriment of the mucous
+membrane and the olfactory nerves.
+
+[FN#306] So as to wash between them. The thick beard is combed out with
+the fingers.
+
+[FN#307] Poor human nature! How sad to compare ita pretensions with its
+actualities.
+
+[FN#308] Complete ablution is rendered necessary chiefly by the
+emission of semen either in copulation or in nocturnal pollution. The
+water must be pure and not less than a certain quantity, and it must
+touch every part of the skin beginning with the right half of the
+person and ending with the left. Hence a plunge-bath is generally
+preferred.
+
+[FN#309] Arab. "Ta'mνm," lit. crowning with turband, or tiara,
+here=covering, i.e. wetting.
+
+[FN#310] This practice (saying "I purpose to defer the washing of the
+feet," etc.) is now somewhat obsolete.
+
+[FN#311] Arabs have a prejudice against the hydropathic treatment of
+wounds, holding that water poisons them: and, as the native produce
+usually contains salt, soda and magnesia, they are justified by many
+cases. I once tried water-bandages in Arabia and failed dismally.
+
+[FN#312] The sick man says his prayers lying in bed, etc., and as he
+best can.
+
+[FN#313] i.e. saying, "And peace be on us and on the worshippers of
+Allah which be pious."
+
+[FN#314] i.e. saying, " I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the
+
+
+Stoned."
+
+
+
+[FN#315] Certain parts should be recited aloud (jahr) and others sotto
+voce (with mussitation=Khafi). No mistake must be made in this matter
+where a Moslem cannot err.
+
+[FN#316] Hence an interest of two-and-a-half percent is not held to be
+"Ribα" or unlawful gain of money by money, usury.
+
+[FN#317] The meal must be finished before the faster can plainly
+distinguish the white thread from the black thread (Koran ii. 183);
+some understand this literally, others apply it to the dark and silvery
+streak of zodiacal light which appears over the Eastern horizon an hour
+or so before sunrise. The fast then begins and ends with the
+disappearance of the sun. I have noticed its pains and penalties in my
+Pilgrimage, i. 110, etc.
+
+[FN#318] For the "Azαn" or call to prayer see Lane, M. E., chapt.
+xviii. The chant, however, differs in every country, and a practical
+ear will know the land by its call.
+
+[FN#319] Arab. "Hadνs" or saying of the Apostle.
+
+[FN#320] "Al-I'itikaf" resembles the Christian "retreat;" but the
+worshipper generally retires to a mosque, especially in Meccah. The
+Apostle practised it on Jabal Hira and other places.
+
+[FN#321] The word is the Heb. "Hagg" whose primary meaning is
+circularity of form or movement. Hence it applied to religious
+festivals in which dancing round the idol played a prime part; and
+Lucian of "saltation" says, dancing was from the beginning and coeval
+with the ancient god, Love. But man danced with joy before he
+worshipped, and, when he invented a systematic saltation, he made it
+represent two things, and only two things, love and war, in most
+primitive form, courtship and fighting.
+
+[FN#322] Two adjoining ground-waves in Meccah. For these and for the
+places subsequently mentioned the curious will consult my Pilgrimage,
+iii. 226, etc.
+
+[FN#323] The 'Umrah or lesser Pilgrimage, I have noted, is the ceremony
+performed in Meccah at any time out of the pilgrim-season proper, i.e.
+between the eighth and tenth days of the twelfth lunar month Zu
+'l-Hijjah. It does not entitle the Moslem to be called Hαjj (pilgrim)
+or Hαjν as Persians and Indians corrupt the word.
+
+[FN#324] I need hardly note that Mohammed borrowed his
+pilgrimage-practices from the pagan Arabs who, centuries before his
+day, danced around the Meccan Ka'abah. Nor can he be blamed for having
+perpetuated a Gentile rite, if indeed it be true that the Ka'abah
+contained relics of Abraham and Ishmael.
+
+[FN#325] On first sighting Meccah. See Night xci.
+
+[FN#326] Arab. "Tawαf:" the place is called Matαf and the guide
+Mutawwif. (Pilgrimage, iii. 193, 205.) The seven courses are termed
+Ashwαt.
+
+[FN#327] Stoning the Devil at Mina. (Pilgrimage, iii. 282.) Hence
+
+
+Satan's title "the Stoned" (lapidated not castrated).
+
+
+
+[FN#328] Koran viii. 66; in the chapter entided "Spoil," and relating
+mainly to the "day of Al-Bedr.
+
+[FN#329] Arab. "AI-Ikαlah"= cancelling: Mr. Payne uses the technical
+term "resiliation."
+
+[FN#330] Freedman of Abdallah, son of the Caliph Omar and noted as a
+traditionist.
+
+[FN#331] i.e. at a profit: the exchange must be equal—an ordinance
+intended to protect the poor. Arabs have strange prejudices in these
+matters; for instance it disgraces a Badawi to take money for milk.
+
+[FN#332] Arab. "Jamα'ah," which in theology means the Greek , our
+"Church," the congregation of the Faithful under a lawful head. Hence
+the Sunnis call themselves "People of the Sunnat and Jamα'at." In the
+text it is explained as "Ulfat" or intimacy.
+
+[FN#333] Arab. "Al-Khalνl," i.e. of Allah=Abraham. Mohammed, following
+Jewish tradition, made Abraham rank second amongst the Prophets,
+inferior only to himself and superior to Hazrat Isa=Jesus. I have noted
+that Ishmael the elder son succeeded his father. He married Da'alah
+bint Muzαz bin Omar, a Jurhamite, and his progeny abandoning Hebrew
+began to speak Arabic (ta'arraba); hence called Muta'arribah or
+Arabised Arabs. (Pilgrimage iii. 190.) He died at Meccah and was buried
+with his mother in the space North of the Ka'abah called Al-Hijr which
+our writers continue to confuse with the city Al-Hijr. (Ibid. 165-66.)
+
+[FN#334] This ejaculation, "In the name of Allah" is, I have noted,
+equivalent to "saying grace." If neglected it is a sin and entails a
+curse.
+
+[FN#335] The ceremonious posture is sitting upon the shin-bones, not
+tailor-fashion; and "bolting food" is a sign of boorishness.
+
+[FN#336] Arab. "Zidd," the word is a fair specimen of Arabic ambiguity
+meaning primarily opposite or contrary (as virtue to vice), secondarily
+an enemy or a friend (as being opposite to an enemy).
+
+[FN#337] "The whole earth (shall be) but His handful on the
+Resurrection day and in His right hand shall the Heaven be rolled up
+(or folded together)."-Koran xxxix. 67.
+
+[FN#338] See Night lxxxi.
+
+[FN#339] Koran lxxviii. 19.
+
+[FN#340] Arab. "Al-Munαfik," technically meaning one who outwardly
+professes Al-Islam while inwardly hating it. Thus the word is by no
+means synonymous with our "hypocrite," hypocrisy being the homage vice
+pays to virtue; a homage, I may observe, nowhere rendered more
+fulsomely than among the so-called Anglo-Saxon race.
+
+[FN#341] Arab. "Tawakkul alα 'llah": in the imperative the phrase is
+vulgarly used="Be off!"
+
+[FN#342] i.e. ceremonial impurity which is sui generis, a very
+different thing from general dirtiness.
+
+[FN#343] A thick beard is one which does not show the skin; otherwise
+the wearer is a "Kausaj;" in Pers. "KÏŠseh." See vol. iii., 246.
+
+[FN#344] Arab. "Al-Khutnah." Nowhere commanded in the Koran and being
+only a practice of the Prophet, the rite is not indispensable for
+converts, especially the aged and the sick. Our ideas upon the subject
+are very hazy, for modern "niceness" allows a "Feast of the
+Circumcision," but no discussion thereon. Moses (alias Osarsiph)
+borrowed the rite from the Egyptian hierophants who were all thus
+"purified"; the object being to counteract the over-sensibility of the
+"sixth sense" and to harden the glans against abrasions and infection
+by exposure to air and friction against the dress. Almost all African
+tribes practise it but the modes vary and some are exceedingly curious:
+I shall notice a peculiarly barbarous fashion called Al-Salkh (the
+flaying) still practised in the Arabian province Al-Asνr. (Pilgrimage
+iii. 80.) There is a difference too between the Hebrew and the Moslem
+rite. The Jewish operator, after snipping off the foreskin, rips up the
+prepuce with his sharp thumb-nails so that the external cutis does not
+retract far from the internal; and the wound, when healed, shows a
+narrow ring of cicatrice. This ripping is not done by Moslems. They use
+a stick as a probe passed round between glans and prepuce to ascertain
+the extent of the frenum and that there is no abnormal adhesion. The
+foreskin is then drawn forward and fixed by the forceps, a fork of two
+bamboo splints, five or six inches long by a quarter thick, or in some
+cases an iron like our compasses. This is tied tightly over the
+foreskin so as to exclude about an inch and a half of the prepuce above
+and three quarters below. A single stroke of the razor drawn directly
+downwards removes the skin. The slight bleeding is stopped by burnt
+rags or ashes and healed with cerates, pledgets and fumigations. Thus
+Moslem circumcision does not prevent the skin retracting.
+
+[FN#345] Of these 6336 versets only some 200 treat on law, civil and
+ceremonial, fiscal and political, devotional and ceremonial, canonical
+and ecclesiastical.
+
+[FN#346] The learned young woman omitted UkhnÏŠkh=Enoch, because not in
+Koran; and if she denoted him by "Idrνs," the latter is much out of
+place.
+
+[FN#347] Some say grandson of Shem. (Koran vii. 71.)
+
+[FN#348] Koran vii. 63, etc.
+
+[FN#349] Father-in-law of Moses. (Koran vii. 83.)
+
+[FN#350] Who is the last and greatest of the twenty-five.
+
+[FN#351] See Night ccccxxxviii.
+
+[FN#352] Koran ii., whose 256th Ayah is the far-famed and sublime
+Throne-verse which begins "Allah! there is no god but He, the Living,
+the Eternal One, whom nor slumber nor sleep seizeth on!" The trivial
+name is taken from the last line, "His throne overstretcheth Heaven and
+Earth and to Him their preservation is no burden for He is the most
+Highest, the Supreme." The lines are often repeated in prayers and
+engraved on agates, etc., as portable talismans.
+
+[FN#353] Koran ii. 159.
+
+[FN#354] Koran xvi. 92. The verset ends with, "He warneth you, so haply
+ye may be mindful."
+
+[FN#355] Koran lxx. 38.
+
+[FN#356] Koran xxxix. 54.
+
+[FN#357] The Sunnis hold that the "Anbiyα" (=prophets, or rather
+announcers of Allah's judgments) were not sinless. But this dogma is
+branded as most irreverent and sinful by the Shi'ahs or Persian
+"followers of Ali," who make capital out of this blasphemy and declare
+that if any prophet sinned he sinned only against himself.
+
+[FN#358] Koran xii. 18.
+
+[FN#359] Koran ii. 107.
+
+[FN#360] Koran ii. 57. He (Allah) does not use the plurale majestatis.
+
+[FN#361] Koran ii. 28.
+
+[FN#362] Koran xvi. 100. Satan is stoned in the Minα or Munα basin
+(Night ccccxlii.) because he tempted Abraham to disobey the command of
+Allah by refusing to sacrifice Ishmael. (Pilgrimage iii. 248.)
+
+[FN#363] It may also mean "have recourse to God."
+
+[FN#364] Abdallah ibn Abbas, before noticed, first cousin of
+
+
+Mohammed and the most learned of the Companions. See D'Herbelot.
+
+
+
+[FN#365] Koran xcvi., "Blood-clots," 1 and 2. "Read" may mean "peruse
+the revelation" (it was the first Koranic chapter communicated to
+Mohammed), or "recite, preach."
+
+[FN#366] Koran xxvii. 30. Mr. Rodwell (p.1) holds to the old idea that
+the "Basmalah" is of Jewish origin, taught to the Kuraysh by Omayyah,
+of Taif, the poet and Hanνf (convert).
+
+[FN#367] Koran ix.: this was the last chapter revealed and the only one
+revealed entire except verse 110.
+
+[FN#368] Ali was despatched from Al-Medinah to Meccah by the Prophet on
+his own slit-eared camel to promulgate this chapter; and meeting the
+assembly at Al-'Akabah he also acquainted them with four things; (1) No
+Infidel may approach the Meccah temple; (2) naked men must no longer
+circut the Ka'abah; (3) only Moslems enter Paradise, and (4) public
+faith must be kept.
+
+[FN#369] Dictionaries give the word "Basmalah" (=saying
+
+
+Bismillah); but the common pronunciation is "Bismalah."
+
+
+
+[FN#370] Koran xvii. 110, a passage revealed because the Infidels,
+hearing Mohammed calling upon The Compassionate, imagined that
+Al-Rahmαn was other deity but Allah. The "names" have two grand
+divisions, Asmα Jalαlν, the fiery or terrible attributes, and the Asmα
+Jamαlν (airy, watery, earthy or) amiable. Together they form the Asmα
+al-Husna or glorious attributes, and do not include the Ism al-A'azam,
+the ineffable name which is known only to a few.
+
+[FN#371] Koran ii. 158.
+
+[FN#372] Koran xcvi. before noticed.
+
+[FN#373] A man of Al-Medinah, one of the first of Mohammed's disciples.
+
+[FN#374] Koran lxxiv. 1, etc., supposed to have been addressed by
+Gabriel to Mohammed when in the cave of Hira or Jabal NÏŠr. He returned
+to his wife Khadijah in sore terror at the vision of one sitting on a
+throne between heaven and earth, and bade her cover him up. Whereupon
+the Archangel descended with this text, supposed to be the first
+revealed. Mr. Rodwell (p. 3) renders it, "O thou enwrapped in thy
+mantle!" and makes it No. ii. after a Fatrah or silent interval of six
+months to three years.
+
+[FN#375] There are several versets on this subject (chapts. ii. and
+xxx.)
+
+[FN#376] Koran cx. 1.
+
+[FN#377] The third Caliph; the "Writer of the Koran."
+
+[FN#378] Koran, v. 4. Sale translates "idols." Mr. Rodwell, "On the
+blocks (or shafts) of Stone," rude altars set by the pagan Arabs before
+their dwellings.
+
+[FN#379] Koran, v. 116. The words are put into the mouth of
+
+
+Jesus.
+
+
+
+[FN#380] The end of the same verse.
+
+[FN#381] Koran, v. 89. Supposed to have been revealed when certain
+Moslems purposed to practise Christian asceticism, fasting, watching,
+abstaining from women and sleeping on hard beds. I have said Mohammed
+would have "no monkery in Al-Islam," but human nature willed otherwise.
+Mr. Rodwell prefers "Interdict the healthful viands."
+
+[FN#382] Koran, iv. 124.
+
+[FN#383] Arab. "Mukri." "Kαri" is one who reads the Koran to pupils;
+the Mukri corrects them. "With the passage of the clouds" = without a
+moment's hesitation.
+
+[FN#384] The twenty-first, twenty-fourth and eighteenth Arabic letters.
+
+[FN#385] Arab. "Hizb." The Koran is divided into sixty portions,
+answering to "Lessons" for convenience of public worship.
+
+[FN#386] Arab. "Jalαlah,"=saying Jalla Jalαlu-hu=magnified be His
+
+
+Majesty!, or glorified be His Glory.
+
+
+
+[FN#387] Koran, xi. 50.
+
+[FN#388] The partition-wall between Heaven and Hell which others call
+Al-'Urf (in the sing. from the verb meaning he separated or parted).
+The Jews borrowed from the Guebres the idea of a partition between
+Heaven and Hell and made it so thin that the blessed and damned can
+speak together. There is much dispute about the population of
+Al-A'arαf, the general idea being that they are men who do not deserve
+reward in Heaven or punishment in Hell. But it is not a "Purgatory" or
+place of expiating sins.
+
+[FN#389] Koran, vii. 154.
+
+[FN#390] A play on the word ayn, which means "eye" or the eighteenth
+letter which in olden times had the form of a circle.
+
+[FN#391] From misreading these words comes the absurd popular belief of
+the moon passing up and down Mohammed's sleeves. George B. Airy (The
+Athenζum, Nov.29, 1884) justly objects to Sale's translation "The hour
+of judgment approacheth" and translates "The moon hath been
+dichotomised" a well-known astronomical term when the light portion of
+the moon is defined in a strait line: in other words when it is really
+a half-moon at the first and third quarters of each lunation. Others
+understand, The moon shall be split on the Last Day, the preterite for
+the future in prophetic style. "Koran Moslems" of course understand it
+literally.
+
+[FN#392] Chapters liv., lv. and lvi.
+
+[FN#393] We should say, not to utter, etc.
+
+[FN#394] These well-known "humours of Hippocrates," which reappear in
+the form of temperaments of European phrenology, are still the base of
+Eastern therapeutics.
+
+[FN#395] The doctrine of the three souls will be intelligible to
+
+
+Spiritualists.
+
+
+
+[FN#396] Arab. "Al-lαmi"=the l-shaped, curved, forked.
+
+[FN#397] Arab. "Usus," our os sacrum because, being incorruptible, the
+body will be built up thereon for Resurrection-time. Hence Hudibras
+sings (iii. 2),
+
+     "The learned Rabbis of the Jews
+
+
+     Write there's a bone which they call leuz,
+
+
+     I' the rump of man, etc."
+
+
+
+It is the Heb. "Uz," whence older scholars derived os. Sale (sect. iv.)
+called it "El Ajb, os coccygis or rump-bone."
+
+[FN#398] Arab physiologists had difficulties in procuring "subjects";
+and usually practised dissection on the simiads. Their illustrated
+books are droll; the figures have been copied and recopied till they
+have lost all resemblance to the originals.
+
+[FN#399] The liver and spleen are held to be congealed blood.
+
+
+Hence the couplet,
+
+
+
+    "We are allowed two carrions (i.e. with throats uncut) and
+
+
+         two bloods,
+
+
+     The fish and the locust, the liver and the spleen."
+
+
+(Pilgrimage iii. 92.)
+
+
+
+[FN#400] This is perfectly true and yet little known to the general.
+
+[FN#401] Koran xvii. 39.
+
+[FN#402] Arab. "Al-malikhulνya," proving that the Greeks then
+pronounced the penultimate vowel according to the acute accentνa; not
+as we slur it over. In old Hebrew we have the transliteration of four
+Greek words; in the languages of Hindostan many scores including names
+of places; and in Latin and Arabic as many hundreds. By a scholar-like
+comparison of these remains we should find little difficulty in
+establishing the true Greek pronunciation since the days of Alexander
+the Great; and we shall prove that it was pronounced according to
+accent and emphatically not quantity. In the next century I presume
+English boys will be taught to pronounce Greek as the Greeks do.
+
+[FN#403] Educated Arabs can quote many a verse bearing upon domestic
+medicine and reminding us of the lines bequeathed to Europe by the
+School of Salerno. Such e.g. are;
+
+     "After the noon-meal, sleep, although for moments twain;
+
+
+     After the night-meal, walk, though but two steps be ta'en;
+
+
+     And after swiving stale, though but two drops thou drain."
+
+
+
+[FN#404] Arab. "Sarνdah" (Tharνdah), also called "ghaut"=crumbled bread
+and hashed meat in broth; or bread, milk and meat. The Sarνdah of
+Ghassαn, cooked with eggs and marrow, was held a dainty dish: hence the
+Prophet's dictum.
+
+[FN#405] Koran v. 92. "Lots"=games of chance and "images"=statues.
+
+[FN#406] Koran ii. 216. The word "Maysar" which I have rendered
+"gambling" or gaming (for such is the modern application of the word),
+originally meant what St. Jerome calls and explains thereby the verse
+(Ezek. xxi. 22), "The King held in his hand the lot of Jerusalem" i.e.
+the arrow whereon the city-name was written. The Arabs use it for
+casting lots with ten azlam or headless arrows (for dice) three being
+blanks and the rest notched from one to seven. They were thrown by a
+"Zαrib" or punter and the stake was generally a camel. Amongst so
+excitable a people as the Arabs, this game caused quarrels and
+bloodshed, hence its prohibition: and the theologians, who everywhere
+and at all times delight in burdening human nature, have extended the
+command, which is rather admonitory than prohibitive, to all games of
+chance. Tarafah is supposed to allude to this practice in his
+Mu'allakah.
+
+[FN#407] Liberal Moslems observe that the Koranic prohibition is not
+absolute, with threat of Hell for infraction. Yet Mohammed doubtless
+forbade all inebriatives and the occasion of his so doing is well
+known. (Pilgrimage ii. 322.)
+
+[FN#408] I have noticed this soured milk in Pilgrimage i. 362.
+
+[FN#409] He does not say the "Caliph" or successor of his uncle
+
+
+Mohammed.
+
+
+
+[FN#410] The Jewish Korah (Numbers xvi.) fabled by the Koran (xxviii.
+76), following a Talmudic tradition, to have been a man of immense
+wealth. The notion that lying with an old woman, after the menses have
+ceased, is unwholesome, dates from great antiquity; and the benefits of
+the reverse process were well known to good King David. The faces of
+children who sleep with their grandparents (a bad practice now waxing
+obsolete in England), of a young wife married to an old man and of a
+young man married to an old woman, show a peculiar wizened appearance,
+a look of age overlaying youth which cannot be mistaken.
+
+[FN#411] Arab. "Hindibα"(=endubium): the modern term is
+
+
+Shakurνyah=chicorιe. I believe it to be very hurtful to the eyes.
+
+
+
+[FN#412] Arab. "Khuffαsh" and "Watwαt": in Egypt a woman is called
+"Watwαtνyah" when the hair of her privities has been removed by
+applying bats' blood. I have often heard of this; but cannot understand
+how such an application can act depilatory.
+
+[FN#413] Dictionaries render the word by "dragon, cockatrice." The
+Badawin apply it to a variety of serpents mostly large and all
+considered venomous.
+
+[FN#414] Arab. "Zarr wa 'urwah," 1it.=handle. The button-hole, I have
+said, is a modern invention; Urwah is also applied to the loopshaped
+handle of the water-skin, for attachment of the Allαkah or suspensory
+thong.
+
+[FN#415] Koran lxx. 40; see also the chapter following, v. 16.
+
+[FN#416] Koran x. 5; the "her" refers to the sun.
+
+[FN#417] Koran xxxvi. 40.
+
+[FN#418] Koran xxii. 60.
+
+[FN#419] Arab. "Manαzil:" these are the Hindu "Nakshatra"; extensively
+used in meteorology even by Europeans unconsciously: thus they will
+speak of the Elephantina-storm without knowing anything of the lunar
+mansion so called. The names in the text are successively Sharatαn=two
+horns of the Ram; (2) the Ram's belly; (3) the Pleiades; (4) Aldebaran;
+(5) three stars in Orion's head; (6) ditto in Orion's shoulder; (7) two
+stars above the Twins; (8) Lion's nose and first summer station; (9)
+Lion's eye; (1O) Lion's forehead; (11) Lion's mane; (12) Lion's heart;
+(13) the Dog, two stars in Virgo; (14) Spica Virginis; (15) foot of
+Virgo; (16) horns of Scorpio; (17) the Crown; (18) heart of Scorpio;
+(19) tail of Scorpio; (2O) stars in Pegasus; (21) where no
+constellation appears; (22) the Slaughterer's luck; (23) Glutton's
+luck; (24) Luck of Lucks, stars in Aquarius; (25) Luck of Tents, stars
+in Aquarius; (26) the fore-lip or spout of Urn; (27) hind lip of Urn;
+and (28) in navel of Fish's belly (Batn al-HÏŠt); of these 28, to each
+of the four seasons 7 are allotted.
+
+[FN#420] The Hebrew absey, still used by Moslems in chronograms. For
+mnemonic purposes the 28 letters are distributed into eight words of
+which the first and second are Abjad and Hawwaz. The last six letters
+in two words (Thakhiz and Zuzigh) are Arabian, unknown to the Jews and
+not found in Syriac.
+
+[FN#421] Arab. "Zindνk;" properly, one who believes in two gods (the
+old Persian dualism); in books an atheist, i.e. one who does not
+believe in a god or gods; and, popularly, a free-thinker who denies the
+existence of a Supreme Being, rejects revelation for the laws of Nature
+imprinted on the heart of man and for humanity in its widest sense.
+Hence he is accused of permitting incestuous marriages and other
+abominations. We should now call him (for want of something better) an
+Agnostic.
+
+[FN#422] Koran xxxi. 34. The words may still be applied to
+meteorologists especially of the scientific school. Even the
+experienced (as the followers of the late Mathieu de la Drτme) reckon
+far more failures than successes. The Koranic passage enumerates five
+things known only to Allah; Judgment-day; rain; sex of child in womb;
+what shall happen to-morrow and where a man shall die.
+
+[FN#423] The fifth and seventh months (January and March) of the Coptic
+year which, being solar, is still used by Arab and Egyptian
+meteorologists. Much information thereon will be found in the "Egyptian
+Calendar" by Mr. Mitchell, Alexandria, 1876. It bears the appropriate
+motto "Anni certus modus apud solos semper Egyptios fuit." (Macrobius.)
+See also Lane M.E., chapt. ix.
+
+[FN#424] Vulg. Kiyαk; the fourth month, beginning 9th—1Oth
+
+
+December. The first month is Tϊt, commencing 1Oth—11th
+
+
+September.
+
+
+
+[FN#425] The 8th and 12th months partly corresponding with April and
+August: Hαtϊr is the 3rd (November) and AmshRr the 6th (February).
+
+[FN#426] Moslems have been compelled to adopt infidel names for the
+months because Mohammed's Koranic rejection of Nasy or intercalation
+makes their lunar months describe the whole circle of the seasons in a
+cycle of about thirty-three and a half years. Yet they have retained
+the terms which contain the original motive of the denomination. The
+first month is Muharram, the "Holy," because war was forbidden; it was
+also known as Safar No. 1. The second Safar="Emptiness," because during
+the heats citizens left the towns and retired to Tαif and other cool
+sites. Rabν'a (first and second) alluded to the spring-pasturages;
+Jumαdα (first and second) to the "hardening" of the dry ground and,
+according to some, to the solidification, freezing, of the water in the
+highlands. Rajab (No.7)="worshipping," especially by sacrifice, is also
+known as Al-Asamm the deaf; because being sacred, the rattle of arms
+was unheard. Sha'abαn="collecting," dispersing, ruining, because the
+tribal wars recommenced: Ramazan (intensely hot) has been explained and
+Shawwαl (No. 10) derives from Shaul (elevating) when the he-camels
+raise their tails in rut. ZÏŠ'l-Ka'adah, the sedentary, is the rest time
+of the year, when fighting is forbidden and Zu'l-Hijjah explains itself
+as the pilgrimage-month.
+
+[FN#427] The lowest of the seven.
+
+[FN#428] Koran xxxvii. 5.
+
+[FN#429] Arab. "FaylasÏŠf," an evident corruption from the Greek.
+Amongst the vulgar it denotes a sceptic, an atheist; much the same a
+"Frammαsϊn" or Freemason. The curious reader will consult the Dabistan,
+vol. iii. chapt. xi. p. 138 et seq. "On the Religion of the Wise"
+(philosophi), and, Beaconsfield's theft from Shaftesbury.
+
+[FN#430] Koran xxxvi. 37-38.
+
+[FN#431] Koran xxii. 7. The Hour i.e. of Judgment.
+
+[FN#432] Koran xx. 58. The Midrasch Tanchumah on Exod. vii. gives a
+similar dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses. (Rodwell, in loco.)
+
+[FN#433] Arab. "Sham'ÏŠn" or "Shim'ÏŠn," usually applied to Simon
+
+
+Peter (as in Acts xv. 14). But the text alludes to Saint Simeon
+
+
+(Luke ii. 25-35). See Gospel of Infancy (ii. 8) and especially
+
+
+the Gospel of Nicodemus (xii. 3) which makes him a High-Priest.
+
+
+
+[FN#434] Sαlih the Patriarch's she-camel, miraculously produced from
+the rock in order to convert the ThamÏŠd-tribe. (Koran vii.)
+
+[FN#435] When Abu Bakr was hiding with Mohammed in a cave on the Hill
+Al-Saur (Thaur or ThÏŠr, Pilgrimage ii. 131) South of Meccah, which must
+not be confounded with the cave on Jabal Hirα now called Jabal Nϊr on
+the way to Arafat (Pilgrimage iii. 246), the fugitives were protected
+by a bird which built her nest at the entrance (according to another
+legend it was curtained by a spider's web), whilst another bird (the
+crow of whom I shall presently speak) tried to betray them. The first
+bird is popularly supposed to have been a pigeon, and is referred to by
+Hudibras,
+
+     "Th' apostles of this fierce religion
+
+
+     Like Mahomet, were ass and widgeon."
+
+
+
+The ass I presume alludes to the marvellous beast Al-Burαk which the
+Greeks called from (Euthymius in Pocock, Spec. A.H. p.144) and which
+Indian Moslems picture with human face, ass's ears, equine body and
+peacock's wings and tail. The "widgeon" I presume to be a mistake or a
+misprint for pigeon.
+
+[FN#436] The Arabs are not satisfied with the comparative moderation of
+the Hebrew miracle, and have added all manner of absurdities.
+(Pilgrimage ii. 288.)
+
+[FN#437] Koran lxxxi. 18. Sale translates "by the morning when it
+appeareth;" and the word (tanaffus) will bear this meaning. Mr. Rodwell
+prefers, "By the dawn when it clears away the darkness by its breath."
+
+[FN#438] As a rule Moslems are absurdly ignorant of arithmetic and
+apparently cannot master it. Hence in Egypt they used Copts for
+calculating-machines and further East Hindds. The mildest numerical
+puzzle, like the above, is sure of success.
+
+[FN#439] The paradiseal tree which supplied every want. Mohammed
+borrowed it from the Christians (Rev. xxi. 10-21 and xxii. 1-2) who
+placed in their paradise the Tree of Life which bears twelve sorts of
+fruits and leaves of healing virtue. (See also the 3rd book of Hermas,
+his Similitudes.) The Hebrews borrowed it from the Persians. Amongst
+the Hindus it appears as "Kalpavriksha;" amongst the Scandinavians as
+Yggdrasil. The curious reader will consult Mr. James Fergusson's
+learned work, "Tree and Serpent Worship," etc. London, 1873.
+
+[FN#440] Aaron's Rod becomes amongst Moslems (Koran vii. 110) Moses'
+Staff; the size being that of a top-mast. (Pilgrimage i. 300, 301.) In
+Koran xx. 18, 19, we find a notice of its uses; and during the Middle
+Ages it reappeared in the Staff of Wamba the Goth (A.D.672-680) the
+witch's broomstick was its latest development.
+
+[FN#441] Christ, say the Eutychians, had only one nature, the divine;
+so he was crucified in effigy.
+
+[FN#442] Jesus is compared with Adam in the Koran (chapt. iii.): his
+titles are Kalαmu 'llah (word of God) because engendered without a
+father, and RÏŠhu 'llah (breath of God) because conceived by Gabriel in
+the shape of a beautifui youth breathing into the Virgin's vulva. Hence
+Moslems believe in a "miraculous conception" and consequently determine
+that one so conceived was, like Elias and Khizr, not subject to death;
+they also hold him born free from "original sin" (a most sinful
+superstition), a veil being placed before the Virgin and Child against
+the Evil One who could not touch them. He spoke when a babe in cradle;
+he performed miracles of physic; he was taken up to Heaven; he will
+appear as the forerunner of Mohammed on the White Tower of Damascus,
+and finally he will be buried at Al-Medinah. The Jews on the other hand
+speak of him as "that man:" they hold that he was begotten by Joseph
+during the menstrual period and therefore a born magician. Moreover he
+learned the Sham ha-maphrash or Nomen tetragrammaton, wrote it on
+parchment and placed it in an incision in his thigh, which closed up on
+the Name being mentioned (Buxtorf, Lex Talmud, 25-41). Other details
+are given in the Toldoth Jesu (Historia Joshuζ Nazareni). This note
+should be read by the eminent English littιrateur who discovered a
+fact, well known to Locke and Carlyle, that "Mohammedans are
+Christians." So they are and something more.
+
+[FN#443] In the Kalamdαn, or pen-case, is a little inkstand of metal
+occupying the top of the long, narrow box.
+
+[FN#444] A fair specimen of the riddle known as the "surprise."
+
+[FN#445] Koran xli. 10.
+
+[FN#446] Koran xxxvi. 82.
+
+[FN#447] Here we enter upon a series of disputed points. The Wahhαbis
+deny the intercession of the Apostle (Pilgrimage ii. 76-77). The
+Shi'ahs place Ali next in dignity to Mohammed and there is a sect
+(Ali-Ilαhi) which believes him to be an Avatar or incarnation of the
+Deity. For the latter the curious reader will consult the "Dabistan,"
+ii. 451. The Koran by its many contradictions seems to show that
+Mohammed never could make up his own mind on the subject, thinking
+himself at times an intercessor and then sharply denying all
+intercession.
+
+[FN#448] Arab. "Kanjifah"=a pack of cards; corrupted from the Persian
+"Ganjνfah." We know little concerning the date or origin of this game
+in the East, where the packs are quite unlike ours.
+
+[FN#449] It is interesting to compare this account with the pseudo Ovid
+and with Tale clxvi. in Gesta "Of the game of Schaci." Its Schacarium
+is the chess-board. Rochus (roccus, etc.) is not from the Germ. Rock (a
+coat) but from Rukh (Pers. a hero, a knight-errant) Alphinus (Ital.
+Alfino) is Al-Firzαn (Pers. science, wise).
+
+[FN#450] Arab, "Baydak" or "Bayzak"; a corruption of the Persian
+"Piyαdah"=a footman, peon, pawn; and proving whence the Arabs derived
+the game. The Persians are the readiest backgammon-players known to me,
+better even than the Greeks; they throw the dice from the hand and
+continue foully abusing the fathers and mothers of the "bones" whilst
+the game lasts. It is often played in the intervals of dinner by the
+higher classes in Persia.
+
+[FN#451] Metaphor from loading camels and mules. To "eat" a piece is to
+take it.
+
+[FN#452] Arab. "Bilαbil"; a plural of "Bulbul" with a double entendre
+balαbil (plur. of ballalah)=heart's troubles, and "balα, bul"=a
+calamity, nay, etc.
+
+[FN#453] The popular English idea of the Arab horse is founded upon
+utter unfact. Book after book tells us, "There are three distinct
+breeds of Arabians -the Attechi, a very superior breed; the Kadishi,
+mixed with these and of little value; and the Kochlani, highly prized
+and very difficult to procure." "Attechi" may be At-Tαzi (the Arab
+horse, or hound) or some confusion with "At" (Turk.) a horse. "Kadish"
+(Gadish or Kidish) is a nag; a gelding, a hackney, a "pacer" (generally
+called "Rahwαn"). "Kochlani" is evidently "Kohlαni," the Kohl-eyed,
+because the skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered. This is the
+true blue blood; and the bluest of all is "Kohlαni al-Ajϊz" (of the old
+woman) a name thus accounted for. An Arab mare dropped a filly when in
+flight; her rider perforce galloped on and presently saw the foal
+appear in camp, when it was given to an old woman for nursing and grew
+up to be famous. The home of the Arab horse is the vast plateau of
+Al-Najd: the Tahαmah or lower maritime regions of Arabia, like Malabar,
+will not breed good beasts. The pure blood all descends from five
+collateral lines called Al-Khamsah (the Cinque). Literary and pedantic
+Arabs derive them from the mares of Mohammed, a native of the dry and
+rocky region, Al-Hijaz, whither horses are all imported. Others go back
+(with the Koran, chapt. xxviii.) to Solomon, possibly Salmαn, a
+patriarch fourth in descent from Ishmael and some 600 years older than
+the Hebrew King. The Badawi derive the five from Rabν'at al-Faras (R.
+of the mare) fourth in descent from Adnαn, the fount of Arab genealogy.
+But they differ about the names: those generally given are Kahilan
+(Kohaylat), Saklαwi (which the Badawin pronounce Saglαwi), Abayαn, and
+Hamdαni; others substitute Manαkhi (the long-maned), Tanνs and Jalfϊn.
+These require no certificate amongst Arabs; for strangers a simple
+statement is considered enough. The Badawin despise all half-breeds
+(Arab sires and country mares), Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish and Egyptian.
+They call these (first mentioned in the reign of Ahmes, B.C. 1600) the
+"sons of horses"; as opposed to "sons of mares," or thorough-breds. Nor
+do they believe in city-bred animals. I have great doubts concerning
+our old English sires, such as the Darley Arabian which looks like a
+Kurdish half-bred, the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized
+by the Romans: in Syria I rode a "Harfϊshν" (Kurd) the very image of
+it. There is no difficulty in buying Arab stallions except the price.
+Of course the tribe does not like to part with what may benefit the
+members generally; but offers of £500 to £1,000 would overcome men's
+scruples. It is different with mares, which are almost always the joint
+property of several owners. The people too dislike to see a hat on a
+thorough-bred mare: "What hast thou done that thou art ridden by that
+ill-omened Kafir?" the Badawin used to mutter when they saw a highly
+respectable missionary at Damascus mounting a fine Ruwalα mare. The
+feeling easily explains the many wars about horses occurring in Arab
+annals, e.g. about Dαhis and Ghabrα. (C. de Perceval, Essas, vol.ii.)
+
+[FN#454] The stricter kind of Eastern Jew prefers to die on the floor,
+not in bed, as was the case with the late Mr. Emmanuel Deutsch, who in
+his well-known article on the Talmud had the courage to speak of "Our
+Saviour." But as a rule the Israelite, though he mostly appears as a
+Deist, a Unitarian, has a fund of fanatical feelings which crop up in
+old age and near death. The "converts" in Syria and elsewhere, whose
+Judaism is intensified by "conversion," when offers are made to them by
+the missionaries repair to the Khαkhαm (scribe) and, after abundant
+wrangling determine upon a modus vivendi. They are to pay a proportion
+of their wages, to keep careful watch in the cause of Israel and to die
+orthodox. In Istria there is a legend of a Jew Prior in a convent who
+was not discovered till he announced himself most unpleasantly on his
+death-bed. For a contrary reason to Jewish humility, the Roman Emperors
+preferred to die standing.
+
+[FN#455] He wished to die in a state of ceremonial purity; as has
+before been mentioned.
+
+[FN#456] Arab. "Badal": in Sind (not to speak of other places) it was
+customary to hire a pauper "badal" to be hanged in stead of a rich man.
+Sir Charles Napier signed many a death-warrant before he ever heard of
+the practice.
+
+[FN#457] Arab. "La'an" = curse. The word is in every mouth though
+strongly forbidden by religion. Even of the enemies of Al-Islam the
+learned say, "Ila'an Yezνd wa lα tazνd" = curse Yezid but do not exceed
+(i.e. refrain from cursing the others). This, however, is in the
+Shafi'ν school and the Hanafνs do not allow it (Pilgrimage i. 198).
+Hence the Moslem when scrupulous uses na'al (shoe) for la'an (curse) as
+Ina'al abÏŠk (for Ila'an abu'-k) or, drat (instead of damn) your father.
+Men must hold Supreme Intelligence to be of feeble kind if put off by
+such miserable pretences.
+
+[FN#458] Koran vi. 44, speaking of the Infidels. It is a most unamiable
+chapter, with such assertions as "Allah leadeth into error whom He
+pleaseth," etc.
+
+[FN#459] Alluding to the "formication" which accompanies a stroke of
+paralysis.
+
+[FN#460] Pronounce Zool Karnayn.
+
+[FN#461] i.e. the Koranic and our mediζval Alexander, Lord of the two
+Horns (East and West) much "Matagrobolized" and very different from him
+of Macedon. The title is variously explained, from two protuberances on
+his head or helm, from two long locks and, possibly, from the ram-horns
+of Jupiter Ammon. The anecdote in the text seems suggested by the
+famous interview (probably a canard) with Diogenes: see in the Gesta,
+Tale cxlvi., "The answer of Diomedes the Pirate to Alexander." Iskandar
+was originally called Marzbαn (Lord of the Marches), son of Marzabah;
+and, though descended from Yunαn, son of Japhet, the eponymus of the
+Greeks, was born obscure, the son of an old woman. According to the
+Persians he was the son of the Elder Dαrαb (Darius Codomannus of the
+Kayanian or Second dynasty), by a daughter of Philip of Macedon; and
+was brought up by his grandfather. When Abraham and Isaac had rebuilt
+the Ka'abah they foregathered with him and Allah sent him forth against
+the four quarters of the earth to convert men to the faith of the
+Friend or to cut their throats; thus he became one of the four
+world-conquerors with Nimrod, Solomon, Bukht al-Nasr (Nabochodonosor);
+and he lived down two generations of men. His Wazir was AristÏŠ (the
+Greek Aristotle) and he carried a couple of flags, white and black,
+which made day and night for him and facilitated his conquests. At the
+end of Persia, where he was invited by the people, on account of the
+cruelty of his half brother Darab II., he came upon two huge mountains
+on the same line, behind which dwelt a host of abominable pygmies, two
+spans high, with curious eyes, ears which served as mattresses and
+coverlets, huge fanged mouths, lions' claws and hairy hind quarters.
+They ate men, destroyed everything, copulated in public and had swarms
+of children. These were Yαjϊj and Mαjϊj (Gog and Magog) descendants of
+Japhet. Sikandar built against them the famous wall with stones
+cemented and riveted by iron and copper. The "Great Wall" of China, the
+famous bulwark against the Tartars, dates from B.C. 320 (Alexander of
+Macedon died B.C. 324); and as the Arabs knew Canton well before
+Mohammed's day, they may have built their romance upon it. The Guebres
+consigned Sikandar to hell for burning the Nusks or sections of the
+Zendavesta.
+
+[FN#462] These terrific preachments to Eastern despots (who utterly
+ignore them) are a staple produce of Oriental tale-literature and form
+the chiaro-oscuro, as it were, of a picture whose lights are brilliant
+touches of profanity and indelicate humour. It certainly has the charm
+of contrast. Much of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh
+(Alexander Book) of the great Persian poet, Nizαmi, who flourished A.H.
+515-597, between the days of Firdausi (ob. A.D.1021) and Sa'adi (ob.
+A.D. 1291). In that romance Sikandar builds, "where the sun goes down,"
+a castle of glittering stone which kills men by causing excessive
+laughter and surrounds it with yellow earth like gold. Hence the City
+of Brass. He also converts, instead of being converted by, the savages
+of the text. He finds a stone of special excellence which he calls
+Almαs (diamond); and he obtains it from the Valley of Serpents by
+throwing down flesh to the eagles. Lastly he is accompanied by
+"Bilνnas" or "Bilνnus," who is apparently Apollonius of Tyana.
+
+[FN#463] I have explained the beautiful name in Night cclxxxix:
+
+
+He is stil famous for having introduced into Persia the fables of
+
+
+Pilpay (Bidyapati, the lord of lore) and a game which the genius
+
+
+of Persia developed into chess.
+
+
+
+[FN#464] Here we find an eternal truth, of which Malthusians ever want
+reminding; that the power of a nation simply consists in its numbers of
+fighting men and in their brute bodily force. The conquering race is
+that which raises most foot-pounds: hence the North conquers the South
+in the Northern hemisphere and visa versa.
+
+[FN#465] Arab. "Wayha," not so strong as "Woe to," etc. Al-Hariri often
+uses it as a formula of affectionate remonstrance.
+
+[FN#466] As a rule (much disputed) the Sayyid is a descendant from
+Mohammed through his grandchild Hasan, and is a man of the pen; whereas
+the Sharif derives from Husayn and is a man of the sword. The Najνb
+al-taraf is the son of a common Moslemah by a Sayyid, as opposed to the
+"Najib al-tarafayn," when both parents are of Apostolic blood. The
+distinction is not noticed in Lane's "Modern Egyptians". The Sharif is
+a fanatic and often dangerous, as I have instanced in Pilgrimage iii.
+132.
+
+[FN#467] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century): surnamed Abϊ Yahyα.
+The prayer for mercy denotes that he was dead when the tale was
+written.
+
+[FN#468] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century).
+
+[FN#469] Arab. "Musallα"; lit. a place of prayer; an oratory, a chapel,
+opp. to "Jαmi'" = a (cathedral) mosque.
+
+[FN#470] According to all races familiar with the negro, a calf like a
+shut fist planted close under the ham is, like the "cucumber shin" and
+"lark heel", a good sign in a slave. Shapely calves and well-made legs
+denote the idle and the ne'er-do-well. I have often found this true
+although the rule is utterly empirical. Possibly it was suggested by
+the contrast of the nervous and lymphatic temperaments.
+
+[FN#471] These devotees address Allah as a lover would his beloved. The
+curious reader will consult for instances the Dabistan on Tasawwuf (ii.
+221; i.,iii. end, and passim).
+
+[FN#472] Arab. "Ma'rifat," Pers. Dαnish; the knowledge of the Truth.
+The seven steps are (1) Sharν'at, external law like night; (2) Tarνkat,
+religious rule like the stars; (3) Hakνkat, reality, truth like the
+moon; (4) Ma'arifat like the sun; (5) Kurbat, proximity to Allah; (6)
+Wasνlat, union with Allah, and (7) Suknat, dwelling in Allah. (Dabistan
+iii.29.)
+
+[FN#473] Name of a fountain of Paradise: See Night xlix., vol. ii.,
+p.100.
+
+[FN#474] Arab. "Atbαk"; these trays are made of rushes, and the fans of
+palm-leaves or tail-feathers.
+
+[FN#475] Except on the two great Festivals when fasting is forbidden.
+The only religion which has shown common sense in this matter is that
+of the Guebres or Parsis: they consider fasting neither meritorious nor
+lawful; and they honour Hormuzd by good living "because it keeps the
+soul stronger." Yet even they have their food superstitions, e.g. in
+Gate No. xxiv.: "Beware of sin specially on the day thou eatest flesh,
+for flesh is the diet of Ahriman." And in India the Guebres have copied
+the Hindus in not slaughtering horned cattle for the table.
+
+[FN#476] Arab. "Jallαbiyah," a large-sleeved robe of coarse stuff worn
+by the poor.
+
+[FN#477] His fear was that his body might be mutilated by the fall.
+
+[FN#478] The phrase means "offering up many and many a prayer."
+
+[FN#479] A saying of Mohammed is recorded "Al-fakru fakhrν" (poverty is
+my pride!), intelligible in a man who never wanted for anything. Here
+he is diametrically opposed to Ali who honestly abused poverty; and the
+Prophet seems to have borrowed from Christendom, whose "Lazarus and
+Dives" shows a man sent to Hell because he enjoyed a very modified
+Heaven in this life and which suggested that one of the man's greatest
+miseries is an ecclesiastical virtue—"Holy Poverty"—represented in the
+Church as a bride young and lovely. If a "rich man can hardly enter the
+kingdom" what must it be with a poor man whose conditions are far more
+unfavourable? Going to the other extreme we may say that Poverty is the
+root of all evil and the more so as it curtails man's power of
+benefiting others. Practically I observe that those who preach and
+praise it the most, practise it the least willingly: the ecclesiastic
+has always some special reasons, a church or a school is wanted; but
+not the less he wishes for more money. In Syria this Holy Poverty leads
+to strange abuses. At Bayrut I recognised in most impudent beggers
+well-to-do peasants from the Kasrawαn district, and presently found out
+that whilst their fields were under snow they came down to the coast,
+enjoyed a genial climate and lived on alms. When I asked them if they
+were not ashamed to beg, they asked me if I was ashamed of following in
+the footsteps of the Saviour and Apostles. How much wiser was Zoroaster
+who found in the Supreme Paradise (Minuwαn-minu) "many persons, rich in
+gold and silver who had worshipped the Lord and had been grateful to
+Him." (Dabistan i. 265.)
+
+[FN#480] Koran vii. 52.
+
+[FN#481] Arab. "Al-bayt" = the house. The Arabs had probably learned
+this pleasant mode of confinement from the Chinese whose Kea or Cangue
+is well known. The Arabian form of it is "Ghull," or portable pillory,
+which reprobates will wear on Judgment Day.
+
+[FN#482] This commonest conjuring trick in the West becomes a miracle
+in the credulous East.
+
+[FN#483] Arab. "Kαnϊn"; the usual term is Mankal (pron. Mangal) a pan
+of copper or brass. Some of these "chafing-dishes" stand four feet high
+and are works of art. Lane (M.E. chapt. iv) gives an illustration of
+the simpler kind, together with the "Azikν," a smaller pan for heating
+coffee. See Night dxxxviii.
+
+[FN#484] See vol. iii., p.239. The system is that of the Roman As and
+Unciae. Here it would be the twenty-fourth part of a dinar or miskal;
+something under 5d. I have already noted that all Moslem rulers are
+religiously bound to some handicraft, if it be only making toothpicks.
+Mohammed abolished kingship proper as well as priestcraft.
+
+[FN#485] Al-Islam, where salvation is found under the shade of the
+swords.
+
+[FN#486] Moslems like the Classics (Aristotle and others) hold the
+clitoris (ZambÏŠr) to be the sedes et scaturigo veneris which, says
+Sonnini, is mere profanity. In the babe it protrudes beyond the labiζ
+and snipping off the head forms female circumcision. This rite is
+supposed by Moslems to have been invented by Sarah who so mutilated
+Hagar for jealousy and was afterwards ordered by Allah to have herself
+circumcised at the same time as Abraham. It is now (or should be)
+universal in Al-Islam and no Arab would marry a girl "unpurified" by
+it. Son of an "uncircumcised" mother (Ibn al-bazrα) is a sore insult.
+As regards the popular idea that Jewish women were circumcised till the
+days of Rabbi Gershom (A.D.1000) who denounced it as a scandal to the
+Gentiles, the learned Prof. H. Graetz informs me, with some
+indignation, that the rite was never practised and that the great Rabbi
+contended only against polygamy. Female circumcision, however, is I
+believe the rule amongst some outlying tribes of Jews. The rite is the
+proper complement of male circumcision, evening the sensitiveness of
+the genitories by reducing it equally in both sexes: an uncircumcised
+woman has the venereal orgasm much sooner and oftener than a
+circumcised man, and frequent coitus would injure her health; hence I
+believe, despite the learned historian, that it is practised by some
+Eastern Jews. "Excision" is universal amongst the negroids of the Upper
+Nile (Werne), the Somαl and other adjacent tribes. The operator, an old
+woman, takes up the instrument, a knife or razor-blade fixed into a
+wooden handle, and with three sweeps cuts off the labia and the head of
+the clitoris. The parts are then sewn up with a packneedle and a thread
+of sheepskin; and in Dar-For a tin tube is inserted for the passage of
+urine. Before marriage the bridegroom trains himself for a month on
+beef, honey and milk; and, if he can open his bride with the natural
+weapon, he is a sworder to whom no woman in the tribe can deny herself.
+If he fails, he tries penetration with his fingers and by way of last
+resort whips out his whittle and cuts the parts open. The sufferings of
+the first few nights must be severe. The few Somαli prostitutes who
+practised at Aden always had the labiζ and clitoris excised and the
+skin showing the scars of coarse sewing. The moral effect of female
+circumcision is peculiar. While it diminishes the heat of passion it
+increases licentiousness, and breeds a debauchery of mind far worse
+than bodily unchastity, because accompanied by a peculiar cold cruelty
+and a taste for artificial stimulants to "luxury." It is the
+sexlessness of a spayed canine imitated by the suggestive brain of
+humanity.
+
+[FN#487] Koran vi. So called because certain superstitions about
+
+
+Cattle are therein mentioned.
+
+
+
+[FN#488] Koran iv. So called because it treats of marriages, divorces,
+etc.
+
+[FN#489] Sνdi (contracted from Sayyidν = my lord) is a title still
+applied to holy men in Marocco and the Maghrib; on the East African
+coast it is assumed by negro and negroid Moslems, e.g. Sidi Mubαrak
+Bombay; and "Seedy boy" is the Anglo-Indian term for a Zanzibar-man.
+"Khawwαs" is one who weaves palm-leaves (Khos) into baskets, mats,
+etc.: here, however, it may be an inherited name.
+
+[FN#490] i.e. in spirit; the "strangers yet" of poor dear Richard
+
+
+Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton.
+
+
+
+[FN#491] Al-Hakk = the Truth, one of the ninety-nine names of
+
+
+Allah.
+
+
+
+[FN#492] The Moslem is still unwilling to address Salαm (Peace be with
+you) to the Christian, as it is obligatory (Farz) to a Moslem (Koran,
+chapt. iv. and lxviii.). He usually evades the difficulty by saluting
+the nearest Moslem or by a change of words Allah Yahdν-k (Allah direct
+thee to the right way) or "Peace be upon us and the righteous
+worshipers of Allah" (not you) or Al-Samm (for Salam) alayka = poison
+to thee. The idea is old: Alexander of Alexandria in his circular
+letter describes the Arian heretics as "men whom it is not lawful to
+salute or to bid God-speed."
+
+[FN#493] Koran xxxvi. 82. I have before noted that this famous phrase
+was borrowed from the Hebrews, who borrowed it from the Egyptians.
+
+[FN#494] The story of Moses and Khizr has been noticed before. See
+Koran chapt. xviii. 64 et seq. It is also related, says Lane (ii. 642),
+by Al-Kazwνni in the Ajαib al-Makhlϊkαt. This must be "The Angel and
+the Hermit" in the Gesta Romanorum, Tale lxxx. which possibly gave rise
+to Parnell's Hermit; and Tale cxxvii. "Of Justice and Equity." The
+Editor says it "contains a beautiful lesson:" I can find only excellent
+excuses for "doing evil that good may come of it."
+
+[FN#495] Koran chapt. v.108.
+
+[FN#496] The doggrel is phenomenal.
+
+[FN#497] He went in wonder and softened heart to see the miracle of
+saintly affection.
+
+[FN#498] In Sufistical parlance, the creature is the lover and the
+Creator the Beloved: worldly existence is Disunion, parting, severance;
+and the life to come is Reunion. The basis of the idea is the human
+soul being a divinζ particula aurζ, a disjoined molecule from the Great
+Spirit, imprisoned in a jail of flesh; and it is so far valuable that
+it has produced a grand and pathetic poetry; but Common Sense asks,
+Where is the proof? And Reason wants to know, What does it all mean?
+
+[FN#499] Koran xiii. 41.
+
+[FN#500] Robinson Crusoe, with a touch of Arab prayerfulness.
+
+
+Also the story of the Knight Placidus in the Gesta (cx.),
+
+
+Boccaccio, etc.
+
+
+
+[FN#501] Arabs note two kinds of leprosy, "Bahak" or "Baras" the common
+or white, and "Juzam" the black leprosy; the leprosy of the joints, mal
+rouge. Both are attributed to undue diet as eating fish and drinking
+milk; and both are treated with tonics, especially arsenic. Leprosy is
+regarded by Moslems as a Scriptural malady on account of its prevalence
+amongst the Israelites who, as Manetho tells us, were expelled from
+Egypt because they infected and polluted the population. In mediζval
+Christendom an idea prevailed that the Saviour was a leper; hence the
+term "morbus sacer"; the honours paid to the sufferers by certain
+Saints and the Papal address (Clement III. A.D.1189) dilectis filiis
+leprosis. (Farrar's Life of Christ, i.149.) For the "disgusting and
+impetuous lust" caused by leprosy, see Sonnini (p.560) who visited the
+lepers at Canea in Candia. He is one of many who describes this
+symptom; but in the Brazil, where the foul malady still prevails, I
+never heard of it.
+
+[FN#502] A city in Irak; famous for the three days' battle which caused
+the death of Yezdegird, last Sassanian king.
+
+[FN#503] A mountain pass near Meccah famous for the "First Fealty of
+the Steep" (Pilgrimage ii. 126). The mosque was built to commemorate
+the event.
+
+[FN#504] To my surprise I read in Mr. Redhouse's "Mesnevi" (Trubner,
+1881), "Arafat, the mount where the victims are slaughtered by the
+pilgrims." (p.60). This ignorance is phenomenal. Did Mr. Redhouse never
+read Burckhardt or Burton?
+
+[FN#505] i.e. listening to the sermon.
+
+[FN#506] It is sad doggrel.
+
+[FN#507] This long story, containing sundry episodes and occupying
+fifty-three Nights, is wholly omitted by Lane (ii. 643) because "it is
+a compound of the most extravagant absurdities." He should have enabled
+his readers to form their own judgment.
+
+[FN#508] Called Jamasp (brother and minister of the ancient Persian
+King Gushtasp) in the translations of Trebutien and others from Von
+Hammer.
+
+[FN#509] The usual term of lactation in the East, prolonged to two
+years and a-half, which is considered the rule laid down by the Shara'
+or precepts of the Prophet. But it is not unusual to see children of
+three and even four years hanging to their mothers' breasts. During
+this period the mother does not cohabit with her husband; the
+separation beginning with her pregnancy. Such is the habit, not only of
+the "lower animals," but of all ancient peoples, the Egyptians (from
+whom the Hebrews borrowed it), the Assyrians and the Chinese. I have
+discussed its bearing upon pregnancy in my "City of the Saints": the
+Mormons insist upon this law of purity being observed; and the beauty,
+strength and good health of the younger generation are proofs of their
+wisdom.
+
+[FN#510] Thus distinguishing it from "Asal-kasab," cane honey or sugar.
+See vol. i., 271.
+
+[FN#511] The student of Hinduism will remember the Nαga-Kings and
+
+
+Queens (Melusines and Echidnζ) who guard the earth-treasures in
+
+
+Naga-land. The first appearance of the snake in literature is in
+
+
+Egyptian hieroglyphs, where he forms the letters f and t, and
+
+
+acts as a determinative in the shape of a Cobra di Capello
+
+
+(Coluber Naja) with expanded hood.
+
+
+
+[FN#512] In token that he was safe.
+
+[FN#513] "Akhir al-Zamαn." As old men praise past times, so prophets
+prefer to represent themselves as the last. The early Christians caused
+much scandal amongst the orderly law-loving Romans by their wild and
+mistaken predictions of the end of the world being at hand. The
+catastrophe is a fact for each man under the form of death; but the
+world has endured for untold ages and there is no apparent cause why it
+should not endure as many more. The "latter days," as the religious
+dicta of most "revelations" assure us, will be richer in sinners than
+in sanctity: hence "End of Time" is a facetious Arab title for a
+villain of superior quality. My Somali escort applied it to one thus
+distinguished: in 1875, I heard at Aden that he ended life by the spear
+as we had all predicted.
+
+[FN#514] Jahannam and the other six Hells are personified as feminine;
+and (woman-like) they are somewhat addicted to prolix speechification.
+
+[FN#515] These puerile exaggerations are fondly intended to act as
+nurses frighten naughty children.
+
+[FN#516] Alluding to an oft-quoted saying "Lau lα-ka, etc. Without thee
+(O Mohammed) We (Allah) had not created the spheres," which may have
+been suggested by "Before Abraham was, I am" (John viii. 58); and by
+Gate xci. of Zoroastrianism "O Zardusht for thy sake I have created the
+world" (Dabistan i. 344). The sentiment is by no means "Shi'ah," as my
+learned friend Prof. Aloys Springer supposes. In his Mohammed (p. 220)
+we find an extract from a sectarian poet, "For thee we dispread the
+earth; for thee we caused the waters to flow; for thee we vaulted the
+heavens." As Baron Alfred von Kremer, another learned and experienced
+Orientalist, reminds me, the "Shi'ahs" have always shown a decided
+tendency to this kind of apotheosis and have deified or quasi-deified
+Ali and the Imams. But the formula is first found in the highly
+orthodox Burdah poem of Al-Busiri:—
+
+"But for him (Lau lα-hu) the world had never come out of nothingness."
+
+Hence it has been widely diffused. See Les Aventures de Kamrup (pp.
+146-7) and Les uvres de Wali (pp. 51-52), by M. Garcin de Tassy and the
+Dabistan (vol. i. pp. 2-3).
+
+[FN#517] Arab. "Sνmiyα" from the Pers., a word apparently built on the
+model of "Kαmiyα" = alchemy, and applied, I have said, to fascination,
+minor miracles and white magic generally like the Hindu "Indrajal." The
+common term for Alchemy is Ilm al-Kαf (the K-science) because it is not
+safe to speak of it openly as Alchemy.
+
+[FN#518] Mare Tenebrarum = Sea of Darknesses; usually applied to the
+"mournful and misty Atlantic."
+
+[FN#519] Some Moslems hold that Solomon and David were buried in
+Jerusalem, others on the shore of Lake Tiberias. Mohammed, according to
+the history of Al-Tabari (p. 56 vol. i. Duleux's "Chronique de Tabari")
+declares that the Jinni bore Solomon's corpse to a palace hewn in the
+rock upon an island surrounded by a branch of the "Great Sea" and set
+him on a throne, with his ring still on his finger, under a guard of
+twelve Jinns. "None hath looked upon the tomb save only two, Affan who
+took Bulukiya as his companion: with extreme pains they arrived at the
+spot, and Affan was about to carry off the ring when a thunderbolt
+consumed him. So Bulukiya returned."
+
+[FN#520] Koran xxxviii. 34, or, "art the liberal giver."
+
+[FN#521] i.e. of the last trumpet blown by the Archangel Israfil: an
+idea borrowed from the Christians. Hence the title of certain
+churches—ad Tubam.
+
+[FN#522] This may mean that the fruits were fresh and dried like dates
+or tamarinds (a notable wonder), or soft and hard of skin like grapes
+and pomegranates.
+
+[FN#523] Arab. "Ai-lksνr" meaning lit. an essence; also the
+philosopher's stone.
+
+[FN#524] Name of the Jinni whom Solomon imprisoned in Lake
+
+
+Tiberias (See vol. i., 41).
+
+
+
+[FN#525] Vulgarly pronounced "Jahannum." The second hell is usually
+assigned to Christians. As there are seven Heavens (the planetary
+orbits) so, to satisfy Moslem love of symmetry, there must be as many
+earths and hells under the earth. The Egyptians invented these grim
+abodes, and the marvellous Persian fancy worked them into poem.
+
+[FN#526] Arab. "Yαjϊj and Majuj," first named in Gen. x. 2, which gives
+the ethnology of Asia Minor, circ. B.C. 800. "Gomer" is the Gimri or
+Cymmerians; "Magog" the original Magi, a division of the Medes, "Javan"
+the Ionian Greeks, "Meshesh" the Moschi; and "Tires" the Turusha, or
+primitive Cymmerians. In subsequent times, "Magog" was applied to the
+Scythians, and modern Moslems determine from the Koran (chaps. xviii.
+and xxi.) that Yajuj and Majuj are the Russians, whom they call Moska
+or Moskoff from the Moskwa River,
+
+[FN#527] I attempt to preserve the original pun; "Mukarrabin" (those
+near Allah) being the Cherubim, and the Creator causing Iblis to draw
+near Him (karraba).
+
+[FN#528] A vulgar version of the Koran (chaps. vii.), which seems to
+have borrowed from the Gospel of Barnabas. Hence Adam becomes a manner
+of God-man.
+
+[FN#529] These wild fables are caricatures of Rabbinical legends which
+began with "Lilith," the Spirit-wife of Adam: Nature and her
+counterpart, Physis and Antiphysis, supply a solid basis for folk-lore.
+Amongst the Hindus we have Brahma (the Creator) and Viswakarmα, the
+anti-Creator: the former makes a horse and a bull and the latter
+caricatures them with an ass and a buffalo, and so forth.
+
+[FN#530] This is the "Lauh al-MahfÏŠz," the Preserved Tablet, upon which
+are written all Allah's decrees and the actions of mankind good (white)
+and evil (black). This is the "perspicuous Book" of the Koran, chaps.
+vi. 59. The idea again is Guebre.
+
+[FN#531] i.e. the night before Friday which in Moslem parlance would be
+Friday night.
+
+[FN#532] Again Persian "Gαw-i-Zamνn" = the Bull of the Earth.
+
+
+"The cosmogony of the world," etc., as we read in the Vicar of
+
+
+Wakefield.
+
+
+
+[FN#533] The Calc. Edit. ii. 614. here reads by a clerical error
+"bull."
+
+[FN#534] i.e. Lakes and rivers.
+
+[FN#535] Here some abridgement is necessary, for we have another
+recital of what has been told more than once.
+
+[FN#536] This name, "King of Life," is Persian: "Tegh" or "Tigh" means
+a scimitar and "Bahrwαn," is, I conceive, a mistake for "Bihrϊn," the
+Persian name of Alexander the Great.
+
+[FN#537] Arab. "Mulαkαt" or meeting the guest which, I have said, is an
+essential part of Eastern ceremony, the distance from the divan, room,
+house or town being proportioned to his rank or consideration.
+
+[FN#538] Arab. "Sifr": whistling is held by the Badawi to be the speech
+of devils; and the excellent explorer Burckhardt got a bad name by the
+ugly habit.
+
+[FN#539] The Arabs call "Shikk" (split man) and the Persians
+"Nνmchahrah" (half-face) a kind of demon like a man divided
+longitudinally: this gruesome creature runs with amazing speed and is
+very cruel and dangerous. For the celebrated soothsayers "Shikk" and
+"Sαtih" see Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 371.
+
+[FN#540] Arab. "Takht" (Persian) = a throne or a capital.
+
+[FN#541] Arab. "Wady al-Naml"; a reminiscence of the Koranic Wady
+(chaps. xxvii.), which some place in Syria and others in Tαif.
+
+[FN#542] This is the old, old fable of the River Sabbation which
+
+
+Pliny ((xxx). 18) reports as "drying up every Sabbath-day"
+
+
+(Saturday): and which Josephus reports as breaking the Sabbath by
+
+
+flowing only on the Day of Rest.
+
+
+
+[FN#543] They were keeping the Sabbath. When lodging with my Israelite
+friends at Tiberias and Safet, I made a point of never speaking to them
+(after the morning salutation) till the Saturday was over.
+
+[FN#544] Arab. "La'al" and "Yαkϊt," the latter also applied to the
+garnet and to a variety of inferior stones. The ruby is supposed by
+Moslems to be a common mineral thoroughly "cooked" by the sun, and
+produced only on the summits of mountains inaccessible even to
+Alpinists. The idea may have originated from exaggerated legends of the
+Badakhshαn country (supposed to be the home of the ruby) and its
+terrors of break-neck foot-paths, jagged peaks and horrid ravines:
+hence our "balas-ruby" through the Spanish corruption "Balaxe."
+Epiphanius, archbishop of Salamis in Cyprus, who died A.D. 403, gives,
+m a little treatise (De duodecim gemmis rationalis summi sacerdotis
+Hebrζorum Liber, opera Fogginii, Romae, 1743, p. 30), a precisely
+similar description of the mode of finding jacinths in Scythia. "In a
+wilderness in the interior of Great Scythia," he writes, "there is a
+valley begirt with stony mountains as with walls. It is inaccessible to
+man, and so excessively deep that the bottom of the valley is invisible
+from the top of the surrounding mountains. So great is the darkness
+that it has the effect of a kind of chaos. To this place certain
+criminals are condemned, whose task it is to throw down into the valley
+slaughtered lambs, from which the skin has been first taken off. The
+little stones adhere to these pieces of flesh. Thereupon the eagles,
+which live on the summits of the mountains, fly down following the
+scent of the flesh, and carry away the lambs with the stones adhering
+to them. They, then, who are condemned to this place watch until the
+eagles have finished their meal, and run and take away the stones."
+Epiphanius, who wrote this, is spoken of in terms of great respect by
+many ecclesiastical writers, and St. Jerome styles the treatise here
+quoted, "Egregium volumen, quod si legere volueris, plenissimam
+scientiam consequeris ," and, indeed, it is by no means improbable that
+it was from the account of Epiphanius that this story was first
+translated into Arabic. A similar account is given by Marco Polo and by
+Nicolς de Conti, as of a usage which they had heard was practiced in
+India, and the position ascribed to the mountain by Conti, namely,
+fifteen days' journey north of Vijanagar, renders it highly probable
+that Golconda was alluded to. He calls the mountain Albenigaras, and
+says that it was infested with serpents. Marco Polo also speaks of
+these serpents, and while his account agrees with that of Sindbad,
+inasmuch as the serpents, which are the prey of Sindbad's Rukh, are
+devoured by the Venetian's eagles, that of Conti makes the vultures and
+eagles fly away with the meat to places where they may be safe from the
+serpents. (Introd. p. xiii., India in the Fifteenth Century, etc., R.
+H. Major, London, Hakluyt Soc. MDCCCLVII.)
+
+[FN#545] Elder Victory: "Nasr" is a favourite name with Moslems.
+
+[FN#546] These are the "Swan-maidens" of whom Europe in late years has
+heard more than enough. It appears to me that we go much too far for an
+explanation of the legend; a high-bred girl is so like a swan in many
+points that the idea readily suggests itself. And it is also aided by
+the old Egyptian (and Platonic) belief in pre-existence and by the
+Rabbinic and Buddhistic doctrine of ante-natal sin, to say nothing of
+metempsychosis. (Joseph Ant. xvii.. 153.)
+
+[FN#547] The lines have occurred before. I quote Mr. Payne for variety.
+
+[FN#548] Arab. "Al-Khayαl": it is a synonym of "al-Tayf' and the
+nearest approach to our "ghost," as has been explained. In poetry it is
+the figure of the beloved seen when dreaming.
+
+[FN#549] He does not kiss her mouth because he intends to marry her.
+
+[FN#550] It should be "manifest" excellence. (Koran xxvii. 16.)
+
+[FN#551] The phrase is Koranic used to describe Paradise, and Damascus
+is a familiar specimen of a city under which a river, the Baradah,
+passes, distributed into a multitude of canals.
+
+[FN#552] It may be noted that rose-water is sprinkled on the faces of
+the "nobility and gentry, " common water being good enough for the
+commonalty. I have had to drink tea made in compliment with rose-water
+and did not enjoy it.
+
+[FN#553] The "Valley Flowery:" Zahrαn is the name of a place near
+
+
+Al-Medinah.
+
+
+
+[FN#554] The Proud or Petulant.
+
+[FN#555] i.e. Lion, Son of ( ?).
+
+[FN#556] i.e. Many were slain.
+
+[FN#557] I venture to draw attention to this battle-picture which is at
+once simple and highly effective.
+
+[FN#558] Anglicθ a quibble, evidently evasive.
+
+[FN#559] In text "Anα A'amil," etc., a true Egypto-Syrian vulgarism.
+
+[FN#560] i.e. magical formulζ. The context is purposely left vague.
+
+[FN#561] The repetition is a condescension, a token of kindness.
+
+[FN#562] This is the common cubic of 18 inches: the modern vary from 22
+to 26.
+
+[FN#563] I have noticed the two-humped Bactrian camel which the Syrians
+and Egyptians compare with an elephant. See p. 221 (the neo-Syrian)
+Book of Kalilah and Dimnah.
+
+[FN#564] The Noachian dispensation revived the Islam or true religion
+first revealed to Adam and was itself revived and reformed by Moses.
+
+[FN#565] Probably a corruption of the Turkish "Kara Tαsh" = black
+stone, in Arab. "Hαjar Jahannam" (hell-stone), lava, basalt.
+
+[FN#566] A variant of lines in Night xx., vol. i., 211.
+
+[FN#567] i.e. Daughter of Pride: the proud.
+
+[FN#568] In the Calc. Edit. by misprint "Maktab." Jabal Mukattam is the
+old sea-cliff where the Mediterranean once beat and upon whose
+North-Western slopes Cairo is built.
+
+[FN#569] Arab. "Kutb"; lie. an axle, a pole; next a prince; a high
+order or doyen in Sainthood especially amongst the Sufi-gnostics.
+
+[FN#570] Lit. "The Green" (Prophet), a mysterious personage confounded
+with Elijah, St. George and others. He was a Moslem, i.e. a ewe
+believer in the Islam of his day and Wazir to Kaykobad, founder of the
+Kayanian dynasty, sixth century B.C. We have before seen him as a
+contemporary of Moses. My learned friend Ch. Clermone-Ganneau traces
+him back, with a multitude of his similars (Proteus, Perseus, etc.), to
+the son of Osiris (p. 45, Horus et Saint Georges).
+
+[FN#571] Arab. "Waled," more ceremonious than "ibn." It is, by the by,
+the origin of our "valet" in its sense of boy or servant who is
+popularly addressed Yα waled. Hence I have seen in a French book of
+travels "un petit Iavelet."
+
+[FN#572] Arab. "Azal" = Eternity (without beginning); "Abad" =
+
+
+Infinity (eternity without end).
+
+
+
+[FN#573] The Moslem ritual for slaughtering (by cutting the throat) is
+not so strict as that of the Jews; but it requires some practice; and
+any failure in the conditions renders the meat impure, mere carrion
+(fatνs).
+
+[FN#574] The Wazir repeats all the words spoken by the Queen—but "in
+iteration there is no recreation."
+
+[FN#575] A phrase always in the Moslem's mouth: the slang meaning of
+"we put our trust in Allah" is "let's cut our stick."
+
+[FN#576] Koran liii. 14. This "Sidrat al-Muntahα" (Zizyphus lotus)
+stands m the seventh heaven on the right hand of Allah's throne: and
+even the angels may not pass beyond it.
+
+[FN#577] Arab. "Habash" the word means more than "Abyssinia" as it
+includes the Dankali Country and the sea-board, a fact unknown to the
+late Lord Stratford de Redcliffe when he disputed with the Porte. I
+ventured to set him right and suffered accordingly.
+
+[FN#578] Here ends vol. ii. of the Mac. Edit.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5, by Richard F. Burton
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+Project Gutenberg's The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, V5
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+Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5
+
+Author: Richard F. Burton
+
+Release Date: September, 2002  [Etext #3439]
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+[The actual date this file first posted = 07/05/01]
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+Edition: 10
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+Project Gutenberg's The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, V5
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+Dudding, Jennifer Lee, Marilyn McCelland, Laura Shaffer, Charles
+Wilson.
+
+
+
+
+
+                        THE BOOK OF THE
+                  THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
+                A Plain and Literal Translation
+              of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
+
+                  Translated and Annotated by
+                       Richard F. Burton
+
+                          VOLUME FIVE
+              Privately Printed By The Burton Club
+
+
+
+                     To Doctor George Bird.
+
+My Dear Bird,
+     This is not a strictly medical work, although in places
+treating of subjects which may modestly be called hygienic.  I
+inscribe it to you because your knowledge of Egypt will enable
+you to appreciate its finer touches; and for another and a yet
+more cogent reason, namely, that you are one of my best and
+oldest friends.
+
+Ever yours sincerely,
+
+Richard F. Burton
+
+Athenæum Club, October 20, 1885.
+
+
+                  Contents of the Fifth Volume
+
+59.  The Ebony Horse
+60.  Uns Al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter Al-Ward Fi'l-Akmam or
+     Rose-In-Hood
+61.  Abu Nowas With the Three Boys and the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid
+62.  Abdallah Bin Ma'amar With the Man of Bassorah and His Slave
+     Girl
+63.  The Lovers of the Banu Ozrah
+64.  The Wazir of Al-Yaman and His Younger Brother
+65.  The Loves of the Boy and Girl at School
+66.  Al-Mutalammis and His Wife Umaymah
+67.  The Caliph Marun Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah in the Bath
+68.  Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Poets
+69.  Mus'ab Bin Al-Zubayr and Ayishah His Wife
+70.  Abu Al-Aswad and His Slave-Girl
+71.  Harun Al-Rashid and the Two Slave-Girls
+72.  The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Slave-Girls
+73.  The Miller and His Wife
+74.  The Simpleton and the Sharper
+75.  The Kazi Abu Yusuf With Harum Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah
+76.  The Caliph Al-Hakim and the Merchand
+77.  King Kisra Anushirwan and the Village Damsel
+78.  The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife
+79.  Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman
+80.  Yahya Bin Khalid the Barmecide and the Poor Man
+81.  Mohammed Al-Amin and the Slave-Girl
+82.  The Sons of Yahya Bin Khalid and Sa'id Bin Salim Al-Bahili
+83.  The Woman's Trick Against Her Husband
+84.  The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders
+85.  Ja'afar the Barmecide and the Old Badawi
+86.  The Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab and the Young Badawi
+87.  The Caliph Al-Maamum and the Pyramids of Egypt
+88.  The Thief and the Merchant
+89.  Masrur the Eunuch and Ibn Al-Karibi
+90.  The Devotee Prince
+91.  The Unwise Schoolmaster Who Fell in Love by Report
+92.  The Foolish Dominie
+93.  The Illiterate Who Set Up For a Schoolmaster
+94.  The King and the Virtuous Wife
+95.  Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh
+96.  Adi Bin Zayd and the Princess Hind
+97.  Di'ibil Al-Khuza'i With the Lady and Muslim Bin Al-Walid
+98.  Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant
+99.  The Three Unfortunate Lovers
+100. How Abu Hasan Brake Wind
+101. The Lovers of the Banu Tayy
+102. The Mad Lover
+103. The Prior Who Became A Moslem
+104. The Loves of Abu Isa and Jurrat Al-Ayn
+105. Al-Amin Son of Al-Rashid and His Uncle Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi
+106. Al-Fath Bin Khakan and Al-Mutawakkil
+107. The Man's Dispute With the Learned Woman Concerning the
+     Relative Excellence of Male and Female
+108. Abu Suwayd and the Pretty Old Woman
+109. The Emir ali Bin Tahir and the Girl Muunis
+110. The Woman Who had a Boy and the Other Who had a Man to Lover
+111. Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad
+112. The Pilgrim Man and the Old Woman
+113. Abu Alhusn and His Slave-Girl Tawaddud
+114. The Angel of Death With the Proud King and the Devout Man
+115. The Angel of Death and the Rich King
+116. The Angel of Death and the King of the Children of Israel
+117. Iskandar Zu Al-Karnayn and a Certain Tribe of Poor Folk
+118. The Righteousness of King Anushirwan
+119. The Jewish Kazi and His Pious Wife
+120. The Shipwrecked Woman and Her Child
+121. The Pious Black Slave
+122. The Devout Tray-Maker and His Wife
+123. Al-Jajjaj and the Pious Man
+124. The Blacksmith Who Could Handle Fire Without Hurt
+125. The Devotee To Whom Allah Gave a Cloud for Service and the
+     Devout King
+126. The Moslem Champion and the Christian Damsel
+127. The Christian King's Daughter and the Moslem
+128. The Prophet and the Justice of Providence
+129. The Ferryman of the Nile and the Hermit
+130. The Island King and the Pious Israelite
+131. Abu Al-Hasan and Abu Ja'afar the Leper
+132. The Queen of Serpents
+     a.   The Adventures of Bulukiya
+     b.   The Story of Jansha
+
+
+
+
+
+                        The Book Of The
+                  THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
+
+
+
+                     THE EBONY HORSE.[FN#1]
+
+
+
+There was once in times of yore and ages long gone before, a
+great and puissant King, of the Kings of the Persians, Sábúr by
+name, who was the richest of all the Kings in store of wealth and
+dominion and surpassed each and every in wit and wisdom. He was
+generous, open handed and beneficent, and he gave to those who
+sought him and repelled not those who resorted to him; and he
+comforted the broken-hearted and honourably entreated those who
+fled to him for refuge. Moreover, he loved the poor and was
+hospitable to strangers and did the oppressed justice upon the
+oppressor. He had three daughters, like full moons of shining
+light or flower-gardens blooming bright; and a son as he were the
+moon; and it was his wont to keep two festivals in the twelve-
+month, those of the Nau-Roz, or New Year, and Mihrgán the
+Autumnal Equinox,[FN#2] on which occasions he threw open his
+palaces and gave largesse and made proclamation of safety and
+security and promoted his chamberlains and viceroys; and the
+people of his realm came in to him and saluted him and gave him
+joy of the holy day, bringing him gifts and servants and eunuchs.
+Now he loved science and geometry, and one festival-day as he sat
+on his kingly throne there came in to him three wise men, cunning
+artificers and past masters in all manner of craft and
+inventions, skilled in making things curious and rare, such as
+confound the wit; and versed in the knowledge of occult truths
+and perfect in mysteries and subtleties. And they were of three
+different tongues and countries, the first a Hindi or
+Indian,[FN#3] the second a Roumi or Greek and the third a Farsi
+or Persian. The Indian came forwards and, prostrating himself
+before the King, wished him joy of the festival and laid before
+him a present befitting his dignity; that is to say, a man of
+gold, set with precious gems and jewels of price and hending in
+hand a golden trumpet. When Sabur[FN#4] saw this, he asked, "O
+sage, what is the virtue of this figure?"; and the Indian
+answered, "O my lord, if this figure be set at the gate of thy
+city, it will be a guardian over it; for, in an enemy enter the
+place, it will blow this clarion against him and he will be
+seized with a palsy and drop down dead." Much the King marvelled
+at this and cried, "By Allah, O sage, an this thy word be true, I
+will grant thee thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the
+Greek and, prostrating himself before the King, presented him
+with a basin of silver, in whose midst was a peacock of gold,
+surrounded by four-and-twenty chicks of the same metal. Sabur
+looked at them and turning to the Greek, said to him, "O sage,
+what is the virtue of this peacock?" "O my lord," answered he,
+"as often as an hour of the day or night passeth, it pecketh one
+of its young and crieth out and flappeth its wings, till the
+four-and-twenty hours are accomplished; and when the month cometh
+to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see the crescent
+therein." And the King said, "An thou speak sooth, I will bring
+thee to thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the Persian
+sage and, prostrating himself before the King, presented him with
+a horse[FN#5] of the blackest ebony-wood inlaid with gold and
+jewels, and ready harnessed with saddle, bridle and stirrups such
+as befit Kings; which when Sabur saw, he marvelled with exceeding
+marvel and was confounded at the beauty of its form and the
+ingenuity of its fashion. So he asked, "What is the use of this
+horse of wood, and what is its virtue and what the secret of its
+movement?"; and the Persian answered, "O my lord, the virtue of
+this horse is that, if one mount him, it will carry him whither
+he will and fare with its rider through the air and cover the
+space of a year in a single day." The King marvelled and was
+amazed at these three wonders, following thus hard upon one
+another on the same day, and turning to the sage, said to him,
+"By Allah the Omnipotent, and our Lord the Beneficent, who
+created all creatures and feedeth them with meat and drink, an
+thy speech be veritable and the virtue of thy contrivance appear,
+I will assuredly give thee whatsoever thou lustest for and will
+bring thee to thy desire and thy wish!"[FN#6] Then he entertained
+the sages three days, that he might make trial of their gifts;
+after which they brought the figures before him and each took the
+creature he had wroughten and showed him the mystery of its
+movement. The trumpeter blew the trump; the peacock pecked its
+chicks and the Persian sage mounted the ebony house, whereupon it
+soared with him high in air and descended again. When King Sabur
+saw all this, he was amazed and perplexed and felt like to fly
+for joy and said to the three sages, "Now I am certified of the
+truth of your words and it behoveth me to quit me of my promise.
+Ask ye, therefore, what ye will, and I will give you that same."
+Now the report of the King's daughters had reached the sages, so
+they answered, "If the King be content with us and accept of our
+gifts and allow us to prefer a request to him, we crave of him
+that he give us his three daughters in marriage, that we may be
+his sons-in-law; for that the stability of Kings may not be
+gainsaid." Quoth the King, "I grant you that which you wish and
+you desire," and bade summon the Kazi forthright, that he might
+marry each of the sages to one of his daughters. Now it fortuned
+that the Princesses were behind a curtain, looking on; and when
+they heard this, the youngest considered her husband to be and
+behold, he was an old man,[FN#7] an hundred years of age, with
+hair frosted, forehead drooping, eyebrows mangy, ears slitten,
+beard and mustachios stained and dyed; eyes red and goggle;
+cheeks bleached and hollow; flabby nose like a brinjall, or egg-
+plant[FN#8]; face like a cobbler's apron, teeth overlapping and
+lips like camel's kidneys, loose and pendulous; in brief a
+terror, a horror, a monster, for he was of the folk of his time
+the unsightliest and of his age the frightfullest; sundry of his
+grinders had been knocked out and his eye-teeth were like the
+tusks of the Jinni who frighteneth poultry in hen-houses. Now the
+girl was the fairest and most graceful of her time, more elegant
+than the gazelle however tender, than the gentlest zephyr blander
+and brighter than the moon at her full; for amorous fray right
+suitable; confounding in graceful sway the waving bough and
+outdoing in swimming gait the pacing roe; in fine she was fairer
+and sweeter by far than all her sisters. So, when she saw her
+suitor, she went to her chamber and strewed dust on her head and
+tore her clothes and fell to buffeting her face and weeping and
+wailing. Now the Prince, her brother, Kamar al-Akmár, or the Moon
+of Moons hight, was then newly returned from a journey and,
+hearing her weeping and crying came in to her (for he loved her
+with fond affection, more than his other sisters) and asked her,
+"What aileth thee? What hath befallen thee? Tell me and conceal
+naught from me." So she smote her breast and answered, "O my
+brother and my dear one, I have nothing to hide. If the palace be
+straitened upon thy father, I will go out; and if he be resolved
+upon a foul thing, I will separate myself from him, though he
+consent not to make provision for me; and my Lord will provide."
+Quoth he, "Tell me what meaneth this talk and what hath
+straitened thy breast and troubled thy temper." "O my brother and
+my dear one," answered the Princess, "Know that my father hath
+promised me in marriage to a wicked magician who brought him, as
+a gift, a horse of black wood, and hath bewitched him with his
+craft and his egromancy; but, as for me, I will none of him, and
+would, because of him, I had never come into this world!" Her
+brother soothed her and solaced her, then fared to his sire and
+said, "What be this wizard to whom thou hast given my youngest
+sister in marriage, and what is this present which he hath
+brought thee, so that thou hast killed[FN#9] my sister with
+chagrin? It is not right that this should be." Now the Persian
+was standing by and, when he heard the Prince's words, he was
+mortified and filled with fury and the King said, "O my son, an
+thou sawest this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou
+wouldst be amated with amazement." Then he bade the slaves bring
+the horse before him and they did so; and, when the Prince saw
+it, it pleased him. So (being an accomplished cavalier) he
+mounted it forthright and struck its sides with the shovel-shaped
+stirrup-irons; but it stirred not and the King said to the Sage,
+"Go show him its movement, that he also may help thee to win thy
+wish." Now the Persian bore the Prince a grudge because he willed
+not he should have his sister; so he showed him the pin of ascent
+on the right side of the horse and saying to him, "Trill this,"
+left him. Thereupon the Prince trilled the pin and lo! the horse
+forthwith soared with him high in ether, as it were a bird, and
+gave not overflying till it disappeared from men's espying,
+whereat the King was troubled and perplexed about his case and
+said to the Persian, "O sage, look how thou mayest make him
+descend." But he replied, "O my lord, I can do nothing, and thou
+wilt never see him again till Resurrection-day, for he, of his
+ignorance and pride, asked me not of the pin of descent and I
+forgot to acquaint him therewith." When the King heard this, he
+was enraged with sore rage; and bade bastinado the sorcerer and
+clap him in jail, whilst he himself cast the crown from his head
+and beat his face and smote his breast. Moreover, he shut the
+doors of his palaces and gave himself up to weeping and keening,
+he and his wife and daughters and all the folk of the city; and
+thus their joy was turned to annoy and their gladness changed
+into sore affliction and sadness. Thus far concerning them; but
+as regards the Prince, the horse gave not over soaring with him
+till he drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up for lost
+and saw death in the skies, and was confounded at his case,
+repenting him of having mounted the horse and saying to himself,
+"Verily, this was a device of the Sage to destroy me on account
+of my youngest sister; but there is no Majesty and there is no
+Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! I am lost without
+recourse; but I wonder, did not he who made the ascent-pin make
+also a descent-pin?" Now he was a man of wit and knowledge and
+intelligence; so he fell to feeling all the parts of the horse,
+but saw nothing save a screw, like a cock's head, on its right
+shoulder and the like on the left, when quoth he to himself, "I
+see no sign save these things like buttons." Presently he turned
+the right-hand pin, whereupon the horse flew heavenwards with
+increased speed. So he left it and looking at the sinister
+shoulder and finding another pin, he wound it up and immediately
+the steed's upwards motion slowed and ceased and it began to
+descend, little by little, towards the face of the earth, while
+the rider became yet more cautious and careful of his life.--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Prince wound up the sinister screw, the steed's upward motion
+slowed and ceased, and it began to descend, little by little,
+towards the earth while the rider became yet more cautious and
+careful of his life. And when he saw this and knew the uses of
+the horse, his heart was filled with joy and gladness and he
+thanked Almighty Allah for that He had deigned deliver him from
+destruction. Then he began to turn the horse's head whithersoever
+he would, making it rise and fall at pleasure, till he had gotten
+complete mastery over its every movement. He ceased not to
+descend the whole of that day, for that the steed's ascending
+flight had borne him afar from the earth; and, as he descended,
+he diverted himself with viewing the various cities and countries
+over which he passed and which he knew not, never having seen
+them in his life. Amongst the rest, he descried a city ordered
+after the fairest fashion in the midst of a verdant and riant
+land, rich in trees and streams, with gazelles pacing daintily
+over the plains; whereat he fell a-musing and said to himself,
+"Would I knew the name of yon town and in what land it is!" And
+he took to circling about it and observing it right and left. By
+this time, the day began to decline and the sun drew near to its
+downing; and he said in his mind, "Verily I find no goodlier
+place to night in than this city; so I will lodge here and early
+on the morrow I will return to my kith and kin and my kingdom;
+and tell my father and family what hath passed and acquaint him
+with what mine eyes have seen." Then he addressed himself to
+seeking a place wherein he might safely bestow himself and his
+horse and where none should descry him, and presently behold, he
+espied a-middlemost of the city a palace rising high in upper air
+surrounded by a great wall with lofty crenelles and battlements,
+guarded by forty black slaves, clad in complete mail and armed
+with spears and swords, bows and arrows. Quoth he, "This is a
+goodly place," and turned the descent-pin, whereupon the horse
+sank down with him like a weary bird, and alighted gently on the
+terrace-roof of the palace. So the Prince dismounted and
+ejaculating "Alhamdolillah"--praise be to Allah[FN#10]--he began
+to go round about the horse and examine it, saying, "By Allah, he
+who fashioned thee with these perfections was a cunning
+craftsman, and if the Almighty extend the term of my life and
+restore me to my country and kinsfolk in safety and reunite me
+with my father, I will assuredly bestow upon him all manner
+bounties and benefit him with the utmost beneficence." By this
+time night had overtaken him and he sat on the roof till he was
+assured that all in the palace slept; and indeed hunger and
+thirst were sore upon him, for that he had not tasted food nor
+drunk water since he parted from his sire. So he said within
+himself, "Surely the like of this palace will not lack of
+victual;" and, leaving the horse above, went down in search of
+somewhat to eat. Presently, he came to a staircase and descending
+it to the bottom, found himself in a court paved with white
+marble and alabaster, which shone in the light of the moon. He
+marvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion, but
+sensed no sound of speaker and saw no living soul and stood in
+perplexed surprise, looking right and left and knowing not
+whither he should wend. Then said he to himself, "I may not do
+better than return to where I left my horse and pass the night by
+it; and as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride away."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+king's son to himself, "I may not do better than pass the night
+by my horse; and as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride
+away." However, as he tarried talking to himself, he espied a
+light within the palace, and making towards it, found that it
+came from a candle that stood before a door of the Harim, at the
+head of a sleeping eunuch, as he were one of the Ifrits of
+Solomon or a tribesman of the Jinn, longer than lumber and
+broader than a bench. He lay before the door, with the pommel of
+his sword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head
+was a bag of leather[FN#11] hanging from a column of granite.
+When the Prince saw this, he was affrighted and said, "I crave
+help from Allah the Supreme! O mine Holy One, even as Thou hast
+already delivered me from destruction, so vouchsafe me strength
+to quit myself of the adventure of this palace!" So saying, he
+put out his hand to the budget and taking it, carried it aside
+and opened it and found in it food of the best. He ate his fill
+and refreshed himself and drank water, after which he hung up the
+provision-bag in its place and drawing the eunuch's sword from
+its sheath, took it, whilst the slave slept on, knowing not
+whence destiny should come to him. Then the Prince fared forwards
+into the palace and ceased not till he came to a second door,
+with a curtain drawn before it; so he raised the curtain and
+behold, on entering he saw a couch of the whitest ivory, inlaid
+with pearls and jacinths and jewels, and four slave-girls
+sleeping about it. He went up to the couch, to see what was
+thereon, and found a young lady lying asleep, chemised with her
+hair[FN#12] as she were the full moon rising[FN#13] over the
+Eastern horizon, with flower-white brow and shining hair-paring
+and cheeks like blood-red anemones and dainty moles thereon. He
+was amazed at her as she lay in her beauty and loveliness, her
+symmetry and grace, and he recked no more of death. So he went up
+to her, trembling in every nerve and, shuddering with pleasure,
+kissed her on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke forthright and
+opened her eyes, and seeing the Prince standing at her head, said
+to him, "Who art thou and whence comest thou?" Quoth he, "I am
+thy slave and thy lover." Asked she, "And who brought thee
+hither?" and he answered, "My Lord and my fortune." Then said
+Shams al-Nahár[FN#14] (for such was her name), "Haply thou art he
+who demanded me yesterday of my father in marriage and he
+rejected thee, pretending that thou wast foul of favour. By
+Allah, my sire lied in his throat when he spoke this thing, for
+thou art not other than beautiful." Now the son of the King of
+Hind had sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him,
+for that he was ugly and uncouth, and she thought the Prince was
+he. So, when she saw his beauty and grace (for indeed he was like
+the radiant moon) the syntheism[FN#15] of love gat hold of her
+heart as it were a flaming fire, and they fell to talk and
+converse. Suddenly, her waiting-women awoke and, seeing the
+Prince with their mistress, said to her, "Oh my lady, who is this
+with thee?" Quoth she, "I know not; I found him sitting by me,
+when I woke up: haply 'tis he who seeketh me in marriage of my
+sire." Quoth they, "O my lady, by Allah the All-Father, this is
+not he who seeketh thee in marriage, for he is hideous and this
+man is handsome and of high degree. Indeed, the other is not fit
+to be his servant."[FN#16] Then the handmaidens went out to the
+eunuch, and finding him slumbering awoke him, and he started up
+in alarm. Said they, "How happeth it that thou art on guard at
+the palace and yet men come in to us, whilst we are asleep?" When
+the black heard this, he sprang in haste to his sword, but found
+it not; and fear took him and trembling. Then he went in,
+confounded, to his mistress and seeing the Prince sitting at talk
+with her, said to him, "O my lord, art thou man or Jinni?"
+Replied the Prince, "Woe to thee, O unluckiest of slaves: how
+darest thou even the sons of the royal Chosroes[FN#17] with one
+of the unbelieving Satans?" And he was as a raging lion. Then he
+took the sword in his hand and said to the slave, "I am the
+King's son-in-law, and he hath married me to his daughter and
+bidden me go in to her." And when the eunuch heard these words he
+replied, "O my lord, if thou be indeed of kind a man as thou
+avouchest, she is fit for none but for thee, and thou art
+worthier of her than any other." Thereupon the eunuch ran to the
+King, shrieking loud and rending his raiment and heaving dust
+upon his head; and when the King heard his outcry, he said to
+him, "What hath befallen thee?: speak quickly and be brief; for
+thou hast fluttered my heart." Answered the eunuch, "O King, come
+to thy daughter's succour; for a devil of the Jinn, in the
+likeness of a King's son, hath got possession of her; so up and
+at him!" When the King heard this, he thought to kill him and
+said, "How camest thou to be careless of my daughter and let this
+demon come at her?" Then he betook himself to the Princess's
+palace, where he found her slave-women standing to await him and
+asked them, "What is come to my daughter?" "O King," answered
+they, "slumber overcame us and, when we awoke, we found a young
+man sitting upon her couch in talk with her, as he were the full
+moon; never saw we aught fairer of favour than he. So we
+questioned him of his case and he declared that thou hadst given
+him thy daughter in marriage. More than this we know not, nor do
+we know if he be a man or a Jinni; but he is modest and well
+bred, and doth nothing unseemly or which leadeth to disgrace."
+Now when the King heard these words, his wrath cooled and he
+raised the curtain little by little and looking in, saw sitting
+at talk with his daughter a Prince of the goodliest with a face
+like the full moon for sheen. At this sight he could not contain
+himself, of his jealousy for his daughter's honour; and, putting
+aside the curtain, rushed in upon them drawn sword in hand like a
+furious Ghul. Now when the Prince saw him he asked the Princess,
+"Is this thy sire?"; and she answered, "Yes."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Price saw the King rushing in upon them, drawn sword in hand,
+like a furious Ghul he asked the Princess, "Is this thy sire?";
+and she answered, "Yes." Whereupon he sprang to his feet and,
+seizing his sword, cried out at the King with so terrible a cry
+that he was confounded. Then the youth would have fallen on him
+with the sword; but the King seeing that the Prince was doughtier
+than he, sheathed his scymitar and stood till the young man came
+up to him, when he accosted him courteously and said to him, "O
+youth, art thou a man or a Jinni?" Quoth the Prince, "Did I not
+respect thy right as mine host and thy daughter's honour, I would
+spill thy blood! How darest thou fellow me with devils, me that
+am a Prince of the sons of the royal Chosroes who, had they
+wished to take thy kingdom, could shake thee like an earthquake
+from thy glory and thy dominions and spoil thee of all thy
+possessions?" Now when the King heard his words, he was
+confounded with awe and bodily fear of him and rejoined, "If thou
+indeed be of the sons of the Kings, as thou pretendest, how
+cometh it that thou enterest my palace without my permission, and
+smirchest mine honour, making thy way to my daughter and feigning
+that thou art her husband and claiming that I have given her to
+thee to wife, I that have slain Kings and Kings' sons, who sought
+her of me in marriage? And now who shall save thee from my might
+and majesty when, if I cried out to my slaves and servants and
+bade them put thee to the vilest of deaths they would slay thee
+forthright? Who shall deliver thee out of my hand?" When the
+Prince heard this speech of the King he answered, "Verily, I
+wonder at thee and at the shortness and denseness of thy wit! Say
+me, canst covet for thy daughter a mate comelier than myself, and
+hast ever seen a stouter hearted man or one better fitted for a
+Sultan or a more glorious in rank and dominion than I?" Rejoined
+the King, "Nay, by Allah! but I would have had thee, O youth, act
+after the custom of Kings and demand her from me to wife before
+witnesses, that I might have married her to thee publicly; and
+now, even were I to marry her to thee privily, yet hast thou
+dishonoured me in her person." Rejoined the Prince, "Thou sayest
+sooth, O King, but if thou summon thy slaves and thy soldiers and
+they fall upon me and slay me, as thou pretendest, thou wouldst
+but publish thine own disgrace, and the folk would be divided
+between belief in thee and disbelief in thee. Wherefore, O King,
+thou wilt do well, meseemeth, to turn from this thought to that
+which I shall counsel thee." Quoth the King, "Let me hear what
+thou hast to advise;" and quoth the Prince, "What I have to
+propose to thee is this: either do thou meet me in combat
+singular, I and thou; and he who slayeth his adversary shall be
+held the worthier and having a better title to the kingdom; or
+else, let me be this night and, whenas dawns the morn, draw out
+against me thy horsemen and footmen and servants; but first tell
+me their number." Said the King, "They are forty thousand horse,
+beside my own slaves and their followers,[FN#18] who are the like
+of them in number." Thereupon said the Prince, "When the day
+shall break, do thou array them against me and say to them"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth
+the Prince, "When day shall break, do thou array them against me
+and say to them: 'This man is a suitor to me for my daughter's
+hand, on condition that he shall do battle single-handed against
+you all; for he pretendeth that he will overcome you and put you
+to the rout, and indeed that ye cannot prevail against him.'
+After which, leave me to do battle with them: if they slay me,
+then is thy secret surer guarded and thine honour the better
+warded; and if I overcome them and see their backs, then is it
+the like of me a King should covet to his son-in-law." So the
+King approved of his opinion and accepted his proposition,
+despite his awe at the boldness of his speech and amaze at the
+pretensions of the Prince to meet in fight his whole host, such
+as he had described to him, being at heart assured that he would
+perish in the fray and so he should be quit of him and freed from
+the fear of dishonour. Thereupon he called the eunuch and bade
+him go to his Wazir without stay and delay and command him to
+assemble the whole of the army and cause them don their arms and
+armour and mount their steeds. So the eunuch carried the King's
+order to the Minister, who straightaway summoned the Captains of
+the host and the Lords of the realm and bade them don their
+harness of derring-do and mount horse and sally forth in battle
+array. Such was their case; but as regards the King, he sat a
+long while conversing with the young Prince, being pleased with
+his wise speech and good sense and fine breeding. And when it was
+day-break he returned to his palace and, seating himself on his
+throne, commanded his merry men to mount and bade them saddle one
+of the best of the royal steeds with handsome selle and housings
+and trappings and bring it to the Prince. But the youth said, "O
+King, I will not mount horse, till I come in view of the troops
+and review them." "Be it as thou wilt," replied the King. Then
+the two repaired to the parade-ground, where the troops were
+drawn up, and the young Prince looked upon them and noted their
+great number; after which the King cried out to them, saying,
+"Ho, all ye men, there is come to me a youth who seeketh my
+daughter in marriage; and in very sooth never have I seen a
+goodlier than he; no, nor a stouter of heart nor a doughtier of
+arm, for he pretendeth that he can overcome you, single-handed,
+and force you to flight and that, were ye an hundred thousand in
+number, yet for him would ye be but few. Now when he chargeth
+down on you, do ye receive him upon point of pike and sharp of
+sabre; for, indeed, he hath undertaken a mighty matter." Then
+quoth the King to the Prince, "Up, O my son, and do thy devoir on
+them." Answered he, "O King, thou dealest not justly and fairly
+by me: how shall I go forth against them, seeing that I am afoot
+and the men be mounted?" The King retorted, "I bade thee mount,
+and thou refusedst; but choose thou which of my horses thou
+wilt." Then he said, "Not one of thy horses pleaseth me, and I
+will ride none but that on which I came." Asked the King, "And
+where is thy horse?" "Atop of thy palace." "In what part of my
+palace?" "On the roof." Now when the King heard these words, he
+cried, "Out on thee! this is the first sign thou hast given of
+madness. How can the horse be on the roof? But we shall at once
+see if thou speak the truth or lies." Then he turned to one of
+his chief officers and said to him, "Go to my palace and bring me
+what thou findest on the roof." So all the people marvelled at
+the young Prince's words, saying one to other, "How can a horse
+come down the steps from the roof? Verily this is a thing whose
+like we never heard." In the meantime the King's messenger
+repaired to the palace and mounting to the roof, found the horse
+standing there and never had he looked on a handsomer; but when
+he drew near and examined it, he saw that it was made of ebony
+and ivory. Now the officer was accompanied by other high
+officers, who also looked on and they laughed to one another,
+saying, "Was it of the like of this horse that the youth spake?
+We cannot deem him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the
+truth of his case."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+high officials looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other
+and said, "Was it of the like of his horse that the youth spake?
+We cannot deem him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the
+truth of his case. Peradventure herein is some mighty matter, and
+he is a man of high degree." Then they lifted up the horse bodily
+and, carrying it to the King, set it down before him, and all the
+lieges flocked round to look at it, marvelling at the beauty of
+its proportions and the richness of its saddle and bridle. The
+King also admired it and wondered at it with extreme wonder; and
+he asked the Prince, "O youth, is this thy horse?" He answered,
+"Yes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see the
+marvel it showeth." Rejoined the King, "Then take and mount it,"
+and the Prince retorted, "I will not mount till the troops
+withdraw afar from it." So the King bade them retire a bowshot
+from the horse; whereupon quoth its owner, "O King, see thou; I
+am about to mount my horse and charge upon thy host and scatter
+them right and left and split their hearts asunder." Said the
+King, "Do as thou wilt; and spare not their lives, for they will
+not spare thine." Then the Prince mounted, whilst the troops
+ranged themselves in ranks before him, and one said to another,
+"When the youth cometh between the ranks, we will take him on the
+points of our pikes and the sharps of our sabres." Quoth another,
+"By Allah, this a mere misfortune: how shall we slay a youth so
+comely of face and shapely of form?" And a third continued, "Ye
+will have hard work to get the better of him; for the youth had
+not done this, but for what he knew of his own prowess and pre-
+eminence of valour." Meanwhile, having settled himself in his
+saddle, the Prince turned the pin of ascent; whilst all eyes were
+strained to see what he would do, whereupon the horse began to
+heave and rock and sway to and fro and make the strangest of
+movements steed ever made, till its belly was filled with air and
+it took flight with its rider and soared high into the sky. When
+the King saw this, he cried out to his men, saying, "Woe to you!
+catch him, catch him, ere he 'scape you!" But his Wazirs and
+Viceroys said to him, "O King, can a man overtake the flying
+bird? This is surely none but some mighty magician or Marid of
+the Jinn or devil, and Allah save thee from him. So praise thou
+the Almighty for deliverance of thee and of all thy host from his
+hand." Then the King returned to his palace after seeing the feat
+of the Prince and, going in to his daughter, acquainted her with
+what had befallen them both on the parade-ground. He found her
+grievously afflicted for the Prince and bewailing her separation
+from him; wherefore she fell sick with violent sickness and took
+to her pillow. Now when her father saw her on this wise, he
+pressed her to his breast and kissing her between the eyes, said
+to her, "O my daughter, praise Allah Almighty and thank Him for
+that He hath delivered us from this crafty enchanter, this
+villain, this low fellow, this thief who thought only of seducing
+thee!" And he repeated to her the story of the Prince and how he
+had disappeared in the firmament; and he abused him and cursed
+him knowing not how dearly his daughter loved him. But she paid
+no heed to his words and did but redouble in her tears and wails,
+saying to herself, "By Allah, I will neither eat meat nor drain
+drink, till Allah reunite me with him!" Her father was greatly
+concerned for her case and mourned much over her plight; but, for
+all he could do to soother her, love-longing only increased on
+her.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
+mourned much over his daughter's plight but, for all he could do
+to soothe her, love-longing only increased on her. Thus far
+concerning the King and Princess Shams al-Nahár; but as regards
+Prince Kamar al-Akmar, when he had risen high in air, he turned
+his horse's head towards his native land, and being alone mused
+upon the beauty of the Princess and her loveliness. Now he had
+enquired of the King's people the name of the city and of its
+King and his daughter; and men had told him that it was the city
+of Sana'á.[FN#19] So he journeyed with all speed, till he drew
+near his father's capital and, making an airy circuit about the
+city, alighted on the roof of the King's palace, where he left
+his horse, whilst he descended into the palace and seeing its
+threshold strewn with ashes, though that one of his family was
+dead. Then he entered, as of wont, and found his father and
+mother and sisters clad in mourning raiment of black, all pale of
+faces and lean of frames. When his sire descried him and was
+assured that it was indeed his son, he cried out with a great cry
+and fell down in a fit, but after a time coming to himself, threw
+himself upon him and embraced him, clipping him to his bosom and
+rejoicing in him with exceeding joy and extreme gladness. His
+mother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the
+Prince, fell upon him, kissing him and weeping, and joying with
+exceeding joyance. Then they questioned him of his case; so he
+told them all that had passed from first to last, and his father
+said to him, "Praised be Allah for thy safety, O coolth of my
+eyes and core of my heart!" Then the King bade hold high
+festival, and the glad tidings flew through the city. So they
+beat drums and cymbals and, doffing the weed of mourning, they
+donned the gay garb of gladness and decorated the streets and
+markets; whilst the folk vied with one another who should be the
+first to give the King joy, and the King proclaimed a general
+pardon and opening the prisons, released those who were therein
+prisoned. Moreover, he made banquets for the people, with great
+abundance of eating and drinking, for seven days and nights and
+all creatures were gladsomest; and he took horse with his son and
+rode out with him, that the folk might see him and rejoice. After
+awhile the Prince asked about the maker of the horse, saying, "O
+my father, what hath fortune done with him?"; and the King
+answered, "Allah never bless him nor the hour wherein I set eyes
+on him! For he was the cause of thy separation from us, O my son,
+and he hath lain in gaol since the day of thy disappearance."
+Then the King bade release him from prison and, sending for him,
+invested him in a dress of satisfaction and entreated him with
+the utmost favour and munificence, save that he would not give
+him his daughter to wife; whereat the Sage raged with sore rage
+and repented of that which he had done, knowing that the Prince
+had secured the secret of the steed and the manner of its motion.
+Moreover, the King said to his son, "I reck thou wilt do will not
+to go near the horse henceforth and more especially not to mount
+it after this day; for thou knowest not its properties, and
+belike thou art in error about it." Not the Prince had told his
+father of his adventure with the King of Sana'a and his daughter
+and he said, "Had the King intended to kill thee, he had done so;
+but thine hour was not yet come." When the rejoicings were at an
+end, the people returned to their places and the King and his son
+to the palace, where they sat down and fell to eating and
+drinking and making merry. Now the King had a handsome handmaiden
+who was skilled in playing the lute; so she took it and began to
+sweep the strings and sing thereto before the King and his son of
+separation of lovers, and she chanted the following verses:--
+
+"Deem not that absence breeds in me aught of forgetfulness; *
+     What should remember I did you fro' my remembrance wane?
+Time dies but never dies the fondest love for you we bear; *
+     And in your love I'll die and in your love I'll arise
+     again."[FN#20]
+
+When the Prince heard these verses, the fires of longing flamed
+up in his heart and pine and passion redoubled upon him. Grief
+and regret were sore upon him and his bowels yearned in him for
+love of the King's daughter of Sana'a; so he rose forthright and,
+escaping his father's notice, went forth the palace to the horse
+and mounting it, turned the pin of ascent, whereupon bird-like it
+flew with him high in air and soared towards the upper regions of
+the sky. In early morning his father missed him and, going up to
+the pinnacle of the palace, in great concern, saw his son rising
+into the firmament; whereat he was sore afflicted and repented in
+all penitence that he had not taken the horse and hidden it; and
+he said to himself, "By Allah, if but my son return to me, I will
+destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest concerning my
+son." And he fell again to weeping and bewailing himself.--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
+again fell to weeping and bewailing himself for his son. Such was
+his case; but as regards the Prince, he ceased not flying on
+through air till he came to the city of Sana'a and alighted on
+the roof as before. Then he crept down stealthily and, finding
+the eunuch asleep, as of wont, raised the curtain and went on
+little by little, till he came to the door of the Princess's
+alcove-[FN#21]chamber and stopped to listen; when lo! he heard
+her shedding plenteous tears and reciting verses, whilst her
+women slept round her. Presently, overhearing her weeping and
+wailing quoth they, "O our mistress, why wilt thou mourn for one
+who mourneth not for thee?" Quoth she, "O ye little of wit, is he
+for whom I mourn of those who forget or who are forgotten?" And
+she fell again to wailing and weeping, till sleep overcame her.
+Hereat the Prince's heart melted for her and his gall-bladder was
+like to burst, so he entered and, seeing her lying asleep without
+covering,[FN#22] touched her with his hand; whereupon she opened
+her eyes and espied him standing by her. Said he, "Why all this
+crying and mourning?" And when she knew him, she threw herself
+upon him, and took him around the neck and kissed him and
+answered, "For thy sake and because of my separation from thee."
+Said he, "O my lady, I have been made desolate by thee all this
+long time!" But she replied, "'Tis thou who hast desolated me;
+and hadst thou tarried longer, I had surely died!" Rejoined he,
+"O my lady, what thinkest thou of my case with thy father and how
+he dealt with me? Were it not for my love of thee, O temptation
+and seduction of the Three Worlds, I had certainly slain him and
+made him a warning to all beholders; but, even as I love thee, so
+I love him for thy sake." Quoth she, "How couldst thou leave me:
+can my life be sweet to me after thee?" Quoth he, "Let what hath
+happened suffice: I am now hungry, and thirsty." So she bade her
+maidens make ready meat and drink, and they sat eating and
+drinking and conversing till night was well nigh ended; and when
+day broke he rose to take leave of her and depart, ere the eunuch
+should awake. Shams al-Nahar asked him, "Whither goest thou?";
+and he answered, "To my father's house, and I plight thee my
+troth that I will come to thee once in every week." But she wept
+and said, "I conjure thee, by Allah the Almighty, take me with
+thee whereso thou wendest and make me not taste anew the
+bittergourd[FN#23] of separation from thee." Quoth he, "Wilt thou
+indeed go with me?" and quoth she, "Yes." "Then," said he, "arise
+that we depart." So she rose forthright and going to a chest,
+arrayed herself in what was richest and dearest to her of her
+trinkets of gold and jewels of price, and she fared forth, her
+handmaids recking naught. So he carried her up to the roof of the
+palace and, mounting the ebony horse, took her up behind him and
+made her fast to himself, binding her with strong bonds; after
+which he turned the shoulder-pin of ascent, and the horse rose
+with him high in air. When her slave-women saw this, they
+shrieked aloud and told her father and mother, who in hot haste
+ran to the palace-roof and looking up, saw the magical horse
+flying away with the Prince and Princess. At this the King was
+troubled with ever-increasing trouble and cried out, saying, "O
+King's son, I conjure thee, by Allah, have ruth on me and my wife
+and bereave us not of our daughter!" The Prince made him no
+reply; but, thinking in himself that the maiden repented of
+leaving father and mother, asked her, "O ravishment of the age,
+say me, wilt thou that I restore thee to thy mother and father?":
+whereupon she answered, "By Allah, O my lord, that is not my
+desire: my only wish is to be with thee, wherever thou art; for I
+am distracted by the love of thee from all else, even from my
+father and mother." Hearing these words the Prince joyed with
+great joy, and made the horse fly and fare softly with them, so
+as not to disquiet her; nor did they stay their flight till they
+came in sight of a green meadow, wherein was a spring of running
+water. Here they alighted and ate and drank; after which the
+Prince took horse again and set her behind him, binding her in
+his fear for her safety; after which they fared on till they came
+in sight of his father's capital. At this, the Prince was filled
+with joy and bethought himself to show his beloved the seat of
+his dominion and his father's power and dignity and give her to
+know that it was greater than that of her sire. So he set her
+down in one of his father's gardens without the city where his
+parent was wont to take his pleasure; and, carrying her into a
+domed summer-house prepared there for the King, left the ebony
+horse at the door and charged the damsel keep watch over it,
+saying, "Sit here, till my messenger come to thee; for I go now
+to my father, to make ready a palace for thee and show thee my
+royal estate." She was delighted when she heard these words and
+said to him, "Do as thou wilt;"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden
+was delighted when she heard these words and said to him, "Do as
+thou wilt;" for she thereby understood that she should not enter
+the city but with due honour and worship, as became her rank.
+Then the Prince left her and betook himself to the palace of the
+King his father, who rejoiced in his return and met him and
+welcomed him; and the Prince said to him, "Know that I have
+brought with me the King's daughter of whom I told thee; and have
+left her without the city in such a garden and come to tell thee,
+that thou mayst make ready the procession of estate and go forth
+to meet her and show her thy royal dignity and troops and
+guards." Answered the King, "With joy and gladness"; and
+straightaway bade decorate the town with the goodliest adornment.
+Then he took horse and rode out in all magnificence and majesty,
+he and his host, high officers and household, with drums and
+kettle-drums, fifes and clarions and all manner instruments;
+whilst the Prince drew forth of his treasuries jewellery and
+apparel and what else of the things which Kings hoards and made a
+rare display of wealth and splendour: moreover he got ready for
+the Princess a canopied litter of brocades, green, red and
+yellow, wherein he set Indian and Greek and Abyssinian slave-
+girls. Then he left the litter and those who were therein and
+preceded them to the pavilion where he had set her down; and
+searched but found naught, neither Princess nor horse. When he
+saw this, he beat his face, and rent his raiment and began to
+wander round about the garden, as he had lost his wits; after
+which he came to his senses and said to himself, "How could she
+have come at the secret of this horse, seeing I told her nothing
+of it? Maybe the Persian sage who made the horse hath chanced
+upon her and stolen her away, in revenge for my father's
+treatment of him." Then he sought the guardians of the garden and
+asked them if they had seen any pass the precincts; and said,
+"Hath any one come in here? Tell me the truth and the whole truth
+or I will at once strike off your heads." They were terrified by
+his threats; but they answered with one voice, "We have seen no
+man enter save the Persian sage, who came to gather healing
+herbs." So the Prince was certified that it was indeed he that
+had taken away the maiden,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Prince heard their answer, he was certified that the Sage had
+taken away the maiden and abode confounded and perplexed
+concerning his case. And he was abashed before the folk and,
+turning to his sire, told him what had happened and said to him,
+"Take the troops and march them back to the city. As for me, I
+will never return till I have cleared up this affair." When the
+King heard this, he wept and beat his breast and said to him, "O
+my son, calm thy choler and master thy chagrin and come home with
+us and look what King's daughter thou wouldst fain have, that I
+may marry thee to her." But the Prince paid no heed to his words
+and farewelling him departed, whilst the King returned to the
+city and their joy was changed into sore annoy. Now, as Destiny
+issued her decree, when the Prince left the Princess in the
+garden-house and betook himself to his father's palace, for the
+ordering of his affair, the Persian entered the garden to pluck
+certain simples and, scenting the sweet savour of musk and
+perfumes that exhaled from the Princess and impregnated the whole
+place, followed it till he came to the pavilion and saw standing
+at the door the horse which he had made with his own hands. His
+heart was filled with joy and gladness, for he had bemourned its
+loss much since it had gone out of his hand: so he went up to it
+and, examining its every part, found it whole and sound;
+whereupon he was about to mount and ride away, when he bethought
+himself and said, "Needs must I first look what the Prince hath
+brought and left here with the horse." So he entered the pavilion
+and, seeing the Princess sitting there, as she were the sun
+shining sheen in the sky serene, knew her at the first glance to
+be some high-born lady and doubted not but the Prince had brought
+her thither on the horse and left her in the pavilion, whilst he
+went to the city, to make ready for her entry in state procession
+with all splendor. Then he went up to her and kissed the earth
+between her hands, whereupon she raised her eyes to him and,
+finding him exceedingly foul of face and favour, asked, "Who art
+thou?"; and he answered, "O my lady, I am a messenger sent by the
+Prince who hath bidden me bring thee to another pleasance nearer
+the city; for that my lady the Queen cannot walk so far and is
+unwilling, of her joy in thee, that another should forestall her
+with thee." Quoth she, "Where is the Prince?"; and quoth the
+Persian, "He is in the city, with his sire and forthwith he shall
+come for thee in great state." Said she, "O thou! say me, could
+he find none handsomer to send to me?"; whereat loud laughed the
+Sage and said, "Yea verily, he hath not a Mameluke as ugly as I
+am; but, O my lady, let not the ill-favour of my face and the
+foulness of my form deceive thee. Hadst thou profited of me as
+hath the Prince, verily thou wouldst praise my affair. Indeed, he
+chose me as his messenger to thee, because of my uncomeliness and
+loathsomeness in his jealous love of thee; else hath he Mamelukes
+and negro slaves, pages, eunuchs and attendants out of number,
+each goodlier than other." Whenas she heard this, it commended
+itself to her reason and she believed him; so she rose
+forthright;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Persian sage acquainted the Princess with the case of the King's
+son, she believed him; so she rose forthright; and, putting her
+hand in his, said, "O my father, what hast thou brought me to
+ride?" He replied, "O my lady, thou shalt ride the horse thou
+camest on;" and she, "I cannot ride it by myself." Whereupon he
+smiled and knew that he was her master and said, "I will ride
+with thee myself." So he mounted and, taking her up behind him
+bound her to himself with firm bonds, while she knew not what he
+would with her. Then he turned the ascent-pin, whereupon the
+belly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed to and fro
+like a wave of the sea, and rose with them high in air nor
+slackened in its flight, till it was out of sight of the city.
+Now when Shams al-Nahir saw this, she asked him, "Ho thou! what
+is become of that thou toldest me of my Prince, making me believe
+that he sent thee to me?" Answered the Persian, "Allah damn the
+Prince! he is a mean and skin-flint knave." She cried, "Woe to
+thee! How darest thou disobey thy lord's commandment?" Whereto
+the Persian replied, "He is no lord of mine: knowest thou who I
+am?" Rejoined the Princess, "I know nothing of thee save what
+thou toldest me;" and retorted he, "What I told thee was a trick
+of mine against thee and the King's son: I have long lamented the
+loss of this horse which is under us; for I constructed it and
+made myself master of it. But now I have gotten firm hold of it
+and of thee too, and I will burn his heart even as he hath burnt
+mine; nor shall he ever have the horse again; no, never! So be of
+good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear; for I can be of
+more use to thee than he; and I am generous as I am wealthy; my
+servants and slaves shall obey thee as their mistress; I will
+robe thee in finest raiment and thine every wish shall be at thy
+will." When she heard this, she buffeted her face and cried out,
+saying, "Ah, well-away! I have not won my beloved and I have lost
+my father and mother!" And she wept bitter tears over what had
+befallen her, whilst the Sage fared on with her, without ceasing,
+till he came to the land of the Greeks[FN#24] and alighted in a
+verdant mead, abounding in streams and trees. Now this meadow lay
+near a city wherein was a King of high puissance, and it chanced
+that he went forth that day to hunt and divert himself. As he
+passed by the meadow, he saw the Persian standing there, with the
+damsel and the horse by his side; and, before the Sage was ware,
+the King's slaves fell upon him and carried him and the lady and
+the horse to their master who, noting the foulness of the man's
+favour and his loathsomeness and the beauty of the girl and her
+loveliness, said, "O my lady, what kin is this oldster to thee?"
+The Persian made haste to reply, saying, "She is my wife and the
+daughter of my father's brother." But the lady at once gave him
+the lie and said, "O King, by Allah, I know him not, nor is he my
+husband; nay, he is a wicked magician who hath stolen me away by
+force and fraud." Thereupon the King bade bastinado the Persian
+and they beat him till he was well-nigh dead; after which the
+King commanded to carry him to the city and cast him into jail;
+and, taking from him the damsel and the ebony horse (though he
+knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion), set the
+girl in his serraglio and the horse amongst his hoards. Such was
+the case with the Sage and the lady; but as regards Prince Kamar
+al-Akmar, he garbed himself in travelling gear and taking what he
+needed of money, set out tracking their trail in very sorry
+plight; and journeyed from country to country and city to city
+seeking the Princess and enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst
+all who heard him marvelled at him and deemed his talk
+extravagant. Thus he continued doing a long while; but, for all
+his enquiry and quest, he could hit on no new news of her. At
+last he came to her father's city of Sana'a and there asked for
+her, but could get no tidings of her and found her father
+mourning her loss. So he turned back and made for the land of the
+Greeks, continuing to enquire concerning the twain as he went,--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's
+son made for the land of the Greeks, continuing to enquire
+concerning the two as he went along, till, as chance would have
+it, he alighted at a certain Khan and saw a company of merchants
+sitting at talk. So he sat down near them and heard one say, "O
+my friends, I lately witnessed a wonder of wonders." They asked,
+"What was that?" and he answered, "I was visiting such a district
+in such a city (naming the city wherein was the Princess), and I
+heard its people chatting of a strange thing which had lately
+befallen. It was that their King went out one day hunting and
+coursing with a company of his courtiers and the lords of his
+realm; and, issuing from the city, they came to a green meadow
+where they espied an old man standing, with a woman sitting hard
+by a horse of ebony. The man was foulest-foul of face and loathly
+of form, but the woman was a marvel of beauty and loveliness and
+elegance and perfect grace; and as for the wooden horse, it was a
+miracle, never saw eyes aught goodlier than it nor more gracious
+than its make." Asked the others, "And what did the King with
+them?"; and the merchant answered, "As for the man the King
+seized him and questioned him of the damsel and he pretended that
+she was his wife and the daughter of his paternal uncle; but she
+gave him the lie forthright and declared that he was a sorcerer
+and a villain. So the King took her from the old man and bade
+beat him and cast him into the trunk-house. As for the ebony
+horse, I know not what became of it." When the Prince heard these
+words, he drew near to the merchant and began questioning him
+discreetly and courteously touching the name of the city and of
+its King; which when he knew, he passed the night full of joy.
+And as soon as dawned the day he set out and travelled sans
+surcease till he reached that city; but, when he would have
+entered, the gate-keepers laid hands on him, that they might
+bring him before the King to question him of his condition and
+the craft in which he was skilled and the cause of his coming
+thither-such being the usage and custom of their ruler. Now it
+was supper-time when he entered the city, and it was then
+impossible to go in to the King or take counsel with him
+respecting the stranger. So the guards carried him to the jail,
+thinking to lay him by the heels there for the night; but, when
+the warders saw his beauty and loveliness, they could not find it
+in their hearts to imprison him: they made him sit with them
+without the walls; and, when food came to them, he ate with them
+what sufficed him. As soon as they had made an end of eating,
+they turned to the Prince and said, "What countryman art thou?"
+"I come from Fars," answered he, "the land of the Chosroës." When
+they heard this they laughed and one of them said, "O
+Chosroan,[FN#25] I have heard the talk of men and their histories
+and I have looked into their conditions; but never saw I or heard
+I a bigger liar than the Chosroan which is with us in the jail."
+Quoth another, "And never did I see aught fouler than his favour
+or more hideous than his visnomy." Asked the Prince. "What have
+ye seen of his lying?"; and they answered, "He pretendeth that he
+is one of the wise! Now the King came upon him, as he went a-
+hunting, and found with him a most beautiful woman and a horse of
+the blackest ebony, never saw I a handsomer. As for the damsel,
+she is with the King, who is enamoured of her and would fain
+marry her; but she is mad, and were this man a leach as he
+claimeth to be, he would have healed her, for the King doth his
+utmost to discover a cure for her case and a remedy for her
+disease, and this whole year past hath he spent treasure upon
+physicians and astrologers, on her account; but none can avail to
+cure her. As for the horse, it is in the royal hoard-house, and
+the ugly man is here with us in prison; and as soon as night
+falleth, he weepeth and bemoaneth himself and will not let us
+sleep."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+warders had recounted the case of the Persian egromancer they
+held in prison and his weeping and wailing, the Prince at once
+devised a device whereby he might compass his desire; and
+presently the guards of the gate, being minded to sleep, led him
+into the jail and locked the door. So he overheard the Persian
+weeping and bemoaning himself, in his own tongue, and saying,
+"Alack, and alas for my sin, that I sinned against myself and
+against the King's son, in that which I did with the damsel; for
+I neither left her nor won my will of her! All this cometh of my
+lack of sense, in that I sought for myself that which I deserved
+not and which befitted not the like of me; for whoso seeketh what
+suiteth him not at all, falleth with the like of my fall." Now
+when the King's son heard this, he accosted him in Persian,
+saying, "How long will this weeping and wailing last? Say me,
+thinkest thou that hath befallen thee that which never befel
+other than thou?" Now when the Persian heard this, he made
+friends with him and began to complain to him of his case and
+misfortunes. And as soon as the morning morrowed, the warders
+took the Prince and carried him before their King, informing him
+that he had entered the city on the previous night, at a time
+when audience was impossible. Quoth the King to the Prince,
+"Whence comest thou and what is thy name and trade and why hast
+thou travelled hither?" He replied, "As to my name I am called in
+Persian Harjah;[FN#26] as to my country I come from the land of
+Fars; and I am of the men of art and especially of the art of
+medicine and healing the sick and those whom the Jinns drive mad.
+For this I go round about all countries and cities, to profit by
+adding knowledge to my knowledge, and whenever I see a patient I
+heal him and this is my craft."[FN#27] Now when the King heard
+this, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and said, "O excellent Sage,
+thou hast indeed come to us at a time when we need thee." Then he
+acquainted him with the case of the Princess, adding, "If thou
+cure her and recover her from her madness, thou shalt have of me
+everything thou seekest." Replied the Prince, "Allah save and
+favour the King: describe to me all thou hast seen of her
+insanity and tell me how long it is since the access attacked
+her; also how thou camest by her and the horse and the Sage." So
+the King told him the whole story, from first to last, adding,
+"The Sage is in goal." Quoth the Prince, "O auspicious King, and
+what hast thou done with the horse?" Quoth the King, "O youth, it
+is with me yet, laid up in one of my treasure-chambers,"
+whereupon said the Prince within himself, "The best thing I can
+do is first to see the horse and assure myself of its condition.
+If it be whole and sound, all will be well and end well; but, if
+its motor-works be destroyed, I must find some other way of
+delivering my beloved." Thereupon he turned to the King and said
+to him, "O King, I must see the horse in question: haply I may
+find in it somewhat that will serve me for the recovery of the
+damsel." "With all my heart," replied the King, and taking him by
+the hand, showed him into the place where the horse was. The
+Prince went round about it, examining its condition, and found it
+whole and sound, whereat he rejoiced greatly and said to the
+King, "Allah save and exalt the King! I would fain go in to the
+damsel, that I may see how it is with her; for I hope in Allah to
+heal her by my healing hand through means of the horse." Then he
+bade them take care of the horse and the King carried him to the
+Princess's apartment where her lover found her wringing her hands
+and writhing and beating herself against the ground, and tearing
+her garments to tatters as was her wont; but there was no madness
+of Jinn in her, and she did this but that none might approach
+her. When the Prince saw her thus, he said to her, "No harm shall
+betide thee, O ravishment of the three worlds;" and went on to
+soothe her and speak her fair, till he managed to whisper, "I am
+Kamar al-Akmar;" whereupon she cried out with a loud cry and fell
+down fainting for excess of joy; but the King thought this was
+epilepsy[FN#28] brought on by her fear of him, and by her
+suddenly being startled. Then the Prince put his mouth to her ear
+and said to her, "O Shams al-Nahar, O seduction of the universe,
+have a care for thy life and mine and be patient and constant;
+for this our position needeth sufferance and skilful contrivance
+to make shift for our delivery from the tyrannical King. My first
+move will be now to go out to him and tell him that thou art
+possessed of a Jinn and hence thy madness; but that I will engage
+to heal thee and drive away the evil spirit, if he will at once
+unbind thy bonds. So when he cometh in to thee, do thou speak him
+smooth words, that he may think I have cured thee, and all will
+be done for us as we desire." Quoth she, "Hearkening and
+obedience;" and he went out to the King in joy and gladness, and
+said to him, "O august King, I have, by thy good fortune,
+discovered her disease and its remedy, and have cured her for
+thee. So now do thou go in to her and speak her softly and treat
+her kindly, and promise her what may please her; so shall all
+thou desirest of her be accomplished to thee."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Prince feigned himself a leach and went in to the damsel and made
+himself known to her and told her how he purposed to deliver her,
+she cried "Hearkening and obedience!" He then fared forth from
+her and sought the King and said, "Go thou in to her and speak
+her softly and promise her what may please her; so shall all thou
+desirest of her be accomplished to thee." Thereupon the King went
+in to her and when she saw him, she rose and kissing the ground
+before him, bade him welcome and said, "I admire how thou hast
+come to visit thy handmaid this day;" whereat he was ready to fly
+for joy and bade the waiting-women and the eunuchs attend her and
+carry her to the Hammam and make ready for her dresses and
+adornment. So they went in to her and saluted her, and she
+returned their salams with the goodliest language and after the
+pleasantest fashion; whereupon they clad her in royal apparel
+and, clasping a collar of jewels about her neck, carried her to
+the bath and served her there. Then they brought her forth, as
+she were the full moon; and, when she came into the King's
+presence, she saluted him and kissed ground before him; whereupon
+he joyed in her with joy exceeding and said to the Prince, "O
+Sage, O philosopher, all this is of thy blessing. Allah increase
+to us the benefit of thy healing breath!"[FN#29] The Prince
+replied, "O King, for the completion of her cure it behoveth that
+thou go forth, thou and all thy troops and guards, to the place
+where thou foundest her, not forgetting the beast of black wood
+which was with her; for therein is a devil; and, unless I
+exorcise him, he will return to her and afflict her at the head
+of every month." "With love and gladness," cried the King, "O
+thou Prince of all philosophers and most learned of all who see
+the light of day." Then he brought out the ebony horse to the
+meadow in question and rode thither with all his troops and the
+Princess, little weeting the purpose of the Prince. Now when they
+came to the appointed place, the Prince, still habited as a
+leach, bade them set the Princess and the steed as far as eye
+could reach from the King and his troops, and said to him, "With
+thy leave, and at thy word, I will now proceed to the fumigations
+and conjurations, and here imprison the adversary of mankind,
+that he may never more return to her. After this, I shall mount
+this wooden horse which seemeth to be made of ebony, and take the
+damsel up behind me; whereupon it will shake and sway to and fro
+and fare forwards, till it come to thee, when the affair will be
+at an end; and after this thou mayst do with her as thou wilt."
+When the King heard his words, he rejoiced with extreme joy; so
+the Prince mounted the horse and, taking the damsel up behind
+him, whilst the King and his troops watched him, bound her fast
+to him. Then he turned the ascending-pin and the horse took
+flight and soared with them high in air, till they disappeared
+from every eye. After this the King abode half the day, expecting
+their return; but they returned not. So when he despaired of
+them, repenting him greatly of that which he had done and
+grieving sore for the loss of the damsel, he went back to the
+city with his troops. He then sent for the Persian who was in
+prison and said to him, "O thou traitor, O thou villian, why
+didst thou hide from me the mystery of the ebony horse? And now a
+sharper hath come to me and hath carried it off, together with a
+slave-girl whose ornaments are worth a mint of money, and I shall
+never see anyone or anything of them again!" So the Persian
+related to him all his past, first and last, and the King was
+seized with a fit of fury which well-nigh ended his life. He shut
+himself up in his palace for a while, mourning and afflicted; but
+at last his Wazirs came in to him and applied themselves to
+comfort him, saying, "Verily, he who took the damsel is an
+enchanter, and praised be Allah who hath delivered thee from his
+craft and sorcery!" And they ceased not from him, till he was
+comforted for her loss. Thus far concerning the King; but as for
+the Prince, he continued his career towards his father's capital
+in joy and cheer, and stayed not till he alighted on his own
+palace, where he set the lady in safety; after which he went in
+to his father and mother and saluted them and acquainted them
+with her coming, whereat they were filled with solace and
+gladness. Then he spread great banquets for the towns-folk,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's
+son spread great banquets for the towns-folk and they held high
+festival a whole month, at the end of which time he went in to
+the Princess and they took their joy of each other with exceeding
+joy. But his father brake the ebony horse in pieces and destroyed
+its mechanism for flight; moreover the Prince wrote a letter to
+the Princess's father, advising him of all that had befallen her
+and informing him how she was now married to him and in all
+health and happiness, and sent it by a messenger, together with
+costly presents and curious rarities. And when the messenger
+arrived at the city which was Sana'a and delivered the letter and
+the presents to the King, he read the missive and rejoiced
+greatly thereat and accepted the presents, honouring and
+rewarding the bearer handsomely. Moreover, he forwarded rich
+gifts to his son-in-law by the same messenger, who returned to
+his master and acquainted him with what had passed; whereat he
+was much cheered. And after this the Prince wrote a letter every
+year to his father-in-law and sent him presents till, in course
+of time, his sire King Sabur deceased and he reigned in his
+stead, ruling justly over his lieges and conducting himself well
+and righteously towards them, so that the land submitted to him
+and his subjects did him loyal service; and Kamar al-Akmar and
+his wife Shams al-Nahar abode in the enjoyment of all
+satisfaction and solace of life, till there came to them the
+Destroyer of deligights and Sunderer of societies; the Plunderer
+of palaces, the Caterer for cemeteries and the Garnerer of
+graves. And now glory be to the Living One who dieth not and in
+whose hand is the dominion of the worlds visible and invisible!
+Moreover I have heard tell the tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+           UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR'S DAUGHTER AL-
+            WARD FI'L-AKMAM OR ROSE-IN-HOOD.[FN#30]
+
+
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone
+before, a King of great power and lord of glory and dominion
+galore; who had a Wazir Ibrahim hight, and this Wazir's daughter
+was a damsel of extraordinary beauty and loveliness, gifted with
+passing brilliancy and the perfection of grace, possessed of
+abundant wit, and in all good breeding complete. But she loved
+wassail and wine and the human face divine and choice verses and
+rare stories; and the delicacy of her inner gifts invited all
+hearts to love, even as saith the poet, describing her,
+
+     "Like moon she shines amid the starry sky, *
+          Robing in tresses blackest ink outvie.
+     The morning-breezes give her boughs fair drink, *
+          And like a branch she sways with supple ply:
+     She smiles in passing us. O thou that art *
+          Fairest in yellow robed, or cramoisie,
+     Thou playest with my wit in love, as though *
+          Sparrow in hand of playful boy were I."[FN#31]
+
+Her name was Rose-in-Hood and she was so named for her young and
+tender beauty and the freshness of her brilliancy; and the King
+loved her in his cups because of her accomplishments and fine
+manners. Now it was the King's custom yearly to gather together
+all the nobles of his realm and play with the ball.[FN#32] So
+when the day came round whereon the folk assembled for ballplay,
+the Minister's daughter seated herself at her lattice, to divert
+herself by looking on at the game; and, as they were at play, her
+glance fell upon a youth among the guards than whom never was
+seen a comelier face nor a goodlier form; for he was bright of
+favour showing white teeth when he smiled, tall-statured and
+broad-shouldered. She looked at him again and again and could not
+take her fill of gazing; and presently said to her nurse, "What
+is the name of yonder handsome young man among the troops?"
+Replied the nurse, "O my daughter, the dear fellows are all
+handsome. Which of them dost thou mean?" Said Rose-in-Hood, "Wait
+till he come past and I will point him out to thee." So she took
+an apple and as he rode by dropped it on him, whereupon he raised
+his head, to see who did this, and espied the Wazir's daughter at
+the window, as she were the moon of fullest light in the darkness
+of the night; nor did he withdraw his eyes, till his heart was
+utterly lost to her, and he recited these lines,
+
+     "Was't archer shot me, or was't thine eyes *
+          Ruined lover's heart that thy charms espies?
+     Was the notched shaft[FN#33] from a host outshot, *
+          Or from latticed window in sudden guise?"
+
+When the game was at an end, and all had left the ground, she
+asked her nurse, "What is the name of that youth I showed thee?";
+and the good woman answered, "His name is Uns al-Wujud;" whereat
+Rose-in-Hood shook her head and lay down on her couch, with
+thoughts a-fire for love. Then, sighing deeply, she improvised
+these couplets,
+
+     "He missed not who dubbed thee, 'World's delight,' *
+          A world's love conjoining to bounty's light:[FN#34]
+     O thou, whose favour the full moon favours, *
+          Whose charms make life and the living bright!
+     Thou hast none equal among mankind; *
+          Sultan of Beauty, and proof I'll cite:
+     Thine eye-brows are likest a well-formed Nún,[FN#35] *
+          And thine eyes a Sád,[FN#36] by His hand indite;
+     Thy shape is the soft, green bough that gives *
+          When asked to all with all-gracious sprite:
+     Thou excellest knights of the world in stowre, *
+          With delight and beauty and bounty dight."
+
+When she had finished her verses, she wrote them on a sheet of
+paper, which she folded in a piece of golf-embroidered silk and
+placed under her pillow. Now one of her nurses had seen her; so
+she came up to her and held her in talk till she slept, when she
+stole the scroll from under her pillow; and, after reading it,
+knew that she had fallen in love with Uns al-Wujud. Then she
+returned the scroll to its place and when her mistress awoke, she
+said to her, "O my lady, indeed I am to thee a true counsellor
+and am tenderly anxious on thy account. Know that love is a
+tyrant and the hiding it melteth iron and entaileth sickness and
+unease; nor for whoso confesseth it is there aught of reproach."
+Rejoined Rose-in-Hood, "And what is the medicine of passion, O
+nurse mine?" Answered the nurse, "The medicine of passion is
+enjoyment" Quoth she, "And how may one come by enjoyment?" Quoth
+the other, "By letters and messages, my lady; by whispered words
+of compliment and by greetings before the world;[FN#37] all this
+bringeth lovers together and makes hard matters easy. So if thou
+have aught at heart, mistress mine, I am the fittest to keep thy
+secret and do thy desires and carry thy letters." Now when the
+damsel heard this, her reason flew and fled for joy; but she
+restrained herself from speech till she should see the issue of
+the matter, saying within herself, "None knoweth this thing of
+me, nor will I trust this one with my secret, till I have tried
+her." Then said the woman, "O my lady, I saw in my sleep as
+though a man came to me and said: 'Thy mistress and Uns al-Wujud
+love each other; so do thou serve their case by carrying their
+messages and doing their desires and keeping their secrets; and
+much good shall befal thee.' So now I have told thee my vision
+and it is thine to decide." Quoth Rose-in-Hood, after she heard
+of the dream,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Rose-in-
+Hood asked her nurse after hearing of the dream, "Tell me, canst
+thou keep a secret, O my nurse?"; whereto she answered, "And how
+should I not keep secrecy, I that am of the flower of the
+free?"[FN#38] Then the maiden pulled out the scroll, whereon she
+had written the verses and said, "Carry me this my letter to Uns
+al-Wujud and bring me his reply." The nurse took the letter and,
+repairing to Uns al-Wujud, kissed his hands and greeted him right
+courteously, then gave him the paper; and he read it and,
+comprehending the contents, wrote on the back these couplets,
+
+     "I soothe my heart and my love repel; *
+          But my state interprets my love too well:
+     When tears flow I tell them mine eyes are ill, *
+          Lest the censor see and my case fortell,
+     I was fancy-free and unknew I Love; *
+          But I fell in love and in madness fell.
+     I show you my case and complain of pain, *
+          Pine and ecstasy that your ruth compel:
+     I write you with tears of eyes, so belike *
+          They explain the love come my heart to quell;
+     Allah guard a face that is veiled with charms, *
+          Whose thrall is Moon and the Stars as well:
+     In her beauty I never beheld the like; *
+          From her sway the branches learn sway and swell:
+     I beg you, an 'tis not too much of pains, *
+          To call;[FN#39] 'twere boon without parallel.
+     I give you a soul you will haply take. *
+          To which Union is Heaven, Disunion Hell."
+
+Then he folded the letter and kissing it, gave it to the go-
+between and said to her, "O nurse, incline the lady's heart to
+me." "To hear is to obey," answered she and carried the script to
+her mistress, who kissed it and laid it on her head, then she
+opened it and read it and understood it and wrote at the foot of
+it these couplets,
+
+     "O whose heart by our beauty is captive ta'en, *
+          Have patience and all thou shalt haply gain!
+     When we knew that thy love was a true affect, *
+          And what pained our heart to thy heart gave pain,
+     We had granted thee wished-for call and more; *
+          But hindered so doing the chamberlain.
+     When the night grows dark, through our love's excess *
+          Fire burns our vitals with might and main:
+     And sleep from our beds is driven afar, *
+          And our bodies are tortured by passion-bane.
+     'Hide Love!' in Love's code is the first command; *
+          And from raising his veil thy hand restrain:
+     I fell love-fulfilled by yon gazelle: *
+          Would he never wander from where I dwell!"
+
+Then she folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it
+and went out from her mistress to seek the young man; but, as she
+would fare forth, the chamberlain met her and said to her,
+"Whither away?" "To the bath," answered she; but in her fear and
+confusion, she dropped the letter, without knowing it, and went
+off unrecking what she had done; when one of the eunuchs, seeing
+it lying in the way, picked it up. When the nurse came without
+the door, she sought for it, but found it not, so turned back to
+her mistress and told her of this and what had befallen her.
+Meanwhile, the Wazir came out of the Harim and seated himself on
+his couch; whereupon behold, the eunuch, who had picked up the
+letter, came in to him, hending it in hand and said, "O my lord,
+I found this paper lying upon the floor and picked it up." So the
+Minister took it from his hand, folded as it was, and opening it,
+read the verses as above set down. Then, after mastering the
+meaning, he examined the writing and knew it for his daughter's
+hand; whereupon he went to her mother, weeping so abundant tears
+that his beard was wetted. His wife asked him, "What maketh thee
+weep, O my lord?"; and he answered, "Take this letter and see
+what is therein." So she took it and found it to be a love-letter
+from her daughter Rose-in-Hood to Uns al-Wujud: whereupon the
+ready drops sprang to her eyes; but she composed her mind, and,
+gulping down her tears, said to her husband, "O my lord, there is
+no profit in weeping: the right course is to cast about for a
+means of keeping thine honour and concealing the affair of thy
+daughter." And she went on to comfort him and lighten his
+trouble; but he said, "I am fearful for my daughter by reason of
+this new passion. Knowest thou not that the Sultan loveth Uns al-
+Wujud with exceeding love? And my fear hath two causes. The first
+concerneth myself; it is, that she is my daughter: the second is
+on account of the King; for that Uns al-Wujud is a favourite with
+the Sultan and peradventure great troubles shall come out of this
+affair. What deemest thou should be done?"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir,
+after recounting the affair of his daughter, asked his wife,
+"What deemest thou should be done?" And she answered, "Have
+patience whilst I pray the prayer for right direction." So she
+prayed a two-bow prayer according to the prophetic[FN#40]
+ordinance for seeking divine guidance; after which she said to
+her husband, "In the midst of the Sea of Treasures[FN#41]
+standeth a mountain named the Mount of the Bereaved Mother (the
+cause of which being so called shall presently follow in its
+place, Inshallah!); and thither can none have access, save with
+pains and difficulty and distress: do thou make that same her
+abiding-place." Accordingly the Minister and his wife agreed to
+build on that mountain a virgin castle and lodge their daughter
+therein with the necessary provision to be renewed year by year
+and attendants to cheer and to serve her. Accordingly he
+collected carpenters, builders and architects and despatched them
+to the mountain, where they builded her an impregnable castle,
+never saw eyes the like thereof. Then he made ready vivers and
+carriage for the journey and, going in to his daughter by night,
+bade her prepare to set out on a pleasure-excursion. Thereupon
+her heart presaged the sorrows of separation and, when she went
+forth and saw the preparations for the journey, she wept with
+sore weeping and wrote that upon the door which might acquaint
+her lover with what had passed and with the transports of passion
+and grief that were upon her, transports such as would make the
+flesh to shiver and hair to stare, and melt the hardest stone
+with care, and tear from every eye a tear. And what she wrote
+were these couplets,
+
+   "By Allah, O thou house, if my beloved a morn go by, *
+      And greet with signs and signals lover e'er is wont to fly,
+   I pray thee give him our salams in pure and fragrant guise, *
+      For he indeed may never know where we this eve shall lie.
+   I wot not whither they have fared, thus bearing us afar *
+      At speed, and lightly-quipt, the lighter from one love to
+      fly:
+   When starkens night, the birds in brake or branches snugly
+      perched * Wail for our sorrow and announce our hapless
+      destiny:
+   The tongue of their condition saith, 'Alas, alas for woe, *
+      And heavy brunt of parting-blow two lovers must aby':
+   When viewed I separation-cups were filled to the brim *
+      And us with merest sorrow-wine Fate came so fast to ply,
+   I mixed them with becoming share of patience self to excuse, *
+      But Patience for the loss of you her solace doth refuse."
+
+Now when she ended her lines, she mounted and they set forward
+with her, crossing and cutting over wold and wild and riant dale
+and rugged hill, till they came to the shore of the Sea of
+Treasures; here they pitched their tents and built her a great
+ship, wherein they went down with her and her suite and carried
+them over to the mountain. The Minister had ordered them, on
+reaching the journey's end, to set her in the castle and to make
+their way back to the shore, where they were to break up the
+vessel. So they did his bidding and returned home, weeping over
+what had befallen. Such was their case; but as regards Uns al-
+Wujud, he arose from sleep and prayed the dawn-prayer, after
+which he took horse and rode forth to attend upon the Sultan. On
+his way, he passed by the Wazir's house, thinking perchance to
+see some of his followers as of wont; but he saw no one and,
+looking upon the door, he read written thereon the verses
+aforesaid. At this sight, his senses failed him; fire was kindled
+in his vitals and he returned to his lodging, where he passed the
+day in trouble and transports of grief, without finding ease or
+patience, till night darkened upon him, when his yearning and
+love-longing redoubled. Thereupon, by way of concealment, he
+disguised himself in the ragged garb of a Fakir,[FN#42] and set
+out wandering at random through the glooms of night, distracted
+and knowing not whither he went. So he wandered on all that night
+and next day, till the heat of the sun waxed fierce and the
+mountains flamed like fire and thirst was grievous upon him.
+Presently, he espied a tree, by whose side was a thin thread of
+running water; so he made towards it and sitting down in the
+shade, on the bank of the rivulet, essayed to drink, but found
+that the water had no taste in his mouth;[FN#43] and, indeed his
+colour had changed and his face had yellowed, and his feet were
+swollen with travel and travail. So he shed copious tears and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+   "The lover is drunken with love of friend; *
+      On a longing that groweth his joys depend:
+   Love-distracted, ardent, bewildered, lost *
+      From home, nor may food aught of pleasure lend:
+   How can life be delightsome to one in love, *
+      And from lover parted, 'twere strange, unkenned!
+   I melt with the fire of my pine for them, *
+      And the tears down my cheek in a stream descend.
+   Shall I see them, say me, or one that comes *
+      From the camp, who th' afflicted heart shall tend?"
+
+And after thus reciting he wept till he wetted the hard dry
+ground; but anon without loss of time he rose and fared on again
+over waste and wold, till there came out upon him a lion, with a
+neck buried in tangled mane, a head the bigness of a dome, a
+mouth wider than the door thereof and teeth like elephants'
+tusks. Now when Uns al-Wujud saw him, he gave himself up for
+lost, and turning[FN#44] towards the Temple of Meccah, pronounced
+the professions of the faith and prepared for death. He had read
+in books that whoso will flatter the lion, beguileth him,[FN#45]
+for that he is readily duped by smooth speech and gentled by
+being glorified; so he began and said, "O Lion of the forest! O
+Lord of the waste! O terrible Leo! O father of fighters! O Sultan
+of wild beasts! Behold, I am a lover in longing, whom passion and
+severance have been wronging; since I parted from my dear, I have
+lost my reasoning gear; wherefore, to my speech do thou give ear
+and have ruth on my passion and hope and fear." When the lion
+heard this, he drew back from him and sitting down on his
+hindquarters, raised his head to him and began to frisk tail and
+paws; which when Uns al-Wujud saw, he recited these couplets,
+
+   "Lion of the wold wilt thou murther me, *
+      Ere I meet her who doomed me to slavery?
+    I am not game and I bear no fat; *
+      For the loss of my love makes me sickness dree;
+   And estrangement from her hath so worn me down *
+      I am like a shape in a shroud we see.
+   O thou sire of spoils,[FN#46] O thou lion of war, *
+      Give not my pains to the blamer's gree.
+   I burn with love, I am drowned in tears *
+      For a parting from lover, sore misery!
+   And my thoughts of her in the murk of night *
+      For love hath make my being unbe."
+
+As he had finished his lines the lion rose,--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as Uns al-
+Wujud ended his lines, the lion arose and stalked slowly up to
+him, with eyes tear-railing and licked him with his tongue, then
+walked on before him, signing to him as though saying, "Follow
+me." So he followed him, and the beast ceased not leading him on
+for a while till he brought him up a mountain, and guided him to
+the farther side, where he came upon the track of a caravan over
+the desert, and knew it to be that of Rose-in-Hood and her
+company. Then he took the trail and, when the lion saw that he
+knew the track for that of the party which escorted her, he
+turned back and went his way; whilst Uns al-Wujud walked along
+the foot-marks day and night, till they brought him to a dashing
+sea, swollen with clashing surge. The trail led down to the sandy
+shore and there broke off; whereby he knew that they had taken
+ship and had continued their journey by water. So he lost hope of
+finding his lover and with hot tears he repeated these couplets,
+
+   "Far is the fane and patience faileth me; *
+      How can I seek them[FN#47] o'er the abyssmal sea;
+   Or how be patient, when my vitals burn *
+      For love of them, and sleep waxed insomny?
+   Since the sad day they left the home and fled, *
+      My heart's consumed by love's ardency:
+   Sayhun, Jayhun,[FN#48] Euphrates-like my tears, *
+      Make flood no deluged rain its like can see:
+   Mine eyelids chafed with running tears remain, *
+      My heart from fiery sparks is never free;
+   The hosts of love and longing pressed me *
+      And made the hosts of patience break and flee.
+   I've risked my life too freely for their love; *
+      And risk of life the least of ills shall be.
+   Allah ne'er punish eye that saw those charms *
+      Enshrined, and passing full moon's brilliancy!
+   I found me felled by fair wide-opened eyes, *
+      Which pierced my heart with stringless archery:
+   And soft, lithe, swaying shape enraptured me *
+      As sway the branches of the willow-tree:
+   Wi' them I covet union that I win, *
+      O'er love-pains cark and care, a mastery.
+   For love of them aye, morn and eve I pine, *
+      And doubt all came to me from evil eyne."
+
+And when his lines were ended he wept, till he swooned away, and
+abode in his swoon a long while; but as soon as he came to
+himself, he looked right and left and seeing no one in the
+desert, he became fearful of the wild beasts; so he clomb to the
+top of a high mountain, where he heard the voice of a son of Adam
+speaking within a cave. He listened and lo! they were the accents
+of a devotee, who had forsworn the world and given himself up to
+pious works and worship. He knocked thrice at the cavern-door,
+but the hermit made him no answer, neither came forth to him;
+wherefore he groaned aloud and recited these couplets.
+
+   "What pathway find I my desire t'obtain, *
+      How 'scape from care and cark and pain and bane?
+   All terrors join to make me old and hoar *
+      Of head and heart, ere youth from me is ta'en:
+   Nor find I any aid my passion, nor *
+      A friend to lighten load of bane and pain.
+   How great and many troubles I've endured! *
+      Fortune hath turned her back I see unfain.
+   Ah mercy, mercy on the lover's heart, *
+      Doomed cup of parting and desertion drain!
+   A fire is in his heart, his vitals waste, *
+      And severance made his reason vainest vain.
+   How dread the day I came to her abode *
+      And saw the writ they wrote on doorway lain!
+   I wept, till gave I earth to drink my grief; *
+      But still to near and far[FN#49] I did but feign:
+   Then strayed I till in waste a lion sprang *
+      On me, and but for flattering words had slain:
+   I soothed him: so he spared me and lent me aid, *
+      He too might haply of love's taste complain.
+   O devotee, that idlest in thy cave, *
+      Meseems eke thou hast learned Love's might and main;
+   But if, at end of woes, with them I league, *
+      Straight I'll forget all suffering and fatigue."
+
+Hardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold! the door
+of the cavern opened and he heard one say, "Alas, the pity of
+it!"[FN#50] So he entered and saluted the devotee, who returned
+his salam and asked him, "What is thy name?" Answered the young
+man, "Uns al-Wujud." "And what caused thee to come hither?" quoth
+the hermit. So he told him his story in its entirety, omitting
+naught of his misfortunes; whereat he wept and said, "O Uns al-
+Wujud, these twenty years have I passed in this place, but never
+beheld I any man here, until yesterday, when I heard a noise of
+weeping and lamentation and, looking forth in the direction of
+the sound, saw many people and tents pitched on the sea-shore;
+and the party at once proceeded to build a ship, in which certain
+of them embarked and sailed over the waters. Then some of the
+crew returned with the ship and breaking it up, went their way;
+and I suspect that those who embarked in the ship and returned
+not, are they whom thou seekest. In that case, O Uns al-Wujud,
+thy grief must needs be great and sore and thou art excusable,
+though never yet was lover but suffered love-longing." Then he
+recited these couplets,
+
+   "Uns al-Wujud, dost deem me fancy-free, *
+      When pine and longing slay and quicken me?
+   I have known love and yearning from the years *
+      Since mother-milk I drank, nor e'er was free.
+    Long struggled I with Love, till learnt his might; *
+      Ask thou of him, he'll tell with willing gree.
+   Love-sick and pining drank I passion-cup, *
+      And well-nigh perished in mine agony.
+   Strong was I, but my strength to weakness turned, *
+      And eye-sword brake through Patience armoury:
+   Hope not to win love-joys, without annoy; *
+      Contrary ever links with contrary.
+   But fear not change from lover true; be true *
+      Unto thy wish, some day thine own 'twill be.
+   Love hath forbidden to his votaries *
+      Relinquishment as deadliest heresy."
+
+The eremite, having ended his verse, rose and, coming up to Uns
+al-Wujud, embraced him,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eremite
+having ended his verse, rose and coming up to Uns al-Wujud
+embraced him, and they wept together, till the hills rang with
+their cries and they fell down fainting. When they revived, they
+swore brotherhood[FN#51] in Allah Almighty; after which said Uns
+al-Wujud, "This very night will I pray to God and seek of Him
+direction[FN#52] anent what thou shouldst do to attain thy
+desire." Thus it was with them; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, when
+they brought her to the mountain and set her in the castle and
+she beheld its ordering, she wept and exclaimed, "By Allah, thou
+art a goodly place, save that thou lackest in thee the presence
+of the beloved!"[FN#53] Then seeing birds in the island, she bade
+her people set snares for them and put all they caught in cages
+within the castle; and they did so. But she sat at a lattice and
+bethought her of what had passed, and desire and passion and
+distraction redoubled upon her, till she burst into tears and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+   "O to whom now, of my desire complaining sore, shall I *
+      Bewail my parting from my fere compellèd thus to fly?
+   Flames rage within what underlies my ribs, yet hide them I *
+      In deepest secret dreading aye the jealous hostile spy:
+   I am grown as lean, attenuate as any pick of tooth,[FN#54] *
+      By sore estrangement, absence, ardour, ceaseless sob and
+      sigh.
+   Where is the eye of my beloved to see how I'm become *
+      Like tree stripped bare of leafage left to linger and to
+      die.
+   They tyrannised over me whom they confined in place *
+      Whereto the lover of my heart may never draw him nigh:
+   I beg the Sun for me to give greetings a thousandfold, *
+      At time of rising and again when setting from the sky,
+   To the beloved one who shames a full moon's loveliness, *
+      When shows that slender form that doth the willow-branch
+      outvie.
+   If Rose herself would even with his cheek, I say of her *
+      'Thou art not like it if to me my portion thou
+      deny:'[FN#55]
+   His honey-dew of lips is like the grateful water draught *
+      Would cool me when a fire in heart upflameth fierce and
+      high:
+   How shall I give him up who is my heart and soul of me, *
+      My malady my wasting cause, my love, sole leach of me?"
+
+Then, as the glooms of night closed around her, her yearning
+increased and she called to mind the past and recited also these
+couplets,
+
+   "'Tis dark: my transport and unease now gather might and main,
+      * And love-desire provoketh me to wake my wonted pain:
+   The pang of parting takes for ever place within my breast, *
+      And pining makes me desolate in destitution lain.
+   Ecstasy sore maltreats my soul and yearning burns my sprite, *
+      And tears betray love's secresy which I would lief contain:
+   I weet no way, I know no case that can make light my load, *
+      Or heal my wasting body or cast out from me this bane.
+   A hell of fire is in my heart upflames with lambent tongue *
+      And Laza's furnace-fires within my liver place have ta'en.
+   O thou, exaggerating blame for what befel, enough *
+      I bear with patience whatsoe'er hath writ for me the Pen!
+   I swear, by Allah, ne'er to find aught comfort for their loss;
+      * "Tis oath of passion's children and their oaths are ne'er
+      in vain.
+   O Night! Salams of me to friends and let to them be known *
+      Of thee true knowledge how I wake and waking ever wone."
+
+Meanwhile, the hermit said to Uns al-Wujud, "Go down to the palm-
+grove in the valley and fetch some fibre."[FN#56] So he went and
+returned with the palm-fibre, which the hermit took and, twisting
+into ropes, make therewith a net,[FN#57] such as is used for
+carrying straw; after which he said, "O Uns al-Wujud, in the
+heart of the valley groweth a gourd, which springeth up and
+drieth upon its roots. Go down there and fill this sack
+therewith; then tie it together and, casting it into the water,
+embark thereon and make for the midst of the sea, so haply thou
+shalt win thy wish; for whoso never ventureth shall not have what
+he seeketh." "I hear and obey," answered Uns al-Wujud. Then he
+bade the hermit farewell after the holy man had prayed for him;
+and, betaking himself to the sole of the valley, did as his
+adviser had counselled him; made the sack, launched it upon the
+water, and pushed from shore. Then there arose a wind, which
+drave him out to sea, till he was lost to the eremite's view; and
+he ceased not to float over the abysses of the ocean, one billow
+tossing him up and another bearing him down (and he beholding the
+while the dangers and marvels of the deep), for the space of
+three days. At the end of that time Fate cast him upon the Mount
+of the Bereft Mother, where he landed, giddy and tottering like a
+chick unfledged, and at the last of his strength for hunger and
+thirst; but, finding there streams flowing and birds on the
+branches cooing and fruit-laden trees in clusters and singly
+growing, he ate of the fruits and drank of the rills. Then he
+walked on till he saw some white thing afar off, and making for
+it, found that it was a strongly fortified castle. So he went up
+to the gate and seeing it locked, sat down by it; and there he
+sat for three days when behold, the gate opened and an eunuch
+came out, who finding Uns al-Wujud there seated, said to him,
+"Whence camest thou and who brought thee hither?" Quoth he, "From
+Ispahan and I was voyaging with merchandise when my ship was
+wrecked and the waves cast me upon the farther side of this
+island." Whereupon the eunuch wept and embraced him, saying,
+"Allah preserve thee, O thou friendly face! Ispahan is mine own
+country and I have there a cousin, the daughter of my father's
+brother, whom I loved from my childhood and cherished with fond
+affection; but a people stronger than we fell upon us in foray
+and taking me among other booty, cut off my yard[FN#58] and sold
+me for a castrato, whilst I was yet a lad; and this is how I came
+to be in such case."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch
+who came forth from the castle, where Rose-in-Hood was confined,
+told Uns al-Wujud all his tale and said:--"The raiders who
+captured me cut off my yard and sold me for a castrato; and this
+is how I came to be in such case."[FN#59] And after saluting him
+and wishing him long life, the eunuch carried him into the
+courtyard of the castle, where he saw a great tank of water,
+surrounded by trees, on whose branches hung cages of silver, with
+doors of gold, and therein birds were warbling and singing the
+praises of the Requiting King. And when he came to the first cage
+he looked in and lo! a turtle dove, on seeing him, raised her
+voice and cried out, saying, "O Thou Bounty-fraught!" Whereat he
+fell down fainting and after coming to himself, he sighed heavily
+and recited these couplets,
+
+   "O turtle dove, like me art thou distraught? *
+      Then pray the Lord and sing 'O Bounty-fraught!'
+   Would I knew an thy moan were sign of joy, *
+      Or cry of love-desire in heart inwrought,--
+   An moan thou pining for a lover gone *
+      Who left thee woe begone to pine in thought,--
+   Or if like me hast lost thy fondest friend, *
+      And severance long desire to memory brought?
+   O Allah, guard a faithful lover's lot *
+      I will not leave her though my bones go rot!"
+
+Then, after ending his verses, he fainted again; and, presently
+reviving he went on to the second cage, wherein he found a
+ringdove. When it saw him, it sang out, "O Eternal, I thank
+thee!" and he groaned and recited these couplets,
+
+   "I heard a ringdove chanting plaintively, *
+      'I thank Thee, O Eternal for this misery!'
+   Haply, perchance, may Allah, of His grace, *
+      Send me by this long round my love to see.
+   Full oft[FN#60] she comes with honeyed lips dark red, *
+      And heaps up lowe upon love's ardency.
+   Quoth I (while longing fires flame high and fierce *
+      In heart, and wasting life's vitality,
+   And tears like gouts of blood go railing down *
+      In torrents over cheeks now pale of blee),
+   'None e'er trod earth that was not born to woe, *
+      But I will patient dree mine agony,
+   So help me Allah! till that happy day *
+      When with my mistress I unite shall be:
+   Then will I spend my good on lover-wights, *
+      Who're of my tribe and of the faith of me;
+   And loose the very birds from jail set free, *
+      And change my grief for gladdest gree and glee!'"
+
+Then he went on to the third cage, wherein he found a
+mockingbird[FN#61] which, when it saw him, set up a song, and he
+recited the following couplets,
+
+   "Pleaseth me yon Hazar of mocking strain *
+      Like voice of lover pained by love in vain.
+   Woe's me for lovers! Ah how many men *
+      By nights and pine and passion low are lain!
+   As though by stress of love they had been made *
+      Morn-less and sleep-less by their pain and bane.
+   When I went daft for him who conquered me *
+      And pined for him who proved of proudest strain,
+   My tears in streams down trickled and I cried *
+      'These long-linkt tears bind like an adamant-chain:'
+   Grew concupiscence, severance long, and I *
+      Lost Patience' hoards and grief waxed sovereign:
+   If Justice bide in world and me unite *
+      With him I love and Allah veil us deign,
+   I'll strip my clothes that he my form shall sight *
+      With parting, distance, grief, how poor of plight!"
+
+Then he went to the fourth cage, where he found a Bulbul[FN#62]
+which, at sight of him, began to sway to and fro and sing its
+plaintive descant; and when he heard its complaint, he burst into
+tears and repeated these couplets.
+
+   "The Bulbul's note, whenas dawn is nigh, *
+      Tells the lover from strains of strings to fly:
+   Complaineth for passion Uns al-Wujud, *
+      For pine that would being to him deny.
+   How many a strain do we hear, whose sound *
+      Softens stones and the rock can mollify:
+   And the breeze of morning that sweetly speaks *
+      Of meadows in flowered greenery.
+   And scents and sounds in the morning-tide *
+      Of birds and zephyrs in fragrance vie;
+   But I think of one, of an absent friend, *
+      And tears rail like rain from a showery sky;
+   And the flamy tongues in my breast uprise *
+      As sparks from gleed that in dark air fly.
+   Allah deign vouchsafe to a lover distraught *
+      Someday the face of his dear to descry!
+   For lovers, indeed, no excuse is clear, *
+      Save excuse of sight and excuse of eye."
+
+Then he walked on a little and came to a goodly cage, than which
+was no goodlier there, and in it a culver of the forest, that is
+to say, a wood-pigeon,[FN#63] the bird renowned among birds as
+the minstrel of love-longing, with a collar of jewels about its
+neck marvellous fine and fair. He considered it awhile and,
+seeing it absently brooding in its cage, he shed tears and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+   "O culver of copse,[FN#64] with salams I greet; *
+      O brother of lovers who woe must weet!
+   I love a gazelle who is slender-slim, *
+      Whose glances for keenness the scymitar beat:
+   For her love are my heart and my vitals a-fire, *
+      And my frame consumes in love's fever-heat.
+   The sweet taste of food is unlawful for me, *
+      And forbidden is slumber, unlawfullest sweet.
+   Endurance and solace have travelled from me, *
+      And love homes in my heart and grief takes firm seat:
+   How shall life deal joy when they flee my sight *
+      Who are joy and gladness and life and sprite?"
+
+As soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse,--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as
+Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse, the wood-culver awoke from its
+brooding and cooed a reply to his lines and shrilled and trilled
+with its thrilling notes till it all but spake with human
+speech;[FN#65] and the tongue of the case talked for it and
+recited these couplets,
+
+   "O lover, thou bringest to thought a tide *
+      When the strength of my youth first faded and died;
+   And a friend of whose form I was 'namoured, *
+      Seductive and dight with beauty's pride;
+   Whose voice, as he sat on the sandhill-tree, *
+      From the Nay's[FN#66] sweet sound turned my heart aside;
+   A fowler snared him in net, the while *
+      'O that man would leave me at large!' he cried;
+   I had hoped he might somewhat of mercy show *
+      When a hapless lover he so espied;
+   But Allah smite him who tore me away, *
+      In his hardness of heart, from my lover's side;
+   But aye my desire for him groweth more, *
+      And my heart with the fires of disjunction is fried:
+   Allah guard a true lover, who strives with love, *
+      And hath borne the torments I still abide!
+   And, seeing me bound in this cage, with mind *
+      Of ruth, release me my love to find."
+
+Then Uns al-Wujud turned to his companion, the Ispahahi, and
+said, "What palace is this? Who built it and who abideth in it?"
+Quoth the eunuch, "The Wazir of a certain King built it to guard
+his daughter, fearing for her the accidents of Time and the
+incidents of Fortune, and lodged her herein, her and her
+attendants; nor do we open it save once in every year, when their
+provision cometh to them." And Uns al-Wujud said to himself, "I
+have gained my end, though I may have long to wait." Such was his
+case; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, of a truth she took no
+pleasure in eating or drinking, sitting or sleeping; but her
+desire and passion and distraction redoubled on her, and she went
+wandering about the castle-corners, but could find no issue;
+wherefore she shed tears and recited these couplets,
+
+   "They have cruelly ta'en me from him, my beloved, *
+      And made me taste anguish in prison ta'en:
+   They have fired my heart with the flames of love, *
+      Barred all sight of him whom to see I'm fain:
+   In a lofty palace they prisoned me *
+      On a mountain placed in the middle main.
+   If they'd have me forget him, right vain's their wish, *
+      For my love is grown of a stronger strain.
+   How can I forget him whose face was cause *
+      Of all I suffer, of all I 'plain?
+   The whole of my days in sorrow's spent, *
+      And in thought of him through the night I'm lain.
+   Remembrance of him cheers my solitude, *
+      While I lorn of his presence and lone remain.
+   Would I knew if, after this all, my fate *
+      To oblige the desire of my hear will deign."
+
+When her verses were ended, she ascended to the terrace-roof of
+the castle after donning her richest clothes and trinkets and
+throwing a necklace of jewels around her neck. Then binding
+together some dresses of Ba'albak[FN#67] stuff by way of rope,
+she tied them to the crenelles and let herself down thereby to
+the ground. And she fared on over wastes and waterless wilds,
+till she came to the shore, where she saw a fisherman plying here
+and there over the sea, for the wind had driven him on to the
+island. When he saw her, he was affrighted[FN#68] and pushed off
+again, flying from her; but she cried out and made pressing signs
+to him to return, versifying with these couplets,
+
+   "O fisherman no care hast thou to fear, *
+      I'm but an earth-born maid in mortal sphere;
+   I pray thee linger and my prayer grant *
+      And to my true unhappy tale give ear:
+   Pity (so Allah spare thee!) warmest love; *
+      Say, hast thou seen him-my beloved fere?
+   I love a lovely youth whose face excels *
+      Sunlight, and passes moon when clearest clear:
+   The fawn, that sees his glance, is fain to cry *
+      'I am his thrall' and own himself no peer:
+   Beauty hath written, on his winsome cheek, *
+      Rare lines of pregnant sense for every seer;
+   Who sights the light of love his soul is saved; *
+      Who strays is Infidel to Hell anear:
+   An thou in mercy show his sight, O rare![FN#69] *
+      Thou shalt have every wish, the dearest dear,
+   Of rubies and what likest are to them *
+      Fresh pearls and unions new, the seashell's tear:
+   My friend, thou wilt forsure grant my desire *
+      Whose heart is melted in love's hottest fire.
+
+When the fisherman heard her words, he wept and made moan and
+lamented; then, recalling what had betided himself in the days of
+his youth, when love had the mastery over him and longing and
+desire and distraction were sore upon him and the fires of
+passion consumed him, replied with these couplets,
+
+   "What fair excuse is this my pining plight, *
+      With wasted limbs and tears' unceasing blight;
+   And eyelids open in the nightly murk, *
+      And heart like fire-stick[FN#70] ready fire to smite;
+   Indeed love burdened us in early youth, *
+      And true from false coin soon we learned aright:
+   Then did we sell our soul on way of love, *
+      And drunk of many a well[FN#71] to win her sight;
+   Venturing very life to gain her grace, *
+      And make high profit perilling a mite.
+   'Tis Love's religion whoso buys with life *
+      His lover's grace, with highest gain is dight."
+
+And when he ended his verse, he moored his boat to the beach and
+said to her, "Embark, so may I carry thee whither thou wilt."
+Thereupon she embarked and he put off with her; but they had not
+gone far from land, before there came out a stern-wind upon the
+boat and drove it swiftly out of sight of shore. Now the
+fisherman knew not whither he went, and the strong wind blew
+without ceasing three days, when it fell by leave of Allah
+Almighty, and they sailed on and ceased not sailing till they
+came in sight of a city sitting upon the sea-shore,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+fisherman's craft, carrying Rose-in-Hood, made the city sitting
+upon the sea-shore, the man set about making fast to the land.
+Now the King of the city was a Prince of pith and puissance named
+Dirbas, the Lion; and he chanced at that moment to be seated,
+with his son, at a window in the royal palace giving upon the
+sea; and happening to look out seawards, they saw the fishing-
+boat make the land. They observed it narrowly and espied therein
+a young lady, as she were the full moon overhanging the horizon-
+edge, with pendants in her ears of costly balass-rubies and a
+collar of precious stones about her throat. Hereby the King knew
+that this must indeed be the daughter of some King or great noble
+and, going forth of the sea-gate of the palace, went down to the
+boat, where he found the lady asleep and the fisherman busied in
+making fast to shore. So he went up to her and aroused her,
+whereupon she awoke, weeping; and he asked her, "Whence comest
+thou and whose daughter art thou and what be the cause of thy
+coming hither?"; and she answered, "I am the daughter of Ibrahim,
+Wazir to King Shamikh; and the manner of my coming hither is
+wondrous and the cause thereof marvellous." And she told him her
+whole story first and last, hiding naught from him; then she
+groaned aloud and recited these couplets,
+
+"Tear-drops have chafed mine eyelids and rail down in wondrous
+     wise, * For parting pain that fills my sprite and turns to
+     springs mine eyes,
+For sake of friend who ever dwells within my vitals homed, * And
+     I may never win my wish of him in any guise.
+He hath a favour fair and bright, and brilliant is his face, *
+     Which every Turk and Arab wight in loveliness outvies:
+The Sun and fullest Moon lout low whenas his charms they sight, *
+     And lover-like they bend to him whene'er he deigneth rise.
+A wondrous spell of gramarye like Kohl bedecks his eyne, * And
+     shows thee bow with shaft on string make ready ere it flies:
+O thou, to whom I told my case expecting all excuse, * Pity a
+     lover-wight for whom Love-shafts such fate devise!
+Verily, Love hath cast me on your coast despite of me * Of will
+     now weak, and fain I trust mine honour thou wilt prize:
+For noble men, whenas perchance alight upon their bounds, *
+     Grace-worthy guests, confess their worth and raise to
+     dignities. Then,
+O thou hope of me, to lovers' folly veil afford * And be to them
+     reunion cause, thou only liefest lord!"
+
+And when she had ended her verses, she again told the King her
+sad tale and shed plenteous tears and recited these couplets
+bearing on her case,
+
+"We lived till saw we all the marvels Love can bear; * Each month
+     to thee we hope shall fare as Rajab[FN#72] fare:
+Is it not wondrous, when I saw them march amorn * That I with
+     water o' eyes in heart lit flames that flare?
+That these mine eyelids rain fast dropping gouts of blood? * That
+     now my cheek grows gold where rose and lily were?
+As though the safflower hue, that overspread my cheeks, * Were
+     Joseph's coat made stain of lying blood to wear."
+
+Now when the King heard her words he was certified of her love
+and longing and was moved to ruth for her; so he said to her,
+"Fear nothing and be not troubled; thou hast come to the term of
+thy wishes; for there is no help but that I win for thee thy will
+and bring thee to thy desire." And he improvised these couplets,
+
+     "Daughter of nobles, who thine aim shalt gain; *
+          Hear gladdest news nor fear aught hurt of bane!
+     This day I'll pack up wealth, and send it on *
+          To Shámikh, guarded by a champion-train;
+     Fresh pods of musk I'll send him and brocades, *
+          And silver white and gold of yellow vein:
+     Yes, and a letter shall inform him eke *
+          That I of kinship with that King am fain:
+     And I this day will lend thee bestest aid, *
+          That all thou covetest thy soul assain.
+     I, too, have tasted love and know its taste *
+          And can excuse whoso the same cup drain."[FN#73]
+
+Then, ending his verse, he went forth to his troops and summoned
+his Wazir; and, causing him to pack up countless treasure,
+commanded him carry it to King Shamikh and say to him, "Needs
+must thou send me a person named Uns al-Wujud;" and say moreover
+"The King is minded to ally himself with thee by marrying his
+daughter to Uns al-Wujud, thine officer. So there is no help but
+thou despatch him to me, that the marriage may be solemnized in
+her father's kingdom." And he wrote a letter to King Shamikh to
+this effect, and gave it to the Minister, charging him strictly
+to bring back Uns al-Wujud and warning him, "An thou fail thou
+shalt be deposed and degraded." Answered the Wazir, "I hear and
+obey;" and, setting out forthright with the treasures, in due
+course arrived at the court of King Shamikh whom he saluted in
+the name of King Dirbas and delivered the letter and the
+presents. Now when King Shamikh read the letter and saw the name
+of Uns al-Wujud, he burst into tears and said to the Wazir "And
+where, or where, is Uns al-Wujud?; he went from us and we know
+not his place of abiding; only bring him to me, and I will give
+thee double the presents thou hast brought me." And he wept and
+groaned and lamented, saying these couplets,
+
+     "To me restore my dear;     * I want not wealth untold:
+     Nor crave I gifts of pearls * Or gems or store of gold:
+     He was to us a moon         * In beauty's heavenly fold.
+     Passing in form and soul;   * With roe compare withhold!
+     His form a willow-wand,     * His fruit, lures manifold;
+     But willow lacketh power    * Men's hearts to have and hold.
+     I reared him from a babe    * On cot of coaxing roll'd;
+     And now I mourn for him     * With woe in soul ensoul'd."
+
+Then, turning to the Wazir who had brought the presents and the
+missive, he said, "Go back to thy liege and acquaint him that Uns
+al-Wujud hath been missing this year past, and his lord knoweth
+not whither he is gone nor hath any tidings of him." Answered the
+Minister of King Dirbas, "O my lord, my master said to me, 'An
+thou fail to bring him back, thou shalt be degraded from the
+Wazirate and shall not enter my city. How then can I return
+without him?'" So King Shamikh said to his Wazir Ibrahim, "Take a
+company and go with him and make ye search for Uns al-Wujud
+everywhere." He replied, "Hearkening and obedience;" and, taking
+a body of his own retainers, set out accompanied by the Wazir of
+King Dirbas seeking Uns al-Wujud.--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim,
+Wazir to King Shamikh, took him a body of his retainers and,
+accompanied by the Minister of King Dirbas, set out seeking Uns
+al-Wujud. And as often as they fell in with wild Arabs or others
+they asked of the youth, saying, "Tell us have ye seen a man
+whose name is so and so and his semblance thus and thus?" But
+they all answered, "We know him not." Still they continued their
+quest, enquiring in city and hamlet and seeking in fertile plain
+and stony hall and in the wild and in the wold, till they made
+the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother; and the Wazir of King Dirbas
+said to Ibrahim, "Why is this mountain thus called?" He answered,
+"Once of old time, here sojourned a Jinniyah, of the Jinn of
+China, who loved a mortal with passionate love; and, being in
+fear of her life from her own people, searched all the earth over
+for a place, where she might hide him from them, till she
+happened on this mountain and, finding it cut off from both men
+and Jinn, there being no access to it, carried off her beloved
+and lodged him therein. There, when she could escape notice of
+her kith and kin, she used privily to visit him, and continued so
+doing till she had borne him a number of children; and the
+merchants, sailing by the mountain, in their voyages over the
+main, heard the weeping of the children, as it were the wailing
+of a woman bereft of her babes, and said, 'Is there here a mother
+bereaved of her children?' For which reason the place was named
+the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother." And the Wazir of King
+Dirbas marvelled at his words. Then they landed and, making for
+the castle, knocked at the gate which was opened to them by an
+eunuch, who knew the Wazir Ibrahim and kissed his hands. The
+Minister entered and found in the courtyard, among the serving-
+men, a Fakir, which was Uns al-Wujud, but he knew him not and
+said, "Whence cometh yonder wight?" Quoth they, "He is a
+merchant, who hath lost his goods, but saved himself; and he is
+an ecstatic."[FN#74] So the Wazir left him and went on into the
+castle, where he found no trace of his daughter and questioned
+her women, who answered, "We wot not how or whither she went;
+this place misliked her and she tarried in it but a short time."
+Whereupon he wept sore and repeated these couplets,
+
+     "Ho thou, the house, whose birds were singing gay, *
+          Whose sills their wealth and pride were wont display!
+     Till came the lover wailing for his love, *
+          And found thy doors wide open to the way;
+     Would Heaven I knew where is my soul that erst *
+          Was homed in house, whose owners fared away!
+     'Twas stored with all things bright and beautiful, *
+          And showed its porters ranged in fair array:
+     They clothed it with brocades a bride become;[FN#75] *
+          Would I knew whither went its lords, ah, say!"
+
+After ending his verses he again shed tears, and groaned and
+bemoaned himself, exclaiming, "There is no deliverance from the
+destiny decreed by Allah; nor is there any escape from that which
+He hath predestined!" Then he went up to the roof and found the
+strips of Ba'albak stuff tied to the crenelles and hanging down
+to the ground, and thus it was he knew that she had descended
+thence and had fled forth, as one distracted and demented with
+desire and passion. Presently, he turned and seeing there two
+birds, a gor-crow and an owl he justly deemed this an omen of
+ill; so he groaned and recited these couplets,
+
+     "I came to my dear friends' door, of my hopes the goal, *
+          Whose sight mote assuage my sorrow and woes of soul:
+     No friends found I there, nor was there another thing *
+          To find, save a corby-crow and an ill-omened owl.
+     And the tongue o' the case to me seemed to say, *
+          'Indeed This parting two lovers fond was cruel and
+          foul!
+     So taste thou the sorrow thou madest them taste and live *
+          In grief: wend thy ways and now in thy sorrow prowl!'"
+
+Then he descended from the castle-roof, weeping, and bade the
+servants fare forth and search the mount for their mistress; so
+they sought for her, but found her not. Such was their case; but
+as regards Uns al-Wujud, when he was certified that Rose-in-Hood
+was indeed gone, he cried with a great cry and fell down in a
+fainting-fit, nor came to himself for a long time, whilst the
+folk deemed that his spirit had been withdrawn by the
+Compassionating One; and that he was absorbed in contemplation of
+the splendour, majesty and beauty of the Requiting One. Then,
+despairing of finding Uns al-Wujud, and seeing that the Wazir
+Ibrahim was distracted for the loss of his daughter, the Minister
+of King Dirbas addressed himself to return to his own country,
+albeit he had not attained the object of his journey, and while
+bidding his companion adieu, said to him, "I have a mind to take
+the Fakir with me; it may be Allah Almighty will incline the
+King's heart to me by his blessing, for that he is a holy man;
+and thereafter, I will send him to Ispahan, which is near our
+country." "Do as thou wilt," answered Ibrahim. So they took leave
+of each other and departed, each for his own mother land, the
+Wazir of King Dirbas carrying with him Uns al-Wujud,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Three Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir
+of King Dirbas carried with him Uns al-Wujud who was still
+insensible. They bore him with them on mule-back (he unknowing if
+he were carried or not) for three days, when he came to himself
+and said, "Where am I?" "Thou art in company with the Minister of
+King Dirbas," replied they and went and gave news of his
+recovering to the Wazir, who sent him rose-water and sherbet of
+sugar, of which they gave him to drink and restored him. Then
+they ceased not faring on till they drew near King Dirbas's
+capital and the King, being advised of his Wazir's coming, wrote
+to him, saying, "If Uns al-Wujud be not with thee, come not to me
+ever." Now when the Wazir read the royal mandate, it was grievous
+to him, for he knew not that Rose-in-Hood was with the King, nor
+why he had been sent in quest of Uns al-Wujud, nor the King's
+reason for desiring the alliance; whilst Uns al-Wujud also knew
+not whither they were bearing him or that the Wazir had been sent
+in quest of him; nor did the Wazir know that the Fakir he had
+with him was Uns al-Wujud himself. And when the Minister saw that
+the sick man was whole, he said to him, "I was despatched by the
+King on an errand, which I have not been able to accomplish. So,
+when he heard of my return, he wrote to me, saying, 'Except thou
+have fulfilled my need enter not my city.'" "And what is the
+King's need?" asked Uns al-Wujud. So the Wazir told him the whole
+tale, and he said, "Fear nothing, but go boldly to the King and
+take me with thee; and I will be surety to thee for the coming of
+Uns al-Wujud." At this the Wazir rejoiced and cried, "Is this
+true which thou sayest?" "Yes," replied he; whereupon the Wazir
+mounted and carried him to King Dirbas who, after receiving their
+salutations said to him, "Where is Uns al-Wujud?" Answered the
+young man, "O King, I know where he is." So the King called him
+to him and said, "Where?" Returned Uns al-Wujud, "He is near-hand
+and very near; but tell me what thou wouldst with him, and I will
+fetch him into thy presence." The King replied, "With joy and
+good gree, but the case calleth for privacy." So he ordered the
+folk to withdraw and, carrying Uns al-Wujud into his cabinet,
+told him the whole story; whereupon quoth the youth, "Robe me in
+rich raiment, and I will forthright bring Uns al-Wujud to thee."
+So they brought him a sumptuous dress, and he donned it and said,
+"I am Uns al-Wujud, the World's Delight, and to the envious a
+despite"; and presently he smote with his glances every sprite,
+and began these couplets to recite,
+
+"My loved one's name in cheerless solitude aye cheereth me * And
+     driveth off my desperance and despondency:
+I have no helper[FN#76] but my tears that ever flow in fount, *
+     And as they flow, they lighten woe and force my grief to
+     flee.
+My longing is so violent naught like it ere was seen; * My love-
+     tale is a marvel and my love a sight to see:
+I spend the night with lids of eye that never close in sleep, *
+     And pass in passion twixt the Hells and Edens heavenly.
+I had of patience fairish store, but now no more have I; * And
+     love's sole gift to me hath been aye-growing misery:
+My frame is wasted by the pain of parting from my own, * And
+     longing changed my shape and form and made me other be.
+Mine eyelids by my torrent tears are chafed, and ulcerate, * The
+      tears, whose flow to stay is mere impossibility.
+My manly strength is sore impaired for I have lost my heart; *
+     How many griefs upon my griefs have I been doomed to dree!
+My heart and head are like in age with similar hoariness * By
+     loss of Beauty's lord,[FN#77] of lords the galaxy:
+Despite our wills they parted us and doomed us parted wone, *
+     While they (our lords) desire no more than love in unity.
+Then ah, would Heaven that I wot if stress of parting done, *
+     The world will grant me sight of them in union fain and
+     free--
+Roll up the scroll of severance which others would unroll-- *
+     Efface my trouble by the grace of meeting's jubilee!
+And shall I see them homed with me in cup-company, * And change
+     my melancholic mood for joy and jollity?"
+
+And when he had ended his verses the King cried aloud, "By Allah,
+ye are indeed a pair of lovers true and fain and in Beauty's
+heaven of shining stars a twain: your story is wondrous and your
+case marvellous." Then he told him all that had befalled Rose-in-
+Hood; and Uns al-Wujud said, "Where is she, O King of the age?"
+"She is with me now," answered Dirbas and, sending for the Kazi
+and the witnesses, drew up the contract of marriage between her
+and him. Then he honoured Uns al-Wujud with favours and bounties
+and sent to King Shamikh acquainting him with what had befallen,
+whereat this King joyed with exceeding joy and wrote back the
+following purport. "Since the ceremony of contract hath been
+performed at thy court, it behoveth that the marriage and its
+consummation be at mine." Then he made ready camels, horses and
+men and sent them in quest of the pair; and when the embassy
+reached King Dirbas, he gave the lovers much treasure and
+despatched them to King Shamikh's court with a company of his own
+troops. The day of their arrival was a notable day, never was
+seen a grander; for the King gathered together all the singing-
+women and players on instruments of music and made wedding
+banquets and held high festival seven days; and on each day he
+gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them sumptuous robes of
+honour. Then Uns al-Wujud went in to Rose-in-Hood and they
+embraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst
+she recited these couplets,
+
+     "Joyance is come, dispelling cark and care; *
+          We are united, enviers may despair.
+     The breeze of union blows, enquickening *
+          Forms, hearts and vitals, fresh with fragrant air:
+     The splendour of delight with scents appears, *
+          And round us[FN#78] flags and drums show gladness rare.
+     Deem not we're weeping for our stress of grief;*
+          It is for joy our tears as torrents fare:
+     How many fears we've seen that now are past! *
+          And bore we patient what was sore to bear:
+     One hour of joyance made us both forget *
+          What from excess of terror grey'd our hair."
+
+And when the verses were ended, they again embraced and ceased
+not from their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Uns al-
+Wujud and Rose-in-Hood embraced when they foregathered and ceased
+not from their embrace, till they fell down in a swoon for the
+delight of reunion; and when they came to themselves, Uns al-
+Wujud recited these couplets,
+
+     "How joyously sweet are the nights that unite, *
+          When my dearling deigns keep me the troth she did
+          plight;
+     When union conjoins us in all that we have, *
+          And parting is severed and sundered from sight,
+     To us comes the world with her favour so fair, *
+          After frown and aversion and might despight!
+     Hath planted her banner Good Fortune for us, *
+          And we drink of her cup in the purest delight.
+     We have met and complained of the pitiful Past, *
+          And of nights a full many that doomed us to blight.
+     But now, O my lady, the Past is forgot; *
+          The Compassionate pardon the Past for unright!
+     How sweet is existence, how glad is to be! *
+          This union my passion doth only incite."
+
+And when he ended his verses they once more embraced, drowned in
+the sea of passion; and lay down together in the private
+apartment carousing and conversing and quoting verses and telling
+pleasant tales and anecdotes. On this wise seven days passed over
+them whilst they knew not night from day and it was to them, for
+very stress of gaiety and gladness, pleasure and possession, as
+if the seven days were but one day with ne'er a morrow. Not did
+they know the seventh day,[FN#79] but by the coming of the
+singers and players on instruments of music; whereat Rose-in-Hood
+beyond measure wondered and improvised these couplets,
+
+     "In spite of enviers' jealousy, at end *
+          We have won all we hoped of the friend:
+     We've crowned our meeting with a close embrace *
+          On quilts where new brocades with sendal blend;
+     On bed of perfumed leather, which the spoils *
+          Of downy birds luxuriously distend.
+     But I abstain me from unneeded wine, *
+          When honey-dews of lips sweet musk can lend:
+     Now from the sweets of union we unknow *
+          Time near and far, if slow or fast it wend,
+     The seventh night hath come and gone, O strange! *
+          How went the nights we never reckt or kenned;
+     Till, on the seventh wishing joy they said, *
+          'Allah prolong the meet of friend with friend!'"
+
+When she had finished her song, Uns al-Wujud kissed her, more
+than an hundred times, and recited these couplets,
+
+     "O day of joys to either lover fain! *
+          The loved one came and freed from lonely pain:
+     She blest me with all inner charms she hath; *
+          And companied with inner grace deep lain:
+     She made me drain the wine of love till I, *
+          Was faint with joys her love had made me drain:
+     We toyed and joyed and on each other lay; *
+          Then fell to wine and soft melodious strain:
+     And for excess of joyance never knew, *
+          How went the day and how it came again.
+     Fair fall each lover, may he union win *
+          And gain of joy like me the amplest gain;
+     Nor weet the taste of severance' bitter fruit *
+          And joys assain them as they us assain!"
+
+Then they went forth and distributed to the folk alms and
+presents of money and raiment and rare gifts and other tokens of
+generosity; after which Rose-in-Hood bade clear the bath for
+her[FN#80] and, turning to Uns al-Wujud said to him, "O coolth of
+my eyes, I have a mind to see thee in the Hammam, and therein we
+will be alone together." He joyfully consented to this, and she
+let scent the Hammam with all sorts of perfumed woods and
+essences, and light the wax-candles. Then of the excess of her
+contentment she recited these couplets,
+
+     "O who didst win my love in other date *
+          (And Present e'er must speak of past estate);
+     And, oh! who art my sole sufficiency, *
+          Nor want I other friends with me to mate:
+     Come to the Hammam, O my light of eyes, *
+          And enter Eden through Gehenna-gate!
+     We'll scent with ambergris and aloes-wood *
+          Till float the heavy clouds with fragrant freight;
+     And to the World we'll pardon all her sins *
+          And sue for mercy the Compassionate;
+     And I will cry, when I descry thee there, *
+          'Good cheer, sweet love, all blessings on thee
+          wait!'"[FN#81]
+
+Whereupon they arose and fared to the bath and took their
+pleasure therein; after which they returned to their palace and
+there abode in the fulness of enjoyment, till there came to them
+the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of societies; and
+glory be to Him who changeth not neither ceaseth, and to whom
+everything returneth! And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+             ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE
+                 CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID[FN#82]
+
+
+
+Abu Nowas one day shut himself up and, making ready a
+richly-furnished feast, collected for it meats of all kinds and
+of every colour that lips and tongue can desire.  Then he went
+forth, to seek a minion worthy of such entertainment, saying,
+"Allah, my Lord and my Master, I beseech Thee to send me one who
+befitteth this banquet and who is fit to carouse with me this
+day!"  Hardly had he made an end of speaking when he espied three
+youths handsome and beardless, as they were of the boys of
+Paradise,[FN#83] differing in complexion but fellows in
+incomparable beauty; and all hearts yearned with desire to the
+swaying of their bending shapes, even to what saith the poet,
+
+     "I passed a beardless pair without compare *
+          And cried, 'I love you, both you ferly fir!'
+     'Money'd?' quoth one: quoth I, 'And lavish too;' *
+          Then said the fair pair, 'Pere, c'est notre affaire.'"
+
+Now Abu Nowas was given to these joys and loved to sport and make
+merry with fair boys and cull the rose from every brightly
+blooming check, even as saith the bard,
+
+     Full many a reverend Shaykh feels sting of flesh, *
+          Loves pretty faces, shows at Pleasure's depot:
+     Awakes in Mosul,[FN#84] land of purity; *
+          And all the day dreams only of Aleppo.[FN#85]
+
+So he accosted them with the salutation, and they returned his
+greeting with civility and all honour and would have gone their
+several ways, but he stayed them, repeating these couplets,
+
+    "Steer ye your steps to none but me *
+         Who hath a mine of luxury:-
+    Old wine that shines with brightest blee *
+         Made by the monk in monastery;
+    And mutton-meat the toothsomest *
+         And birds of all variety.
+    Then eat of these and drink of those *
+         Old wines that bring you jollity:
+    And have each other, turn by turn,  *
+         Shampooing this my tool you see."[FN#86]
+
+Thereupon the youths were beguiled by his verses and consented to
+his wishes,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu
+Nowas beguiled the youths with his wishes, saying, "We hear and
+obey;" and accompanied him to his lodging, where they found all
+ready that he had set forth in his couplets.  They sat down and
+ate and drank and made merry awhile, after which they appealed to
+Abu Nowas to decide which of them was handsometh of face and
+shapliest of form.  So he pointed to one of them and, having
+kissed him twice over, recited the following verses,
+
+     "I'll ransom that beauty-spot with my soup; *
+          Where's it and where is a money-dole?[FN#87]
+     Praise Him who hairless hath made that cheek *
+          And bid Beauty bide in that mole, that mole!"
+
+Then he pointed to another and, kissing his lips, repeated these
+couplets,
+
+     "And loveling weareth on his cheek a mole *
+          Like musk, which virgin camphor ne'er lets off it:
+     My peepers marvel such a contrast seeing; *
+          And cried the Mole to me, 'Now bless the
+          Prophet.'"[FN#88]
+
+Then he pointed to the third and, after kissing him half a score
+times repeated these couplets,
+
+     "Melted pure gold in silvern bowl to drain *
+          The youth, whose fingers wore a winey stain:
+     He with the drawers[FN#89] served one cup of wine, *
+          And served his wandering eyes the other twain.
+     A loveling, of the sons of Turks,[FN#90] a fawn *
+          Whose waist conjoins the double Mounts Honayn.[FN#91]
+     Could Eve's corrupting daughers[FN#92] tempt my heart *
+          Content with two-fold lure 'twould bear the bane.
+     Unto Diyar-I-Bakr ('maid-land '[FN#93] this one lures; *
+          That lures to two-mosqued cities of the plain."[FN#94]
+
+Now each of the youths had drunk two cups, and when it came to
+the turn of Abu Nowas, he took the goblet and repeated these
+couplets,
+
+"Drink not strong wine save at the slender dearling's hand; *
+     Each like to other in all gifts the spirt grace:
+For wine can never gladden toper's heart and soul, *
+     Unless the cup-boy show a bright and sparkling face."
+
+Then he drank off his cup and the bowl went round, and when it
+came to Abu Nowas again, joyance got the mastery of him and he
+repeated these couplets,
+
+     "For cup-friends cup succeeding cup assign, *
+          Brimming with grape-juice, brought in endliess line,
+     By hand of brown-lipped[FN#95] Beauty who is sweet *
+          At wake as apple or musk finest fine.[FN#96]
+     Drink not the wine except from hand of fawn *
+          Whose cheek to kiss is sweeter than the wine."
+
+Presently the drink got into his noddle, drunkenness mastered him
+and he knew not hand from head, so that he lolled from side to
+side in joy and inclined to the youths one and all, anon kissing
+them and anon embracing them leg overlying leg.  And he showed no
+sense of sin or shame, but recited these couplets,
+
+     "None wotteth best joyance but generous youth *
+          When the pretty ones deign with him company keep:
+     This sings to him, sings to him that, when he wants *
+          A pick-me-up[FN#97] lying there all of a heap:
+     And when of a loveling he needeth a kiss, *
+          He takes from his lips or a draught or a nip;
+     Heaven bless them!  How sweetly my day with them sped; *
+          A wonderful harvest of pleasure I reap:
+     Let us drink our good liquor both watered and pure, *
+          And agree to swive all who dare slumber and sleep."
+
+While they were in this deboshed state behold, there came a
+knocking at the door; so they bade him who knocked enter, and
+behold, it was the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid.
+When they saw him, they all rose and kissed ground before him;
+and Abu Nowas threw off the fumes of the wine for awe of the
+Caliph, who said to him, "Holla, Abu Nowas!"  He replied, "Adsum,
+at thy service, O Commander of the Faithful, whom Allah
+preserve!"  The Caliph asked, "What state is this?" and the poet
+answered, "O Prince of True Believers, my state indubitably
+dispenseth with questions."  Quoth the Caliph, "O Abu Nowas, I
+have sought direction of Allah Almighty and have appointed thee
+Kazi of pimps and panders."  Asked he, "Dost thou indeed invest
+me with that high office, O Commander of the Faithful?"; and the
+Caliph answered "I do;" whereupon Abu Nowas rejoined, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, hast thou any suit to prefer to me?"
+Hereat the Caliph was wroth and presently turned away and left
+them, full of rage, and passed the night sore an-angered against
+Abu Nowas, who amid the party he had invited spent the merriest
+of nights and the jolliest and joyousest.  And when day-break
+dawned and the star of morn appeared in sheen and shone, he broke
+up the sitting and, dismissing the youths, donned his court-dress
+and leaving his house set out for the palace of the Caliph.  Now
+it was the custom of the Commander of the Faithful, when the
+Divan broke up, to withdraw to his sitting-saloon and summon
+thither his poets and cup-companions and musicians, each having
+his own place, which he might not overpass.  So it happened that
+day, he retired to his saloom, and the friends and familiars came
+and seated themselves, each in his rank and degree.  Presently,
+in walked Abu Nowas and was about to take his usual seat, when
+the Caliph cried to Masrur, the sworder, and bade him strip the
+poet of his clothes and bind an ass's packsaddle on his back and
+a halter about his head and a crupper under his rump and lead him
+round to all the lodgings of the slave-girls, --And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
+commanded Masrur, the sworder, to strip Abu Nowas of his
+court-suit and bind an ass's packsaddle on his back and a halter
+about his head, and a crupper under his rump and lead him round
+to all the lodgings of the slave-girls, and the chambers of the
+Harim, that the women might make mock of him; then cut off his
+head and bring it to him.  "Hearkening and obedience," replied
+Masrur and, doing with Abu Nowas as the Caliph had bidden him,
+led him round all the chambers whose number equalled the days of
+the year; but Abu Nowas was a funny fellow, so he made all the
+girls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him something
+whereby he returned not save with a pocketful of money.  And
+while this was going on behold, Ja'afar the Barmecide, who had
+been absent on an important business for the Commander of the
+Faithful, entered and recognising the poet, albeit in this
+plight, said to him, "Holla, Abu Nowas!"  He said, "Here at thy
+service, O our lord."  Ja'afar asked, "What offence hast thou
+committed to bring this punishment on thee?"  Thereupon he
+answered, "None whatsoever, except that I made our lord the
+Caliph a present of the best of my poetry and he presented me, in
+return, with the best of his raiment."  When the Prince of True
+Believers head this, he laughed, from a heart full of
+wrath,[FN#98] and pardoned Abu Nowas, and also gave him a myriad
+of money.  And they also recount the tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+              ABDALLAH BIN MA'AMAR WITH THE MAN OF
+                  BASSORAH AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL.
+
+
+
+A certain man of Bassorah once bought a slave-girl and reared and
+educated her right well.  Moreover, he loved her very dearly and
+spent all his substance in pleasuring and merry-making with her,
+til he had naught left and extreme poverty was sore upon him.  So
+she said to him, "O my master, sell me; for thou needest my price
+and it maketh my heart ache to see thy sorry and want-full
+plight.  If thou vend me and make use of my value, 'twill be
+better for thee than keeping me by thee, and haply Almighty Allah
+will ample thee and amend thy fortune."  He agreed to this for
+the straitness of his case, and carried her to the bazar, where
+the broker offered her for sale to the Governor of Bassorah, by
+name Abdallah bin Ma'amar al-Taymi, and she pleased him.  So he
+bought her, for five hundred dinars and paid the sum to her
+master; but when he book the money and was about to go away, the
+girl burst into tears and repeated these two couplets,
+
+     "May coins though gainest joy in heart instil; *
+          For me remaineth naught save saddest ill:
+     I say unto my soul which sorely grieves, *
+          'Thy friend departeth an thou will nor nill.'"
+
+And when her master heard this, he groaned and replied in these
+couplets,
+
+     "Albeit this thy case lack all resource, *
+          Nor findeth aught but death's doom, pardon still;
+     Evening and morning, thoughts of thee will dole *
+          Comfort to heart all woes and griefs full fill:
+     Peace be upon thee! Meet we now no more *
+          Nor pair except at Ibn Ma'amar's will."
+
+Now when Abdullah bin Ma'amar heard these verses and saw their
+affection, he exclaimed, "By Allah, I will not assist fate in
+separating you; for it is evident to me that ye two indeed love
+each other.  So take the money and the damsel, O man, and Allah
+bless thee in both; for verily parting be grievous to lovers."
+So they kissed his hand and going away, ceased not to dwell
+together, till death did them part; and glory be to Him whom
+death over-taketh not!  And amonst stories is that of
+
+
+
+
+              THE LOVERS OF THE BANU[FN#99] OZRAH
+
+
+
+There was once, among the Banu Ozrah, a handsome and accomplished
+man, who was never a single day out of love, and it chanced that
+he became enamoured of a beauty of his own tribe and sent her
+many messages; but she ceased not to entreat him with cruelty and
+disdain; till, for stress of love and longing and desire and
+distraction, he fell sick of a sore sickness and took to his
+pillow and murdered sleep.  His malady redoubled on him and his
+torments increased and he was well nigh dead when his case became
+known among the folk and his passion notorious;--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man
+took to his pillow and murdered sleep.  So his case became known
+and his passion notorious; and his infirmity grew upon him and
+his pains redoubled until he was well nigh dead.  His family and
+hers were urgent with her to visit him, but she refused, till he
+was at the point of death when, being told of this, she relented
+towards him and vouchsafed him a visit.  As soon as he saw her,
+his eyes ran over with tears and he repeated from a broken heart,
+
+     "An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, *
+          A bier upborne upon the necks of four,
+     Wilt thou not follow it, and greet the grave *
+          Where shall my corpse be graved for evermore?"
+
+Hearing this, she wept with sore weeping and said to him, "By
+Allah, I suspected not that passion had come to such a pass with
+thee, as to cast thee into the arms of death!  Had I wist of
+this, I had been favourable to thy wish, and thou shouldst have
+had thy will."  At this his tears streamed down even as the
+clouds rail rain, and he repeated this verse,
+
+     "She drew near whenas death was departing us, *
+          And deigned union grant when ‘twas useless all."
+
+Then he groaned one groan and died.  So she fell on him, kissing
+him and weeping and ceased not weeping until she swooned away;
+and when she came to herself, she charged her people to bury her
+in his grave and with streaming eyes recited these two couplets,
+
+     "We lived on earth a life of fair content; *
+          And tribe and house and home of us were proud;
+     But Time in whirling flight departed us, *
+          To join us now in womb of earth and shroud.[FN#100]"
+
+Then she fell again to weeping, nor gave over shedding tears and
+lamenting till she fainted away; and she lay three days,
+senseless.  Then she died and was buried in his grave.  This is
+one of the strange chances of love.[FN#101]  And I have heard
+related a tale of the
+
+
+
+
+
+            WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER
+
+
+
+It is said that Badr al-Din, Wazir of Al-Yaman, had a young
+brother of singular beauty and kept strait watch over him; so he
+applied himself to seek a tutor for him and, coming upon a Shaykh
+of dignified and reverend aspect, chaste and religious, lodged
+him in a house next his own.  This lasted a long time, and he
+used to come daily from his dwelling to that of Sáhib[FN#102]
+Badr al-Din and teach the young brother.  After a while, the old
+man's heart was taken with love for the youth, and longing grew
+upon him and his vitals were troubled, till one day, he bemoaned
+his case to the boy, who said, "What can I do, seeing that I may
+not leave my brother night or day? and thou thyself seest how
+careful he is over me."  Quoth the Shaykh, "My lodging adjoineth
+thine; so there will be no difficulty, when thy brother sleepeth,
+to rise and, entering the privy, feign thyself asleep.  Then come
+to the parapet[FN#103] of the terrace-roof and I will receive
+thee on the other side of the wall; so shalt thou sit with me an
+eye-twinkling and return without thy brother's knowledge."  "I
+hear and obey," answered the lad; and the tutor began to prepare
+gifts suitable to his degree.  Now when a while of the night was
+past, he entered the water-closet and waited until his brother
+lay down on his bed and took patience till he was drowned in
+sleep, when he rose and going to the parapet of the terrace-roof,
+found standing there to await him the old man, who gave him his
+hand and carried him to the sitting-chamber, where he had made
+ready various dainties for his entertainment, and they sat down
+to carouse.  Now it was the night of the full moon and, as they
+sat with the wine-cup going round, her rays shone upon them, and
+the governor fell to singing.  But, whilst they were thus in joy
+and jollity and mirth and merriment, such as confoundeth the wit
+and the sight and defieth description, lo! the Wazir awoke and,
+missing his brother, arose in affright and found the door open.
+So he went up to the roof and hearing a noise of talk, climbed
+over the parapet to the adjoining terrace and saw a light shining
+from the lodging.  He looked in from behind the wall, and espied
+his brother and his tutor sitting at carouse; but the Shaykh
+became aware of him and sang cup in hand, to a lively measure
+these couplets,
+
+     "He made me drain his wine of honeyed lips, *
+          Toasting with cheeks which rose and myrtle smother:
+     Then nighted in embrace, cheek to my cheek, *
+          A loveling midst mankind without another.
+     When the full moon arose on us and shone *
+          Pray she traduce us not to the big brother."
+
+And it proved the perfect politeness of the Wazir Badr al-Din
+that, when he heard this, he said, "By Allah, I will not betray
+you!"  And he went away and left them to their diversions.  They
+also tell a tale concerning
+
+
+
+
+            THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL
+
+
+
+A free boy and a slave-girl once learnt together in school, and
+the boy fell passionately in love with the girl.--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lad
+fell passionately in love with the slave-lass: so one day, when
+the other boys were heedless, he took her tablet[FN#104] and
+wrote on it these two couplets,
+
+     "What sayest thou of him by sickness waste, *
+          Until he's clean distraught for love of thee?
+     Who in the transport of his pain complains, *
+          Nor can bear load of heart in secrecy?"
+
+Now when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses written
+thereon and understanding them, wept for ruth of him; then she
+wrote thereunder these two couplets,
+
+     "An if we behold a lover love-fordone *
+          Desiring us, our favours he shall see:
+     Yea, what he wills of us he shall obtain, *
+          And so befal us what befalling be."
+
+Now it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the
+tablet, unnoticed, read what was written thereon.  So he was
+moved to pity of their case and wrote on the tablet beneath those
+already written these two couplets addressed to the girl,
+
+     "Console thy lover, fear no consequence; *
+          He is daft with loving lowe's insanity;
+     But for the teacher fear not aught from him; *
+          Love-pain he learned long before learnt ye."
+
+Presently it so happened that the girl's owner entered the school
+about the same time and, finding the tablet, read the above
+verses indited by the boy, the girl and the schoolmaster; and
+wrote under them these two couplets,
+
+     "May Allah never make you parting dree *
+          And be your censurer shamed wearily!
+     But for the teacher ne'er, by Allah, eye *
+          Of mine beheld a bigger pimp than he!"
+
+Then he sent for the Kazi and witnesses and married them on the
+spot.  Moreover, he made them a wedding-feast and treated them
+with exceeding munificence; and they ceased not abiding together
+in joy and happiness, till there came to them the Destroyer of
+delights and the Severer of societies.  And equally pleasant is
+the story of
+
+
+
+
+
+               AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH
+
+
+
+It is related Al-Mutalammis[FN#105] once fled from Al-Nu'uman bin
+Munzir[FN#106] and was absent so long that folk deemed him dead.
+Now he had a beautiful wife, Umaymah by name, and her family
+urged her to marry again; but she refused, for that she loved her
+husband Al-Mutalammis very dearly.  However, they were urgent
+with her, because of the multitude of her suitors, and importuned
+with her till at last she consented, albe reluctantly; and they
+espoused her to a man of her own tribe.  Now on the night of the
+wedding, Al-Mutalammis came back and, hearing in the camp a noise
+of pipes and tabrets and seeing signs of a wedding festival,
+asked some of the children what was the merry-making, to which
+they replied, "They have married Umaymah wife of Al-Mutalammis,
+to such an one, and he goes in to her this night."  When he heard
+this, he planned to enter the house amongst the mob of women and
+saw the twain seated on the bridal couch.[FN#107]  By and by, the
+bridegroom came up to her, whereupon she sighed heavily and
+weeping, recited this couplet,
+
+"Would Heaven I knew (but many are the shifts of joy and woe) *
+     In what far distant land thou art, my Mutalammis, oh!"
+
+Now Al-Mutalammis was a renowned poet; so he answered her saying;
+
+"Right near at hand, Umaymah mine! when'er the caravan *
+     Halted, I never ceased for thee to pine, I would thou know."
+
+When the bridegroom heard this, he guess how the case stood and
+went forth from them in hast improvising,
+
+"I was in bestest luck, but now my luck goes contrary: *
+     A hospitable house and room contain your loves, you two!"
+
+And he returned not but left the twain to their privacy.  So Al-
+Mutalammis and his wife abode together in all comfort and solace
+of life and in all its joys and jollities till death parted them.
+And glory be to Him at whose command the earth and the heavens
+shall arise!  And among other tales is that of
+
+
+
+
+
+              THE CALIPH HARUM AL-RASHID AND QUEEN
+                      ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH
+
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid loved the Lady Zubaydah with exceeding
+love and laid out for her a pleasaunce, wherein he made a great
+tank and set thereabouts a screen of trees and led thither water
+from all sides; hence the trees grew and interlaced over the
+basin so densely, that one could go in and wash, without being
+seen of any, for the thickness of the leafage.  It chanced, one
+day, that Queen Zubaydah entered the garden and, coming to the
+swimming-bath,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, "O auspicious King, that Queen
+Zubaydah entered the garden one day and, coming to the swimming-
+bath, gazed upon its goodliness; and the sheen of the water and
+the overshading of the trees pleased her.  Now it was a day of
+exceeding heat; so she doffed her clothes and, entering the tank,
+which was not deep enough to cover the whole person, fell to
+pouring the water over herself from an ewer of silver.  It also
+happened that the Caliph heard she was in the pool; so he left
+his palace and came down to spy upon her through the screen of
+the foliage.  He stood behind the trees and espied her mother-
+nude, showing everything that is kept hidden.  Presently, she
+became aware of him and turning, saw him behind the trees and was
+ashamed that he should see her naked.  So she laid her hands on
+her parts, but the Mount of Venus escaped from between them, by
+reason of its greatness and plumpness; and the Caliph at once
+turned and went away, wondering and reciting this couplet,
+
+     "I looked on her with loving eyne *
+          And grew anew my old repine:"
+
+But he knew not what to say next; so he sent for Abu Nowas and
+said to him, "Make me a piece of verse commencing with this
+line."  "I hear and obey," replied the poet and in an eye-
+twinkling extemporised these couplets,
+
+     "I looked on her with longing eyne *
+          And grew anew my old repine
+     For the gazelle, who captured me  *
+          Where the two lotus-trees incline:
+     There was the water poured on it *
+          From ewer of the silvern mine;
+     And seen me she had hidden it *
+          But ‘twas too plump for fingers fine.
+     Would Heaven that I were on it, *
+          An hour, or better two hours, li'en."[FN#108]
+
+Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful smiled and made him a
+handsome present and he went away rejoicing.  And I have heard
+another story of
+
+
+
+
+
+              HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS
+
+
+
+The Prince of True Believers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was
+exceeding restless one night; so he rose and walked about his
+palace, till he happened upon a handmaid overcome with wine.  Now
+he was prodigiously enamoured of this damsel; so he played with
+her and pulled her to him, whereupon her zone fell down and her
+petticoat-trousers were loosed and he besought her of amorous
+favour.  But she said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful wait
+till to-morrow night, for I am unprepared for thee, knowing not
+of thy coming."  So he left her and went away.  But, when the
+morrow showed its light and the sun shone bright, he sent a page
+to her saying, "The Commander of the Faithful is about to visit
+thine apartment;" but she replied, "Day doth away with the
+promise of night."  So he said to his courtiers, "Make me
+somewhat of verse, introducing these words, ‘The Promise of Night
+is effaced by Day.'" Answered they, "We hear and obey," and Al-
+Rakáshi[FN#109] came forward and recited the following couplets,
+
+     "By Allah, couldst thou but feel my pain, *
+          Thy rest had turned and had fled away.
+     Hath left me in sorrow and love distraught, *
+          Unseen and unseeing, that fairest may:
+     She promised me grace, then jilted and said, *
+          ‘The promise of night is effaced by day!'"
+
+Then Abu Mus'ab came forward and recited these couplets,
+
+     "When wilt thou be wise and love-heat allay *
+          That from food and sleeping so leads astray?
+     Suffices thee not ever weeping eye, *
+          And vitals on fire when thy name they say?
+     He must smile and laugh and in pride must cry *
+          ‘The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
+
+Last came Abu Nowas and recited the following couplets,
+
+     "As love waxt longer less met we tway *
+          And fell out, but ended the useless fray;
+     One night in the palace I found her fou'; *
+          Yet of modesty still there was some display:
+     The veil from her shoulders had slipt; and showed *
+          Her loosened trousers Love's seat and stay:
+     And rattled the breezes her huge hind cheeks *
+          And the branch where two little pomegranates lay:
+     Quoth I, ‘Give me tryst;' whereto quoth she *
+          To-morrow the fane shall wear best array:'
+     Next day I asked her, ‘Thy word?'  Said she *
+          ‘The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
+
+The Caliph bade give a myriad of money each to Al-Rakashi and Abu
+Mus'ab, but bade strike off the head of Abu Nowas, saying, "Thou
+wast with us yesternight in the palace."  Said he, "By Allah, I
+slept not but in my own house!  I was directed to what I said by
+thine own words as to the subject of the verse; and indeed quoth
+Almighty Allah (and He is the truest of all speakers): ‘As for
+poets (devils pursue them!) dost thou not see that they rove as
+bereft of their senses through every valley and that they say
+that which they do not?'"[FN#110]  So the Caliph forgave him and
+gave him two myriads of money.  And another tale is that of
+
+
+
+
+
+           MUS'AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE
+
+
+
+It is told of Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr[FN#111] that he met in Al-
+Medinah Izzah, who was one of the shrewdest of women, and said to
+her, "I have a mind to marry Ayishah[FN#112] daughter of Talhah,
+and I should like thee to go herwards and spy out for me how she
+is made."  So she went away and returning to Mus'ab, said, "I
+have seen her, and her face is fairer than health; she hath large
+and well-opened eyes and under them a nose straight and smooth as
+a cane; oval cheeks and a mouth like a cleft pomegranate, a neck
+as a silver ewer and below it a bosom with two breasts like twin-
+pomegranates and further down a slim waist and a slender stomach
+with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory, and back parts
+like a hummock of sand; and plumply rounded thighs and calves
+like columns of alabaster; but I saw her feet to be large, and
+thou wilt fall short with her in time of need."  Upon this report
+he married her,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Day
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Izzah
+this wise reported of Ayishah bint Talhah, Mus'ab married her and
+went in to her.  And presently Izzah invited Ayishah and the
+women of the tribe Kuraysh to her house, when Ayishah sang these
+two couplets with Mus'ab standing by,
+
+     "And the lips of girls, that are perfume sweet; *
+          So nice to kiss when with smiles they greet:
+     Yet ne'er tasted I them, but in thought of him; *
+          And by thought the Ruler rules worldly seat."
+
+The night of Mus'ab's going in unto her, he departed not from
+her, till after seven bouts; and on the morrow, a freewoman of
+his met him and said to him, "May I be thy sacrifice!  Thou art
+perfect, even in this."  And a certain woman said, "I was with
+Ayishah, when her husband came in to her, and she lusted for him;
+so he fell upon her and she snarked and snorted and made use of
+all wonder of movements and marvellous new inventions, and I the
+while within hearing.  So, when he came out from her, I said to
+her, ‘How canst thou do thus with thy rank and nobility and
+condition, and I in thy house?'  Quoth she, ‘Verily a woman
+should bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of
+excitement and rare buckings and wrigglings and
+motitations.[FN#113]  What dislikest thou of this?'  And I
+answered ‘I would have this by nights.'  Rejoined she, ‘Thus is
+it by day and by night I do more than this; for when he seeth me,
+desire stirreth him up and he falleth in heat; so he putteth it
+out to me and I obey him, and it is as thou seest.'"  And there
+also hath reached me an account of
+
+
+
+
+
+                ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL
+
+
+
+Abu al-Aswad bought a native-born slave-girl, who was blind of an
+eye, and she pleased him; but his people decried her to him;
+whereat he wondered and, turning the palms of his hands
+upwards,[FN#114] recited these two couplets,
+
+     "They find me fault with her where I default ne'er find, *
+          Save haply that a speck in either eye may show:
+     But if her eyes have fault, of fault her form hath none, *
+          Slim-built above the waist and heavily made below."
+
+And this is also told of
+
+
+
+
+
+
+            HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS
+
+
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls,
+one from Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed
+his hands, whilst the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his
+concern[FN#115] stand up.  Quoth the Cufite, "I see thou wouldst
+keep the whole of the stock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share
+of it."  And the other answered, "I have been told by Málik, on
+the authority of Hishám ibn Orwah,[FN#116] who had it of his
+(grand) father, that the Prophet said, ‘Whoso quickeneth the
+dead, the dead belongeth to him and is his.'  But the Cufite took
+her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in her own hand
+and said, "Al-A'amash telleth us, on the authority of Khaysamah,
+who had it of Abdallah bin Mas'ud, that the Prophet declared,
+‘Game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth
+it.'"  And this is also related of
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE
+                          SLAVE-GIRLS
+
+
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a
+Meccan, a Medinite and an Irakite.  The Medinah girl put her hand
+to his yard and handled it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan
+sprang up and drew it to herself.  Quoth the other, "What is this
+unjust aggression?  A tradition was related to me by
+Málik[FN#117] after Al-Zuhri, after Abdallah ibn Sálim, after
+Sa'íd bin Zayd, that the Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and
+keep!) said:  ‘Whoso enquickeneth a dead land, it is his.'  And
+the Meccan answered, "It is related to us by Sufyán, from Abu
+Zanád, from Al-A'araj, from Abu Horayrah, that the Apostle of
+Allah said: ‘The quarry is his who catcheth it, not his who
+starteth it.'"  But the Irak girl pushed them both away and
+taking it to herself, said, "This is mine, till your contention
+be decided."  And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+                    THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE
+
+
+
+There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was
+married to a wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him
+because she was sweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her and held
+aloof from her.  One night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who
+said to him, "Dig in such a spot of the ass's round in the mill,
+and thou shalt find a hoard."  When he awoke, he told his wife
+the vision and bade her keep the secret; but she told her
+neighbour,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+miller's wife told the secret to the neighbour whom she loved,
+thinking to win his favour; and he agreed with her to come to her
+by night.  So he came and they dug in the mill and found the
+treasure and took it forth.  Then he asked her, "How shall we do
+with this?" and she answered; "We will divide it into two halves
+and will share it equally between us, and do thou leave thy wife
+and I will cast about to rid me of my husband.  Then shalt thou
+marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will join the two halves
+of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands."
+Quoth he, "I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other
+man other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in
+the world.  I reck, therefore, it were right that the money be
+all in my hands, so thou give thy whole mind to getting free of
+thy husband and coming to me."  Quoth she, "I fear even as thou
+fearest, nor will I yield up my part to thee; for it was I
+directed thee to it."  When he heard this, greed of gain prompted
+him to kill her; so he slew her and threw her body into the empty
+hoard-hole; but day overtook him and hindered him from covering
+it up; he therefore took the money and went his way.  Now after a
+while the miller awoke and, missing his wife, went into the mill,
+where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it.  It went
+on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but
+the more he bashed it, the more it drew back; for it was
+affrighted at the dead woman and could not go forward.  Thereupon
+the Miller, unknowing what hindered the donkey, took out a knife
+and goaded it again and again, but still it would not budge.
+Then he was wroth with it, knowing not the cause of its
+obstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks, and it fell down
+dead.  But when the sun rose, he saw his donkey lying dead and
+likewise his wife in the place of the treasure, and great was his
+rage and sore his wrath for the loss of his hoard and the death
+of his wife and his ass.  All this came of his letting his wife
+into his secret and not keeping it to himself.[FN#118]  And I
+have heard this tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+                 THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER
+
+
+
+A certain simpleton was once walking along, haling his ass after
+him by the halter, when a pair of sharpers saw him and one said
+to his fellow, "I will take that ass from yonder wight."  Asked
+the other, "How wilt thou do that?"  "Follow me and I will show
+thee how," answered the first.  So the cony-catcher went up to
+the ass and, loosing it from the halter, gave the beast to his
+fellow; then he haltered his own head and followed Tom Fool till
+he knew the other had got clean off with the ass, when he stood
+still.  The oaf haled at the halter, but the rascal stirred not;
+so he turned and seeing the halter on a man's neck, said to him,
+"What art thou?"  Quoth the sharper, "I am thine ass and my story
+is a wonderous one and ‘tis this.  Know that I have a pious old
+mother and come in to her one day, drunk; and she said to me: ‘O
+my son, repent to the Almighty of these thy transgressions.'  But
+I took my staff and beat her, whereupon she cursed me and Allah
+changed me into an ass and caused me fall into thy hands, where I
+have remained till this moment.  However, to-day, my mother
+called me to mind and her heart yearned towards me; so she prayed
+for me and the Lord restored me to my former shape amongst the
+sons of Adam."  Cried the silly one, "There is no Majesty and
+there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!  Allah
+upon thee, O my brother, acquit me of what I have done with thee
+in the way of riding and so forth."  Then he let the cony-catcher
+go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern as with
+wine.  His wife asked him, "What aileth thee and where is the
+donkey?"; and he answered, "Thou knowest not what was this ass;
+but I will tell thee."  So he told her the story, and she
+exclaimed, "Alack and alas for the punishment we shall receive
+from Almighty Allah!  How could we have used a man as a beast of
+burden, all this while?  And she gave alms by way of atonement
+and prayed pardon of Heaven.[FN#119]  Then the man abode awhile
+at home, idle and feckless, till she said to him, "How long wilt
+thou sit at home doing naught?  Go to the market and buy us an
+ass and ply thy work with it."  Accordingly, he went to the
+market and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own
+ass for sale.  So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its
+ear, said to it, "Woe to thee, thou ne'er-do-well!  Doubtless
+thou hast been getting drunk again and beating thy mother!  But,
+by Allah, I will never buy thee more."[FN#120]  and he left it
+and went away.  And they tell a tale concerning
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID
+                       AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH
+
+
+
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid went up one noon-tide to his couch, to
+lie down; and mounting, found upon the bed-clothes semen freshly
+emitted; whereat he was startled and troubled with sore trouble.
+So he called the Lady Zubaydah and said to her, "What is that
+spilt on the bed?"  She looked at it and replied, "O Commander of
+the Faithful, it is semen."  Quoth he, "Tell me truly what this
+meaneth or I will lay violent hands on thee forthright."  Quoth
+she, "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I know not
+how it came there and I am guiltless of that whereof you
+suspectest me."  So he sent for the Kazi Abú Yúsuf and acquainted
+him of the case.  The Judge raised his eyes to the ceiling and,
+seeing a crack therein, said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, in very sooth the bat hath seed like that of a
+man,[FN#121] and this is bat's semen."  Then he called for a
+spear and thrust it into the crevice, whereupon down fell the
+bat.  In this manner the Caliph's suspicions were dispelled,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-ninth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Kazi Abu Yusuf took the spear and thrust it into the crevice,
+down fell the bat, and thus the Caliph's suspicions were
+dispelled and the innocence of Zubaydah was made manifest;
+whereat she gave loud and liberal vent to her joy and promised
+Abu Yusuf a magnificent reward.  Now there were with her certain
+delicious fruits, out of their season, and she knew of others in
+the garden; so she asked Abu Yusuf, "O Imam of the Faith, which
+wouldst thou rather have of the two kinds of fruits, those that
+are here or those that are not here?"  And he answered, "Our code
+forbiddeth us to pronounce judgement on the absent; whenas they
+are present, we will give our decision."  So she let bring the
+two kinds of fruits before him; and he ate of both.  Quoth she,
+"What is the difference between them?" and quoth he, "As often as
+I think to praise one kind, the adversary putteth in its claim."
+The Caliph laughed at his answer[FN#122] and made him a rich
+present; and Zubaydah also gave him what she had promised him,
+and he went away, rejoicing.  See, then the virtues of this Imám
+and how his hands were manifest the truth and the innocence of
+the Lady Zubaydah.  And amongst other stories is that of
+
+
+
+
+
+          THE CALIPH AL-HAKIM[FN#123] AND THE MERCHANT
+
+
+
+The Caliph Al-Hákim bi-Amri'llah was riding out in state
+procession one day, when he passed along a garden, wherein he saw
+a man, surrounded by negro-slaves and eunuchs.  He asked him for
+a draught of water, and the man gave him to drink, saying,
+"Belike, the Commander of the Faithful will honour me by
+alighting in this my garden."  So the Caliph dismounted and with
+his suite entered the garden; whereupon the said man brought out
+to them an hundred rugs and an hundred leather mats and an
+hundred cushions; and set before them an hundred dishes of
+fruits, an hundred bowls of sweetmeats and an hundred jars of
+sugared sherbets; at which the Caliph marvelled with much amaze
+and said to his host, "O man, verily this thy case is wondrous:
+didst thou know of our coming and make this preparation for us?"
+He replied, "No by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew not
+of thy coming and I am a merchant of the rest of thy subjects;
+but I have an hundred concubines; so, when the Commander of the
+Faithful honoured me by alighting with me, I sent to each of
+them, bidding her send me her morning-meal in the garden.  So
+they sent me each of her furniture and the surplus of her meat
+and drink: and every day each sendeth me a dish of meat and
+another of cooling marinades, also a platter of fruits and a bowl
+of sweetmeats and a jar of sherbet.  This is my noon-day dinner,
+nor have I added aught thereto for thee."  Then the Commander of
+the Faithful, Al-Hakim bi-Amri'llah prostrated himself in
+thanksgiving to the Almighty (extolled and exalted be His name!)
+and said, "Praise be Allah, who hath been so bountiful to one of
+our lieges, that he entertaineth the Caliph and his host, without
+making ready for them; nay, he feedeth them with the surplusage
+of his day's provision!"  Then he sent for all the dirhams in the
+treasury, that had been struck that year (and they were in number
+three thousand and seven hundred thousand); nor did he mount
+until the money came, when he gave it to the merchant, saying,
+"Use this as thy state may require; and thy generosity deserveth
+more than this."  Then he took horse and rode away.  And I have
+heard a story concerning
+
+
+
+
+
+             KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN[FN#124] AND THE
+                         VILLAGE DAMSEL
+
+
+
+The Just King, Kisrá Anúshirwán, one day rode forth to the chase
+and, in pursuit of a deer, became separated from his suite.
+Presently, he caught sight of a hamlet near hand and being sore
+athirst, he made for it and presenting himself at the door of a
+house that lay by the wayside, asked for a draught of water.  So
+a damsel came out and looked at him; then, going back into the
+house, pressed the juice from a single sugar-cane into a bowl and
+mixed it with water; after which she strewed on the top some
+scented stuff, as it were dust, and carried it tot he King.
+Thereupon he seeing in it what resembled dust, drank it, little
+by little, till he came to the end; when said he to her, "O
+damsel, the drink is good, and how sweet it had been but for this
+dust in it that troubleth it."  Answered she, "O guest, I put in
+that powder for a purpose;" and he asked, "And why didst thou
+thus?"; so she replied, "I saw thee exceedingly thirsty and
+feared that thou wouldst drain the whole at one draught and that
+this would thee mischief; and but for this dust that troubled the
+drink so hadst thou done."  The Just King wondered at her words,
+knowing that they came of her wit and good sense, and said to
+her, "From how many sugar canes didst thou express this draught?"
+"One," answered she; whereat Anushirwan marvelled and, calling
+for the register of the village taxes, saw that its assessment
+was but little and bethought him to increase it, on his return to
+his palace, saying in himself, "A village where they get this
+much juice out of one sugar-cane, why is it so lightly taxed?"
+He then left the village and pursued his chase; and, as he came
+back at the end of the day, he passed alone by the same door and
+called again for drink; whereupon the same damsel came out and,
+knowing him at a look, went in to fetch him water.  It was some
+time before she returned and Anushirwan wondered thereat and said
+to her, "Why hast thou tarried?"--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Three hundred and Ninetieth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+Anushirwan hurried the damsel and asked her, "Why hast thou
+tarried?" she answered, "Because a single sugar-cane gave not
+enough for thy need; so I pressed three; but they yielded not to
+much as one did before."  Rejoined he, "What is the cause of
+that?"; and she replied, "The cause of it is that when the
+Sultan's[FN#125] mind is changed against a folk, their prosperity
+ceaseth and their good waxeth less."  So Anushirwan laughed and
+dismissed from his mind that which he had purposed against the
+villagers.  Moreover, he took the damsel to wife then and there,
+being pleased with her much wit and acuteness and the excellence
+of her speech.  And they tell another tale of the
+
+
+
+
+
+           WATER-CARRIER[FN#126] AND THE GOLDSMITH'S
+                              WIFE
+
+
+
+There was once, in the city of Bokhara, a water-carrier, who used
+to carry water to the house of a goldsmith and had done this
+thirty years.  Now that goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty
+and loveliness, brilliancy and perfect grace; and she was withal
+renowned for piety, chastity and modesty.  One day the water-
+carrier came, as of custom, and poured the water into the
+cisterns.  Now the woman was standing in the midst of the court;
+so he went close up to her and taking her hand, stroked it and
+pressed it, then went away and left her.  When her husband came
+home from the bazar, she said to him, "I would have thee tell me
+what thing thou hast done in the market this day, to anger
+Almighty Allah." Quoth he, "I have done nothing to offend the
+Lord."  "Nay," rejoined she, "but, by Allah, thou hast indeed
+done something to anger Him; and unless thou tell me the whole
+truth, I will not abide in thy house, and thou shalt not see me,
+nor will I see thee."  So he confessed, "I will tell thee the
+truth of what I did this day.  It so chanced that, as I was
+sitting in my shop, as of wont, a woman came up to me and bade me
+make her a bracelet of gold.  Then she went away and I wrought
+her a bracelet and laid it aside.  But when she returned and I
+brought her out the bracelet, she put forth her hand and I
+clasped the bracelet on her wrist; and I wondered at the
+whiteness of her hand and the beauty of her wrist, which would
+captivate any beholder; and I recalled what the poet saith,
+
+     ‘Her fore-arms, dight with their bangles, show *
+          Like fire ablaze on the waves a-flow;
+     As by purest gold were the water girt, *
+          And belted around by a living lowe.'
+
+So I took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it."  Said the
+woman, "Great God!  Why didst thou this ill thing?  Know that the
+water-carrier, who hath come to our house these thirty years, nor
+sawst thou ever any treason in him took my hand this day and
+pressed and squeezed it."  Said her husband, "O woman, let us
+crave pardon of Allah!  Verily, I repent of what I did, and do
+thou ask forgiveness of the Lord for me."  She cried, "Allah
+pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy keeping."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+goldsmith's wife cried out, "Allah pardon me and thee, and
+receive us into his holy keeping!"  And on the next day, the
+water-carrier came in to the jeweller's wife and, throwing
+himself at her feet, grovelled in the dust and besought pardon of
+her, saying, "O my lady, acquit me of that which Satan deluded me
+to do; for it was he that seduced me and led me astray."  She
+answered, "Go thy ways, the sin was not in thee, but in my
+husband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and Allah hath
+retaliated upon him in this world."  And it related that the
+goldsmith, when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used
+her, said, "Tit for tat, and blow for blow!; had I done more the
+water-carrier had done more";--which became a current byword
+among the folk.  Therefore it behoveth a wife to be both outward
+and inward with her husband; contenting herself with little from
+him, if he cannot give her much, and taking pattern by Ayishah
+the Truthful and Fatimah the virgin mother (Allah Almighty accept
+of them the twain!), that she may be of the company of the
+righteous ancestry.[FN#127]  And I have heard the following tale
+of
+
+
+
+
+              KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN
+
+
+
+King Khusrau[FN#128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one
+day, as he sat in his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came
+a fisherman, with a great fish, and he laid it before the King,
+who was pleased and ordered the man four thousand
+dirhams.[FN#129]  Thereupon Shirin said to the King, "Thou hast
+done ill."  Asked he, "And why?", and she answered, "Because if,
+after this, though give one of thy courtiers a like sum, he will
+disdain it and say, ‘He hath but given me the like of what he
+gave the fisherman.'  And if thou give him less, the same will
+say, ‘He despiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the
+fisherman.'"  Rejoined Khusrau, "Thou art right, but it would
+dishonour a king to go back on his gift; and the thing is done."
+Quoth Shirin, "If thou wilt, I will contrive thee a means to get
+it back from him."  Quoth he, "How so?"; and she said, "Call
+back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him if the fish be
+male or female.  If he say, ‘Male,' say thou, ‘We want a female,'
+and if he say, ‘Female,' say, ‘We want a male.'"  So the King
+sent for the fisherman, who was a man of wit and astuteness, and
+said to him, "Is this fish male or female?" whereupon the
+fisherman kissed the ground and answered, "This fish is an
+hermaphrodite,[FN#130] neither male nor female."  Khusrau laughed
+at his clever reply and ordered him other four thousand dirhams.
+So the fisherman went to the treasurer and, taking his eight
+thousand dirhams, put them in a sack he had with him.  Then,
+throwing it over his shoulder, he was going away, when he dropped
+a dirham; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped down to
+pick it up.  Now the King and Shirin were looking on, and the
+Queen said, "O King, didst thou note the meanness of the man, in
+that he must needs stoop down to pick up the one dirham, and
+could not bring himself to leave it for any of the King's
+servants?"  When the King heard these words, he was exceeding
+wroth with the fisherman and said, "Thou art right, O Shirin!"
+So he called the man back and said to him, "Thou low-minded
+carle!  Thou art no man!  How couldst thou put the bag with all
+this money off thy back and bend thee groundwards to pick up the
+one dirham and grudge to leave it where it fell?"  Thereupon the
+fisherman kissed the earth before him and answered, "May Allah
+prolong the King's life!  Indeed, I did not pick up the dirham
+off the ground because of its value in my eyes; but I raised it
+off the earth because on one of its faces is the likeness of the
+King and on the other his name; and I feared lest any should
+unwittingly set foot upon it, thus dishonouring the name and
+presentment of the King, and I be blamed for this offence."  The
+King wondered at his words and approved of his wit and
+shrewdness, and ordered him yet another four thousand dirhams.
+Moreover, he bade cry abroad in his kingdom, saying, "It behoveth
+none to be guided by women's counsel; for whoso followeth their
+advice, loseth, with his one dirham, other twain."[FN#131]  And
+here is the tale they tell of
+
+
+
+
+
+             YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE AND THE
+                            POOR MAN
+
+
+
+Yahya bin Khálid the Barmecide was returning home, one day, from
+the Caliph's palace, when he saw, at the gate of his mansion, a
+man who rose as he drew near and saluted him, saying, "O Yahya, I
+am in sore need of that which is in they hand, and I make Allah
+my intermediary with thee."  So Yahya caused a place to be set
+aside for him in his house and bade his treasurer carry him a
+thousand dirhams every day and ordered that his diet be of the
+choicest of his own meat.  The man abode in this case a whole
+month, at the end of which time, having received in all thirty
+thousand dirhams and fearing lest Yahya should take the money
+from him, because of the greatness of the sum, he departed by
+stealth.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man,
+taking with him the money, departed by stealth.  But when they
+told Yahya of this, he said, "By Allah, though he had tarried
+with me to the end of his days, yet had I not stinted him of my
+largesse nor cut off from him the bounties of my hospitality!"
+For, indeed, the excellences of the Barmecides were past count
+nor can their virtues be committed to description, especially
+those of Yahya bin Khalid, for he was an ocean[FN#132] of noble
+qualities, even as saith the poet of him,
+
+     "I asked of Bounty, ‘Art thou free?'  Quoth she, *
+          ‘No, I am slave to Yahyá Khálid-son!'
+     ‘Boughten?' asked I.  ‘Allah forfend,' quoth she, *
+          ‘By heirship, sire to sire's transmission!'"
+
+And the following is related of
+
+
+
+
+
+              MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL
+
+
+
+Ja'afar bin Musá al-Hádi[FN#133] once had a slave-girl, a lutist,
+called Al-Badr al-Kabír, than whom there was not in her time a
+fairer of face nor shapelier of shape nor a more elegant of
+manners nor a more accomplished in the art of singing and
+striking the strings; she was indeed perfect in beauty and
+extreme in every charm.  Now Mohammed al-Amín,[FN#134] son of
+Zubaydah, heard of her and was urgent with Ja'afar to sell her to
+him; but he replied, "Thou knowest it beseemeth not one of my
+rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on concubines; but were
+she not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift, not
+grudge her to thee."  And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this
+went to Ja'afar's house, to make merry; and the host set before
+him that which it behoveth to set before true friends and bade
+the damsel Al-Badr al-Kabir sing to him and gladden him.  So she
+tuned the lute and sang with a ravishing melody; whilst Mohammed
+al-Amin fell to drinking and jollity and bade the cupbearers ply
+Ja'afar with much wine, till they made him drunken, when he took
+the damsel and carried her to his own house, but laid not a
+finger on her.  And when the morrow dawned he bade invite
+Ja'afar; and when he came, he set wine before him and made the
+girl sing to him, from behind the curtain.  Ja'afar knew her
+voice and was angered at this, but, of the nobleness of his
+nature and the magnanimity of his mind he showed no change.  Now
+when the carousal was at an end, Al-Amin commanded one of his
+servants to fill the boat, wherein Ja'afar had come, with dirhams
+and dinars and all manner of jewels and jacinths and rich raiment
+and goods galore.  So he laid therein a thousand myriads of money
+and a thousand fine pearls, each worth twenty thousand dirhams;
+nor did he give over loading the barge with all manner of things
+precious and rare, till the boatmen cried out for help, saying,
+"The boat can't hold any more;" whereupon he bade them carry all
+this to Ja'afar's palace.  Such are the exploits of the
+magnanimous, Allah have mercy on them!  And a tale is related of
+
+
+
+
+
+           THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SA'ID BIN
+                        SALIM AL-BAHILI
+
+
+
+Quoth Sa'íd bin Sálim al'Báhilí,[FN#135] I was once in very
+narrow case, during the days of Harun al-Rashid, and debts
+accumulated upon me, burdening my back, and these I had no means
+of discharging.  I was at my wits' end what to do, for my doors
+were blocking up with creditors and I was without cease
+importuned for payment by claimants, who dunned me in crowds till
+at last I was sore perplexed and troubled.  So I betook myself to
+Abdallah bin Málik al-Khuza'í[FN#136] and besought him to extend
+the hand of aid with his judgement and direct me of his good
+counsel to the door of relief; and he said, ‘None can save thee
+from this thy strait and sorrowful state save the Barmecides.'
+Quoth I, ‘Who can brook their pride and put up patiently with
+their arrogant pretensions?' and quoth he, ‘Thou wilt put up with
+all this for the bettering of thy case.'"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-third Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah
+ibn Malik al-Khuza'i said to Sa'id bin Salim, "Thou wilt put up
+with all this for the bettering of thy case."  "So I left him
+suddenly (continued Sa'id) and went straight to Al-Fazl and
+Ja'afar, sons of Yahyá bin Khálid, to whom I related my
+circumstances; whereto they replied, ‘Allah give thee His aid,
+and render thee by His bounties independent of His creatures and
+vouchsafe thee abundant weal and bestow on thee what shall
+suffice thee, without the need of any but Himself; for whatso He
+willeth that He can, and He is gracious with His servants and
+knoweth their wants.'  So I went out from the twain and returned
+to Abdallah, with straitened breast and mind perplexed and heavy
+of heart, and repeated to him what they had said.  Quoth he,
+‘Thou wouldst do well to abide with us this day, that we may see
+what Allah Almighty will decree.'  So I sat with him awhile, when
+lo! up came my servant, who said to me, ‘O my lord, there are at
+our door many laden mules and with them a man, who says he is the
+agent of Al-Fazl and Ja'afar bin Yahya.'  Quoth Abdallah, ‘I
+trust that relief is come to thee: rise up and go see what is the
+matter.'  So I left him and, hastening to my house, found at the
+door a man who gave me a note wherein was written the following:
+‘After thou hadst been with us and we heard thy case, we betook
+ourselves to the Caliph and informed him that ill condition had
+reduced thee to the humiliation of begging; where upon he ordered
+us to supply thee with a thousand thousand dirhams from the
+Treasury.  We represented to him: ‘The debtor will spend this
+money in paying off creditors and wiping off debt; whence then
+shall he provide for his subsistence?  So he ordered thee other
+three hundred thousand, and each of us hath also sent thee, of
+his proper wealth, a thousand thousand dirhams: so that thou hast
+now three thousand thousand and three hundred thousand dirhams
+wherewithal to order and amend thine estate.'"  See, then, the
+munificence of these magnificos: Almighty Allah have mercy on
+them!  And a tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+
+             THE WOMAN'S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND
+
+
+
+A man brought his wife a fish one Friday and, bidding her to cook
+it against the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his
+craft and business.  Meanwhile in came her friend who bade her to
+a wedding at his house; so she agreed and, laying the fish in a
+jar of water, went off with him and was absent a whole week till
+the Friday following;[FN#137] whilst her husband sought her from
+house to house and enquired after her; but none could give him
+any tidings of her.  Now on the next Friday she came home and he
+fell foul of her; but she brought out to him the fish alive from
+the jar and assembled the folk against him and told them her
+tale.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman
+brought out the fish alive from the water-jar and assembled the
+folk against her husband, and told them her tale.  He also told
+his; but they credited him not and said, "It cannot be that the
+fish should have remained alive all this while."  So they proved
+him mad and imprisoned him and mocked at him, where upon he shed
+tears in floods and recited these two couplets,
+
+     "Old hag, of high degree in filthy life, *
+          Whose face her monstrous lewdness witnesses.
+     When menstuous she bawds; when clean she whores; *
+          And all her time bawd or adulteress is."
+
+And a tale is related of the
+
+
+
+
+
+              THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED
+                         ELDERS[FN#138]
+
+
+
+There was in times of yore and in ages long gone before, a
+virtuous woman among the children of Israel, who was pious and
+devout and used every day to go out to the place of prayer, first
+entering a garden, which adjoined thereto, and there making the
+minor ablution.  Now there were in this garden two old men, its
+keepers, and both Shaykhs fell in love with her and sought her
+favours; but she refused, whereupon said they, "Unless thou yield
+thy body to us, we will bear witness against thee of
+fornication."  Quoth she, "Allah will preserve me from your
+frowardness!"  Then they opened the garden-gate and cried out,
+and the folk came to them from all places, saying "What aileth
+you?"  Quoth they, "We found this damsel in company with a youth
+who was doing lewdness with her; but he escaped from our hands."
+Now it was the wont of the people in those days to expose
+adulterer and adulteress to public reproach for three days, and
+after stone them.  So they cried her name in the public streets
+for three days, while the two elders came up to her daily and,
+laying their hands on her head, said, "Praised be Allah who hath
+sent down on thee His righteous indignation!"  Now on the fourth
+day, when they bore her away to stone her, they were followed by
+a lad named Daniel, who was then only twelve years old, and this
+was to be the first of his miracles (upon our Prophet and upon
+him the blessing and peace!).  And he ceased not following them
+to the place of execution, till he came up with them and said to
+them, "Hasten not to stone her, till I judge between them."  So
+they set him a chair and he sat down and summoned the old men
+separately.  (Now he was the first ever separated witnesses.)
+Then said he to the first, "What sawest thou?"[FN#139]  So he
+repeated to him his story, and Daniel asked, "In what part of the
+garden did this befal?" and he answered, "On the eastern side,
+under a pear-tree."  Then he called the other old man and asked
+him the same question, and he replied, "On the western side of
+the garden, under an apple-tree."  Meanwhile the damsel stood by,
+with her hands and eyes raised heavenwards, imploring the Lord
+for deliverance.  Then Allah Almighty sent down His blasting
+leven-fire upon the elders and consumed them, and on this wise
+the Lord made manifest the innocence of the damsel.  Such was the
+first of the miracles of the Prophet Daniel, on whom be blessing
+and peace!  And they relate a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+            JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWL
+
+
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, went out one day,
+with Abu Ya'Kúb the cup-companion[FN#140] and Ja'afar the
+Barmecide and Abu Nowas, into the desert, where they fell in with
+an old man, propt against his ass.  The Caliph bade Ja'afar learn
+of him whence he came; so he asked him, "Whence comest thou?" and
+he answered, "From Bassorah."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+Ja'afar asked the man, "Whence comest thou?"; he answered "From
+Bassorah."  Quoth Ja'afar, "And whither goest thou?"  Quoth the
+other, "To Baghdad."  Then Ja'afar enquired "And what wilt thou
+do there?" and the old man replied, "I go to seek medicine for my
+eye."  Said the Caliph, "O Ja'afar, make thou sport with him,"
+and answered Ja'afar, "I shall hear what I shall exceedingly
+mislike."[FN#141]  But Al-Rashid rejoined, "I charge thee on my
+authority, jest with him."  Thereupon Ja'afar said to the Badawi,
+"If I prescribe thee a medicine that shall profit thee, what wilt
+thou give me in return?"  Quoth the other, "Allah Almighty will
+requite the kindness with what is better for thee than any
+requital of mine."  Continued Ja'afar, "Now lend me an ear and I
+will give thee a prescription, which I have given to none but
+thee."  "What is that?" asked the Badawi; and Ja'afar answered,
+"Take three ounces of wind-breaths and the like of sunbeams and
+the same of moonshine and as much of lamp-light; mix them well
+together and let them lie in the wind three months.  Then place
+them three months in a mortar without a bottom and pound them to
+a fine powder and after trituration set them in a cleft platter,
+and let it stand in the wind other three months; after which use
+of this medicine three drachms every night in thy sleep, and,
+Inshallah! thou shalt be healed and whole."  Now when the Badawi
+heard this, he stretched himself out to full length on the
+donkey's back and let fly a terrible loud fart[FN#142] and said
+to Ja'afar, "Take this fart in payment of thy prescription.  When
+I have followed it, if Allah grant me recovery, I will give thee
+a slave-girl, who shall serve thee in they lifetime a service,
+wherewith Allah shall cut short thy term; and when thou diest and
+the Lord hurrieth thy soul to hell-fire, she shall blacken thy
+face with her skite, of her mourning for thee, and shall keen and
+beat her face, saying ‘O frosty-beard, what a fool thou
+wast?'"[FN#143]  thereupon Harun al-Rashid laughed till he fell
+backward, and ordered the Badawi three thousand silver pieces.
+And a tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+
+             THE CALIPH OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE
+                          YOUNG BADAWI
+
+
+
+The Sharif Husayn bin Rayyán relateth that the Caliph Omar bin
+Al-Khattáb was sitting one day judging the folk and doing justice
+between his subjects, attended by the best and wisest of his
+counsellors, when there came up to him a youth comely and cleanly
+attired, upon whom two very handsome youths had laid hold and
+were haling by the collar till they set him in the presence.
+Whereupon the Commander of the Faithful, Omar, looked at him and
+them and bade them loose him; then, calling him near to himself,
+asked the twain, "What is your case with him?"  They answered, "O
+Prince of True Believers, we are two brothers by one mother and
+as followers of verity known are we.  We had a father, a very old
+man of good counsel, honoured by the tribes, sound of baseness
+renowned for goodliness, who reared us tenderly in childhood, and
+loaded us with favours in manhood;"--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two
+youths said to the Commander of the Faithful, Omar son of Al-
+Khattab, "Our father was a man honoured by the tribes, sound of
+baseness and renowned for goodliness, who reared us delicately in
+childhood and loaded us with favours in manhood; in fine, a sea
+of noble and illustrious qualities, worthy of the poet's praise,
+
+     ‘Is Aub's-Sakr of Shaybán[FN#144]?' they asked; *
+          Quoth I, ‘Nay, by my life, of him's Shaybán:
+     How many a sire rose high by a noble son, *
+          As Allah's prophet glorified Adnan!'[FN#145]
+
+Now he went forth this day to his garden, to refresh himself
+amongst its trees and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man
+slew him wrongously and swerved from the road of righteousness;
+wherefore we demand of thee the retribution of his crime and call
+upon thee to pass judgement upon him, according to the
+commandment of Allah."  Then Omar cast a terrible look at the
+accused youth and said to him, "Verily thou hearest the complaint
+these two young men prefer; what hast thou in reply to aver?"
+But he was brave of heart and bold of speech, having doffed the
+robe of pusillanimity and put off the garb of cowardry; so he
+smiled and spake in the most eloquent and elegant words; and,
+after paying the usual ceremonial compliments to the Caliph,
+said, ""By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I have indeed
+given ear to their complaint, and they have told the truth in
+that which they tell, so far as they have set out what befel; and
+the commandment of Allah is a decreed decree.[FN#146]  but I will
+forthright state my case between they hands, and it is for thee
+to give commands.  Know then, O Prince of the Faithful, that I am
+a very Arab of the Arabies,[FN#147] the noblest of those that are
+beneath the skies.  I grew up in the dwellings of the wold and
+fell, till evil times my tribe befel, when I came to the
+outskirts of this town, with my family and whatso goods I own:
+and, as I went along one of the paths leading to its gardens,
+orchards and garths, with my she-camels highly esteemed and by me
+most precious deemed, and midst them a stallion of noble blood
+and shape right good, a plenteous getter of brood, by whom the
+females abundantly bore and who walked among them as though a
+kingly crown he wore, one of the she-camels broke away; and,
+running to the garden of these young men's father, where the
+trees showed above the wall, put forth her lips and began to feed
+as in stall.  I ran to her, to drive her away, when behold, there
+appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man and grey, whose
+eyes sparkled with angry ray, holding in his right a stone to
+throw and swaying to and fro, with a swing like a lion ready for
+a spring.  He cast the stone at my stallion, and it killed him
+for it struck a vital part.  When I saw the stallion drop dead
+beside me, I felt live coals of anger kindled in my heart; so I
+took up the very same stone and throwing it at the old man, it
+was the cause of his bane and ban: thus his own wrongful act
+returned to him anew, and the man was slain of that wherewith he
+slew.  When the stone struck him, he cried out with a great cry
+and shrieked out a terrible shriek, whereupon I hastened from the
+spot; but these two young men hurried after me and laid hands on
+me and before thee carried me."  Quoth Omar (Almighty Allah
+accept of him!), "Thou hast confessed what thou committedest, and
+of acquittal there is no possible occasion; for urgent is the law
+of retaliation and they cried for mercy but it was not a time to
+escape."[FN#148]  the youth answered, "I hear and obey the
+judgement of the Imam, and I consent to all required by the law
+of Al-Islam; but I have a young brother, whose old father, before
+his decease, appointed to him wealth in great store and gold
+galore, and committed his affair to me before Allah, saying: ‘I
+give this into thy hand for thy brother; keep it for him with all
+thy might.'  So I took the money and buried it; nor doth any know
+of it but I.  Now, if thou adjudge me to be justiced forthright,
+the money will lost and thou shalt be the cause of its loss;
+wherefore the child will sue thee for his due on the day when the
+Creator shall judge between His creatures.  But, if thou wilt
+grant me three days' delay, I will appoint some guardian to
+administer the affairs of the boy and return to answer my debt;
+and I have one who will be my surety for the fulfillment of this
+my promise."  So the Commander of the Faithful bowed his head
+awhile, then raised it and looking round upon those present,
+said, "Who will stand surety by me for his return to this place?"
+And the youth looked at the faces of those who were in company
+and pointing to Abu Zarr,[FN#149] in preference to all present,
+said, "This man shall answer for me and be my bail."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+youth pointed to Abu Zarr and said, "This man shall answer for me
+and be my bail," Omar (Allah accept of him!) said, O Abu Zarr,
+dost thou hear these words and wilt thou be surety to me for the
+return of this youth?"  He answered, "Yes, O Commander of the
+Faithful, I will be surety for him for three days."  So the
+Caliph accepted his guarantee and let the young man go.  Now when
+the appointed time passed and the days of grace were nearly or
+quite at end yet the youth came not, the Caliph took seat in his
+council, with the Companions surrounding him, like the
+constellations about the moon, Abu Zarr and the plaintiffs being
+also present; and the avengers said, "Where is the defendant, O
+Abu Zarr, and how shall he return, having once fled?   But we
+will not stir from our places till thou bring him to us, that we
+may take of him our blood revenge."  Replied Abu Zarr, "By the
+truth of the All-Wise King, if the three days of grace expire and
+the young man returneth not, I will fulfill my warranty and
+surrender my person to the Imam;" and added Omar (whom Allah
+accept!), "By the Lord, if the young man appear not, I will
+assuredly execute on Abu Zarr that which is prescribed by the law
+of Al-Islam!"[FN#150]  thereupon the eyes of the bystanders ran
+over with tears; those who looked on groaned aloud and great was
+the clamour.  Then the chiefs of the Companions urged the
+plaintiffs to accept the blood-wit and deserve the thanks of the
+folk; but they both refused and would accept nothing save the
+talion.  However, as the folk were swaying to and fro like waves
+and loudly bemoaning Abu Zarr, behold, up came the young Badawi;
+and, standing before the Imam, saluted him right courteously
+(with sweat-beaded face and shining with the crescent's grace)
+and said to him, "I have given the lad in charge to his mother's
+brothers and have made them acquainted with all that pertaineth
+to his affairs and let them into the secrets of his monies; after
+which I braved the heats of noon and have kept my word as a free-
+born man."  Thereupon the folk marvelled, seeing his good faith
+and loyalty and his offering himself to death with so stout a
+heart; and one said to him, "How noble a youth art thou and how
+loyal to thy word of honour and thy devoir!"  Rejoined he, "Are
+ye not convinced that when death presenteth itself, none can
+escape from it?  And indeed, I have kept my word, that it be not
+said, ‘Good faith is gone from among mankind.' " Said Abu Zarr,
+"By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I became warrant for this
+young man, without knowing to what tribe he belonged, nor had I
+seen him before that day; but, when he turned away from all who
+were present and singled me out, saying, ‘This man shall answer
+for me and be my bail,' I thought it not right to refuse him, and
+generosity forbade to disappoint his desire, there being no harm
+in compliance therewith, that it be not bruited abroad,
+Benevolence is gone from among mankind."  Then said the two young
+men, "O Commander of the Faithful, we forgive this youth our
+father's blood, seeing that he hath changed desolation into
+cheerfulness; that it be not said, Humanity is gone from among
+mankind."  So the Caliph rejoiced in the acquittance of the youth
+and his truth and good faith; moreover, he magnified the
+generosity of Abu Zarr, extolling it over all his companions, and
+approved the resolve of the two young men for its benevolence,
+giving them praise with thanks and applying to their case the
+saying of the poet,
+
+     "Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; *
+          Ne'er is kindness lost betwixt God and men."
+
+Then he offered to pay them, from the Treasury, the blood-wit for
+their father; but they refused, saying, "We forgave him only of
+our desire unto Allah,[FN#151] the Bountiful, the Exalted; and he
+who is thus intentioned followeth not his benefits with reproach
+or with mischief."[FN#152]  and amongst the tales they relate is
+that of
+
+
+
+
+
+                  THE CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE
+                   PYRAMIDS[FN#153] OF EGYPT
+
+
+
+It is told that the Caliph Al-Maamun, son of Harun al-Rashid,
+when he entered the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull
+down the Pyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when
+he went about to do this, he could not succeed, albeit his best
+was done.  He expended a mint of money in the attempt,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Three Hundred Ninety-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun
+attempting to pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money,
+but succeeded only in opening up a small tunnel in one of them,
+where in it is said he found treasure to the exact amount of the
+monies he had spent in the works, neither more nor less; whereat
+he marvelled and taking what he found there, desisted from his
+determination.  Now the Pyramids are three, and they are one of
+the Wonders of the World; nor is there on the face of earth aught
+like them for height and fashion and mysteries[FN#154]; for they
+are built of huge rocks, and the builders proceeded by piercing
+one block of stone and setting therein upright rods of
+iron[FN#155]; after which they pierced a second block of stone
+and lowered it upon the first.  Then they poured melted lead upon
+the clamps and set the blocks in geometrical order, till the
+building was complete.  Now the height of each pyramid was an
+hundred cubits, of the normal measure of the day, and it had four
+faces, each three hundred cubits long from the base and thence
+battering upwards to a point.  The ancients say that, in the
+western Pyramid, are thirty chambers of parti-coloured syenite,
+full of precious gems and treasures galore and rare images and
+utensils and costly weapons which are anointed with egromantic
+unguents, so that they may not rust until the day of
+Resurrection.[FN#156]  Therein, also, are vessels of glass which
+bend and break not, containing various kinds of compound drugs
+and sympathetic waters.  In the second Pyramid are the records of
+the priests, written on tablets of syenite, to each priest his
+tablet, whereon are engraved the wonders of his craft and his
+feats; and on the walls are the human figures like idols, working
+with their hands at all manner of mechanism and seated on stepped
+thrones.  Moreover, to each Pyramid there is a guardian treasurer
+who keepeth watch over it and wardeth it, to all eternity,
+against the ravages of time and the shifts of events; and indeed
+the marvels of these Pyramids astound all who have sight and
+insight.  Many are the poems that describe them, thou shalt
+thereby profit no small matter, and among the rest, quoth one of
+them,
+
+     "If Kings would see their high emprize preserved, *
+          ‘Twill be by tongues of monuments they laid:
+     Seest not the Pyramids?  These two endure *
+          Despite what change Time and Change have made."
+
+And quoth another,
+
+     "Look on the Pyramids, and hear the twain *
+          Recount their annals of the long-gone Past:
+     Could they but speak, high marvels had they told *
+          Of what Time did to man from first to last."
+
+And quoth a third,
+
+     "My friend I prithee tell me, 'neath the sky *
+          Is aught with Egypt's Pyramids can compare?
+     Buildings which frighten Time, albe what dwells *
+          On back of earth in fear of Time must fare:
+     If on their marvels rest my sight no more, *
+          Yet these I ever shall in memory bear."
+
+And quoth a fourth,
+
+     "Where is the man who built the Pyramids? *
+          What was his tribe, what day and where his tomb?
+     The monuments survive the men who built *
+          Awhile, till overthrown by touch of Doom."
+
+And men also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+                   THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT
+
+
+
+There was once a thief who repented to Almighty Allah with
+sincere penitence; so he opened himself a shop for the sale of
+stuffs, where he continued to trade awhile. It so chanced one day
+that he locked his shop and went home, and in the night there
+came to the bazar an artful thief disguised in the habit of the
+merchant, and pulling out keys from his sleeve, said to the
+watchman of the market, "Light me this wax-candle."  The watchman
+took the taper and went to light it,--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+watchman took the taper and went to light it, whilst the thief
+opened the shop and lit another candle he had by him.  When the
+watchman came back, he found him seated in the shop, account-
+books inhand, and reckoning with his fingers; nor did he cease to
+do thus till point of day, when he said to the man, "Fetch me a
+camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods for me."  So the
+man fetched him a camel, and the thief took four bales[FN#157] of
+stuffs and gave them to the cameleer, who loaded them on his
+beast.  Then he gave the watchman two dirhams and went away after
+the camel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the
+owner of the shop.  Now when the morning dawned and day broke the
+merchant came and the watchman began greeting him with blessings,
+because of the two dirhams; but the shop-keeper wondered at his
+words as one not knowing what he meant.  When he opened his shop,
+he saw the droppings of the wax and the account-book lying on the
+floor, and looking round, found four bales of stuffs missing.  So
+he asked the watchman what had happened and he told him what has
+passed in the night and what had been said to the cameleer,
+whereupon the merchant bade him fetch the man and asked him,
+"Whither didst thou carry the stuffs this morning?"  Answered the
+driver, "To such a landing-place, and I stowed them on board such
+a vessel."  Said the merchant, "Come with me thither;" so the
+camel-driver carried him to the landing-place and said to him,
+"This be the barque and this be her owner."  Quoth the merchant
+to the seaman, "Whither didst thou carry the merchant and the
+stuff?"  Answered the boat-master, "To such a place, where he
+fetched a camel-driver and, setting the bales on the camel, went
+his ways I know not whither."  "Fetch me the cameleer who carried
+the goods," said the merchant; so he fetched him and the merchant
+said to him, "Whither didst thou carry the bales of goods from
+the ship?"  "To such a Khan," answered he; and the merchant
+rejoined, "Come thither with me and show it to me."  So the
+camel-man went with him to a place far distant from the shore and
+showed him the Khan where he had set down the stuffs, and at the
+same time the false merchant's magazine, which he opened and
+found therein his four bales bound up as they had been packed.
+The thief had laid his cloak over them; so the merchant took the
+cloak as well as the bales and delivered them to the camel-
+driver, who laid them on his camel; after which he locked the
+magazine and went away with the cameleer.  On the way, he was
+confronted with the thief who followed him, till he had shipped
+the bales, when he said to him, "O my brother (Allah have thee in
+His holy keeping!), thou hast indeed recovered thy goods and
+naught of them is lost; so give me back my cloak."  The merchant
+laughed and, giving him back his cloak, let him go unhindered;
+whereupon both went their ways.  And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+              MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI
+
+
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was exceedingly
+restless one night; so he said to his Wazir Ja'afar, "I am
+sleepless to-night and my breast is straitened and I know not
+what to do."  Now his castrato Masrúr was standing before him,
+and he laughed: whereupon the Caliph said "At whom laughest thou?
+Is it to make mock of me or hath madness seized thee?"  Answered
+Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+             When it was the Four Hundredth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Harun al-
+Rashid said to Masrur the Sworder, "Dost thou laugh to make mock
+of me or hath madness seized thee?"  Answered Masrur, "Nay, by
+Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I swear by thy kinship to the
+Prince of Apostles, I did it not of my free will; but I went out
+yesterday to walk within sight of the palace and, coming to the
+bank of the Tigris, saw there the folk collected; so I stopped
+and found a man, Ibn al-Káribí hight, who was making them laugh;
+but just now I recalled what he said, and laughter got the better
+of me; and I crave pardon of thee, O Commander of the Faithful!"
+Quoth the Caliph, "Bring him to me forthright;" so Masrur
+repaired in all haste to Ibn al-Karibi and said to him, "Answer
+the summons of the Commander of the Faithful," whereto he
+replied, "I hear and obey."  "But on condition," added Masrur,
+"that, if he give thee aught, thou shalt have a quarter and the
+rest shall be mine."  Replied the droll, "Nay, thou shalt have
+half and I half."  Rejoined Masrur, "Not so, I will have three-
+quarters."  Lastly said Ibn al-Karibi, "Thou shalt have two-
+thirds and I the other third;" to which Masrur agreed, after much
+higgling and haggling, and they returned to the palace together.
+Now when Ibn al-Karibi came into the Caliph's presence he saluted
+him as men greet the Caliphate, and stood before him; whereupon
+said Al-Rashid to him, "If thou do not make me laugh, I will give
+thee three blows with this bag."  Quoth Ibn al-Karibi in his
+mind, "And a small matter were blows with that bag, seeing that
+beating with whips hurteth me not;" for he thought the bag was
+empty.  Then he began to deal out his drolleries, such as would
+make the dismallest jemmy guffaw, and gave vent to all manner of
+buffooneries; but the Caliph laughed not neither smiled, whereat
+Ibn al-Karibi marvelled and was chagrined and affrighted.  Then
+said the Commander of the Faithful, "Now hast thou earned the
+beating," and gave him a blow with the bag, wherein were four
+pebbles each two rotols in weight.  The blow fell on his neck and
+he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact with
+Masrur, said, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful!  Hear two
+words from me."  Quoth the Caliph, "Say on," and quoth Ibn al-
+Karibi, "Masrur made it a condition with me and I a covenant with
+him, that whatsoever largesse might come to me of the bounties of
+the Commander of the Faithful, one-third thereof should be mine
+and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as one-
+third, save after much higgling and haggling.  I have had my
+share and here standeth he, ready to receive his portion; so pay
+him the two other blows."  Now when the Caliph heard this, he
+laughed until he fell on his back; then calling Masrur, he gave
+him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, the one-third sufficeth me: give him the two-thirds."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and First Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur
+cried out, "O Commander of the Faithful! The one-third sufficeth
+me; give him the two-thirds."  So the Caliph laughed at them and
+ordered them a thousand dinars each, and they went away,
+rejoicing at the largesse.  And of the tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+
+                       THE DEVOTEE PRINCE
+
+
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, had a son who,
+from the time he attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world
+and walked in the way[FN#158] of ascetics and devotees.  He was
+wont to go out to the graveyards and say, "Ye once ruled the
+world, but that saved you not from death, and now are ye come to
+your sepulchres!  Would Heaven I knew what ye said and what is
+said to you!"[FN#159]  and he wept as one weepeth who is troubled
+with fear and apprehension, and repeated the worlds of the poet,
+
+     "Affright me funerals at every time; *
+          And wailing women grieve me to the soul!"
+
+Now it chanced one day, as he sat among the tombs, according to
+his custom, his father passed by in all his state, surrounded by
+his Wazirs and Lords of the realm and the Officers of his
+household, who seeing the Caliph's son with a gown of woollen
+stuff on his body and a twist of wool on his head by way of
+turband, said to one another, "Verily this youth dishonoureth the
+Commander of the Faithful among Kings: but, if he reproved him,
+he would leave his present way of life."   The Caliph heard these
+words; so quoth he to his son, "O my dear child, of a truth thou
+disgracest me by thy present way of life."  The young man looked
+at him and made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird perched on
+the battlements of the palace, and said to it, "O thou bird, I
+conjure thee by Him who created thee, alight upon my hand."
+Whereupon straightway it swooped down and perched on his finger.
+Then quoth he, "Return to thy place;" and it did so.  Presently
+he said, "Alight on the hand of the Commander of the Faithful;"
+but it refused there to perch, and he cried to his father, "It is
+thou that disgracest me amongst the Holy[FN#160] Ones, by the
+love of the world; and now I am resolved to part from thee, never
+to return to thee, save in the world to come."  Then he went down
+to Bassorah, where he took to working with those which wrought in
+clay,[FN#161] receiving, as his day's hire, but a dirham and a
+danik;[FN#162] and with the danik he fed himself and gave alms of
+the dirham.  (Quoth Abú Amir of Bassorah) "There fell down a wall
+in my house; so I went forth to the station of the artisans to
+find a man who should repair it for me, and my eyes fell on a
+handsome youth of a radiant countenance.  So I saluted him and
+asked him, ‘O my friend, dost thou seek work?' ‘Yes,' answered
+he; and I said, ‘Come with me and build a wall.'  He replied, ‘On
+certain conditions I will make with thee.'  Quoth I ‘What are
+they, O my friend?'; and quoth he, ‘My wage must be a dirham and
+a danik, and again when the Mu'ezzin calleth to prayer, thou
+shalt let me go pray with the congregation.'  ‘It is well,'
+answered I and carried him to my lace, where he fell to work,
+such work as I never saw the like of.  Presented I named to him
+the morning-meal; but he said, ‘No;' and I knew that he was
+fasting.[FN#163]  When he heard the call to prayer, he said to
+me, ‘Thou knowest the condition?'  ‘Yes,' answered i.  So he
+loosed his girdle and, applying himself to the lesser ablution,
+made it after a fashion than which I never saw a fairer;[FN#164]
+then he went to the mosque and prayed with the congregation and
+returned to his work.  He did the same upon the call to mid-
+afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to work again
+thereafterward, I said to him, ‘O my friend, verily the hours of
+labour are over; a workman's day is but till the time of
+afternoon-prayer.'  But he replied, ‘Praise to the Lord, my
+service is till the night.'  And he ceased not to work till
+nightfall, when I gave him two dirhams; whereupon he asked ‘What
+is this!'; and I answered, ‘By Allah, this is but part of thy
+wage, because of thy diligence in my service.'  But he threw them
+back to me saying, ‘I will have no more than was agreed upon
+between us twain.'  I urged him to take them, but could not
+prevail upon him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he
+went away.  And when morning dawned, I went to the station but
+found him not; so I enquired for him and was told, ‘He cometh
+thither only on Sabbaths.'  Accordingly, when Saturday came, I
+betook me to the market and finding him there, said to him,
+‘Bismillah, do me the favour to come and work for me.'  Said he,
+‘Upon the conditions thou wottest;' and I answered ‘Yes!'  Then
+carrying him to my house I stood to watch him where he could not
+see me; and he took a handful of puddled clay and laid it on the
+wall, when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon other;
+and I said, ‘On this wise are Allah's holy ones.' he worked out
+his day and did even more than before; and when it was night, I
+gave him his hire, and he took it and walked away.  Now when the
+third Saturday came round, I went to the place of standing, but
+found him not; so I asked after him and they told me, ‘He is sick
+and lying in the shanty of such a woman.'  Now this was an old
+wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel of reeds in the burial-
+ground.  So I fared thither and found him stretched on the floor
+which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming
+like the new moon with light.  I saluted him and he returned my
+salam; and I sat down at his head weeping over his fair young
+years and absence from home and submission to the will of his
+Lord.  Then said I to him, ‘Hast thou any need?'  ‘Yes,' answered
+he; and I said, ‘What is it?'  He replied, ‘Come hither to-morrow
+in the forenoon and thou wilt find me dead.  Wash me and dig my
+grave and tell none thereof: but shroud me in this my gown, after
+thou hast unsewn it and taken out what thou shalt find in the
+bosom-pocket, which keep with thee.  Then, when thou hast prayed
+over me and laid me in the dust, go to Baghdad and watch for the
+Caliph Harun al-Rashid, till he come forth, when do thou give him
+what thou shalt find in the breast of my gown and bear him my
+salutation.'  Then he ejaculated the profession of the Faith and
+glorified his God in the most eloquent of words, reciting these
+couplets,
+
+     ‘Carry the trust of him whom death awaits *
+          To Al-Rashid and God reward thy care!
+     And say ‘An exile who desired thy sight *
+          Long loving, from afar sends greeting fair.
+     Nor hate nor irk (No!) him from thee withdrew, *
+          Kissing thy right to Heaven brought him near.[FN#165]
+     But what estranged his soul, O sire, from thee *
+          Is that thy worldly joys it would not share!'
+
+Then he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of Allah'--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth
+then betook himself to asking pardon of Allah and to invoking
+prayer and praise upon the Apostle and the Lord of the Just and
+repeating verses of the Koran; after which he recited these
+couplets,
+
+     "O sire, be not deceived by worldly joys; *
+          For life must pass, and joy must learn to mourn;
+     When thou art told of folk in evil plight, *
+          Think thou must answer for all hearts forlorn;
+     And when thou bear thy dead towards the tombs, *
+          Know thou wilt likewise on that way be bourne."
+
+Continued Abu the Basri, "Now when the youth had ended his charge
+and his verses I left him and went home.  On the morrow, I
+returned, at the appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the
+mercy of Allah be upon him!  So I washed him and, unsewing his
+gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of gold pieces
+and said to myself, ‘By Allah, this youth was indeed weaned from
+worldly things!'  After I had buried him, I made my way to
+Baghdad and, going to the Caliph's palace, waited till he came
+forth, when I addressed him in one of the streets and gave him
+the ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a fainting-
+fit.  His attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and said to
+them, ‘Release him and bring him courteously to the palace.'
+They did his bidding, and when he returned, he sent for me and
+carrying me into his chamber said to me, ‘How doth the owner of
+this ruby?'  Quoth I, ‘Verily, he is dead;' and told him what had
+passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, ‘The son hath
+gained; but the sire hath lost.'  Then he called out, saying,
+‘Ho, such an one!'; and behold there came out to him a lady who,
+when she saw me, would have withdrawn; but he cried to her,
+‘Come, and mind him not.'  So she entered and saluted, and he
+threw her the ruby, which when she saw and she knew, she shrieked
+a great shriek and fell down in a swoon.  As soon as she came to
+herself, she said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, what hath Allah
+done with my son?'; and he said to me, ‘Do thou tell her his
+case' (as he could not speak for weeping).  Accordingly, I
+repeated the story to her, and she began to shed tears and say in
+a faint and wailing voice, ‘How I have longed for thy sight, O
+solace of mine eyes![FN#166] Would I might have given thee to
+drink, when thou hadst none to slake thy thirst!  Would I might
+have cheered thee, whenas thou foundest never a cheerer!'  And
+she poured forth tears and recited these couplets,
+
+     ‘I weep for one whose lot a lonely death befel; *
+          Without a friend to whom he might complain and moan:
+     And after glory and glad union with his friends, *
+          He woke to desolation, friendless, lorn and lone;
+     What Fortune hides a while she soon to all men shall show; *
+          Death never spared a man; no, not a single one:
+     O absent one, my Lord decreed thee strangerhood, *
+          Far from thy nearest friends and to long exile gone:
+     Though Death forbid my hope of meeting here again, *
+          On Doom-day's morrow we shall meet again, my
+son![FN#167]
+
+Quoth I, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?'
+Quoth he, ‘Yes, and indeed, before I succeeded to this office, he
+was wont to visit the learned and company with the devout; but,
+when I became Caliph, he grew estranged from me and withdrew
+himself apart.[FN#168]  Then said I to his mother, ‘Verily this
+thy son hath cut the world and devoted his life to Almighty
+Allah, and it may be that hard times shall befal him and he be
+smitten with trial of evil chance; wherefore do thou given him
+this ruby, which he may find useful in hour of need.'  So she
+gave it him, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her bidding.
+Then he left to us the things of our world and removed himself
+from us; nor did he cease to be absent from us, till he went to
+the presence of Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!), pious and
+pure.'  Then said he, ‘Come, show me his grave.'  So, I travelled
+with him to Bassorah and showed him his son's grave; and when he
+saw it, he wept and lamented, till he fell down in a swoon; after
+which he recovered and asked pardon of the Lord, saying, ‘We are
+Allah's and unto Him we are returning!'; and involved blessings
+on the dead.  Then he asked me to become his companion, but I
+said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, verily, in thy son's
+case is for me the most momentous of admonitions!'  And I recited
+these couplets,
+
+     "‘Tis I am the stranger, visited by none; *
+          I am the stranger though in town my own:
+     ‘Tis I am the stranger! Lacking kith and son, *
+          And friend to whom I mote for aidance run.
+     I house in mosques which are my only home; *
+          My heart there wones and shall for ever wone:
+     Then laud ye Allah, Lord of Worlds, as long *
+          As soul and body dwell in union!'"
+
+And a famous tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE UNWISE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE
+                           BY REPORT
+
+
+
+Quoth one of the learned, "I passed once by a school, wherein a
+schoolmaster was teaching children; so I entered, finding him a
+good-looking man and a well-dressed; when he rose to me and made
+me sit with him.  Then I examined him in the Koran and in syntax
+and prosody and lexicography; and behold, he was perfect in all
+required of him, so I said to him, ‘Allah strengthen thy purpose!
+Thou art indeed versed in all that is requisite,' thereafter I
+frequented him a while, discovering daily some new excellence in
+him, and quoth I to myself, ‘This is indeed a wonder in any
+dominie; for the wise are agreed upon a lack of wit in children's
+teachers.'  Then I separated myself from him and sought him and
+visited him only every few days, till coming to see him one day
+as of wont, I found the school shut and made enquiry of his
+neighbors, who replied, ‘Some one is dead in his house.'  So I
+said in my mind, ‘It behoveth me to pay him a visit of
+condolence,' and going to his house, knocked at the door, when a
+slave-girl came out to me and asked, ‘What dost thou want?' and I
+answered, ‘I want thy master.'  She replied, ‘He is sitting
+alone, mourning;' and I rejoined, ‘Tell him that his friend so
+and so seeketh to console him.'  She went in and told him; and he
+said, ‘Admit him.'  So she brought me in to him, and I found him
+seated alone and his head bound with mourning fillets.  So I said
+to him, ‘Allah requite thee amply! this is a path all must
+perforce tread, and it behoveth thee to take patience;' adding,
+‘But who is dead unto thee?'  He answered, ‘One who was dearest
+of the folk to me, and best beloved.' ‘Perhaps thy father?' ‘No!'
+‘Thy brother?'  "No!'  "One of thy kindred?'  ‘No!'  Then asked
+I, ‘What relation was the dead to thee?'; and he answered, ‘My
+lover.'  Quoth I to myself, ‘This is the first proof to swear by
+his lack of wit.'  So I said to him, ‘Assuredly there be others
+than she and fairer;' and he made answer, ‘I never saw her, that
+I might judge whether or no there be others fairer than she.'
+Quoth I to myself, ‘This is another proof positive.'  Then I said
+to him, ‘And how couldst thou fall in love with one thou hast
+never seen?'  He replied ‘Know that I was sitting one day at the
+window, when lo! there passed by a man, singing the following
+distich,
+
+     ‘Umm Amr',[FN#169] thy boons Allah repay! *
+          Give back my heart be't where it may!'"
+
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+schoolmaster continued, " ‘When I heard the man humming these
+words as he passed along the street, I said to myself ‘Except
+this Umm Amru were without equal in the world, the poets had not
+celebrated her in ode and canzon.'  So I fell in love with her;
+but, two days after, the same man passed, singing the following
+couplet,
+
+     ‘Ass and Umm Amr' went their way; *
+          Nor she, nor ass returned for aye.'
+
+Thereupon I knew she was dead and mourned for her.  This was
+three days ago, and I have been mourning ever since.  So I left
+him, (concluded the learned one) and fared forth, having assured
+myself of the weakness of the gerund-grinder's wit."   And they
+tell another and a similar tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+                  THE FOOLISH DOMINIE[FN#170]
+
+
+
+Once upon a time, a schoolmaster was visited by a man of letters
+who entered a school and, sitting down by the host's side,
+entered into discourse with him and found him an accomplished
+theologian, poet grammarian, philologist and poet; intelligent,
+well bred and pleasant spoken; whereat he wondered, saying in
+himself, "It cannot be that a man who teacheth children in a
+school, should have a perfect wit."  Now when he was about to go
+away, the pedant said to him, "Thou are my guest to-night;" and
+he consented to receive hospitality and accompanied him to his
+house, where he made much of him and set food before him.  They
+ate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of the night was
+past when the host spread his guest a bed and went up to his
+Harim.  The stranger lay down and addressed himself to sleep,
+when, behold, there arose a great clamour in the women's rooms.
+He asked what was the matter and they said, "A terrible thing
+hath befallen the Shaykh and he is at the last gasp."  Said he,
+"Take me up to him"; so they took him up to the pedagogue whom he
+found lying insensible, with his blood streaming down.  He
+sprinkled water on his face and when he revived, he asked him,
+"What hath betided thee?  When thou leftest me, thou wast in all
+good cheer and whole of body," and he answered, "O my brother,
+after I left thee, I sat meditating on the creative works of
+Almighty Allah, and said to myself: ‘In every thing the Lord hath
+created for man, there is an use; for He (to Whom be glory!) made
+the hands to seize, the feet to walk, the eyes to see, the ears
+to hear and the penis to increase and multiply; and so on with
+all the members of the body, except these two ballocks; there is
+no use in them.'  So I took a razor I had by me and cut them off;
+and there befel me what thou seest."  So the guest left him and
+went away, saying, "He was in the right who said, ‘Verily no
+schoolmaster who teacheth children can have a perfect wit, though
+he know all the sciences.'"  And they tell a pleasant tale of the
+
+
+
+
+
+            ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER
+
+
+
+There was once, among the menials[FN#171] of a certain mosque, a
+man who knew not how to write or even to read and who gained his
+bread by gulling folk.  One day, it occurred to him to open a
+school and teach children; so he got together writing-tablets and
+written papers and hung them up in a high place.  Then he
+greatened his turband[FN#172] and sat down at the door of the
+school; and when the people, who passed by, saw his huge head-
+gear and tablets and scrolls, they thought he must be a very
+learned pedagogue; so they brought him their children; and he
+would say to this, "Write," and to that "Read"; and thus the
+little ones taught each other.  Now one day, as he sat as of
+wont, at the door of the school, behold, up came a woman letter
+in hand, and he said in his mind, "This woman doubtless seeketh
+me, that I may read her the missive she hath in her hand: how
+shall I do with her, seeing I cannot read writing?"  And he would
+fain have gone down and fled from her; but, before he could do
+this, she overtook him and said to him, "Whither away?"  Quoth
+he, "I purpose to pray the noon-prayer and return."  Quoth she,
+"Noon is yet distant, so read me this letter."  He took the
+letter and turning it upside down, fell to looking at it, now
+shaking his head till his turband quivered, then dancing his
+eyebrows and anon showing anger and concern.  Now the letter came
+from the woman's husband, who was absent; and when she saw the
+dominie do on this wise, she said to herself, "Doubtless my
+husband is dead, and this learned doctor of law and religion is
+ashamed to tell me so."  So she said to him, "O my lord, if he be
+dead, tell me;" but he shook his head and held his peace.  Then
+said she, "Shall I rend my raiment?"  "Rend!" replied he.  "Shall
+I beat my face?" asked she; and he answered, "Beat!"  So she took
+the letter from his hand and returned home fell a-weeping, she
+and her children.  Presently, one of her neighbours heard her
+sobbing and asking what aileth her, was answered, "Of a truth she
+hath gotten a letter, telling her that her husband is dead."
+Quoth the man, "This is a falsehood; for I had a letter from him
+but yesterday, advising me that he is whole and in good health
+and will be with her after ten days."  So he rose forthright and
+going in to her, said, "Where is the letter which came to thee?"
+She brought it to him, and he took it and read it; and lo! it ran
+as follows, "After the usual salutations, I am well and in good
+health and whole and will be with you all after ten days.
+Meanwhile, I send you a quilt and an extinguisher."[FN#173]  So
+she took the letter and, returning to the schoolmaster, said to
+him, "What induced thee to deal thus with me?"  And she repeated
+to him what her neighbour had told her of her husband's well-
+being and of his having sent her a quilt and an extinguisher.
+Answered he, "Thou art in the right, O good woman; for I was, at
+the time"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+pedagogue replied, "Verily I was at that time fashed and absent-
+minded and, seeing the extinguisher wrapped up in the quilt, I
+thought that he was dead and they had shrouded him."  The woman,
+not smoking the cheat, said, "Thou art excused," and taking the
+letter, went her ways.[FN#174]  And they relate a story of
+
+
+
+
+                THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.
+
+
+
+A certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the
+affairs of his lieges. Presently, he came to a great village
+which he entered unattended and being athirst, stopped at the
+door of a house and asked for water. There came out to him a fair
+woman with a gugglet, which she gave him, and he drank. When he
+looked at her, he was ravished with her and besought her favours.
+Now she knew him; so she led him into the house and, making him
+sit down, brought out a book and said to him, "Look therein
+whilst I order my affair and return to thee." So he looked into
+the book, and behold, it treated of the Divine prohibition
+against advoutry and of the punishments which Allah hath prepared
+for those who commit adulterous sin. When he read this, his flesh
+quaked and his hair bristled and he repented to Almighty Allah:
+then he called the woman and, giving her the book, went away. Now
+her husband was absent and when he returned, she told him what
+had passed, whereat he was confounded and said in himself, "I
+fear lest the King's desire have fallen upon her." And he dared
+not have to do with her and know her carnally after this. When
+some time had past, the wife told her kinsfolk of her husband's
+conduct, and they complained of him to the King, saying, "Allah
+advance the King! This man hired of us a piece of land for
+tillage, and tilled it awhile; then left it fallow and neither
+tilled it nor forsook it, that we might let it to one who would
+till it. Indeed, harm is come to the field, and we fear its
+corruption, for such land as that if it be not sown, spoileth."
+Quoth the King to the man, "What hindereth thee from sowing thy
+land?" Answered he, "Allah advance the King! It reached me that
+the lion entered the field wherefore I stood in awe of him and
+dared not draw near it, since knowing that I cannot cope with the
+lion, I stand in fear of him." The King understood the parable
+and rejoined, saying, "O man, the lion trod and trampled not thy
+land, and it is good for seed so do thou till it and Allah
+prosper thee in it, for the lion hath done it no hurt." Then he
+bade give the man and his wife a handsome present and sent them
+away.[FN#175] And amongst the stories is that of
+
+
+
+
+
+           ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI'S STORY OF THE
+                         RUKH.[FN#176]
+
+
+
+There was once a man of the people of West Africa who had
+journeyed far and wide and traversed many a desert and a tide. He
+was once cast upon an island, where he abode a long while and,
+returning thence to his native country, brought with him the
+quill of a wing feather of a young Rukh, whilst yet in egg and
+unhatched; and this quill was big enough to hold a goat skin of
+water, for it is said that the length of the Rukh chick's wing,
+when he cometh forth of the egg, is a thousand fathoms. The folk
+marvelled at this quill, when they saw it, and the man who was
+called Abd al-Rahman the Moor (and he was known, to boot, as the
+Chinaman, for his long sojourn in Cathay), related to them the
+following adventure, one of many of his traveller's tales of
+marvel. He was on a voyage in the China seas--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abd al-
+Rahman, the Moorman, the Chinaman, was wont to tell wondrous
+tales amongst which was the following. He was on a voyage in the
+China seas with a company of merchants, when they sighted an
+island from afar; so they steered for it and, making fast
+thereto, saw that it was large and spacious. The ship's crew went
+ashore to get wood and water, taking with them hatchets and ropes
+and water skies (the travellers accompanying them), and presently
+espied a great dome, white and gleaming, an hundred cubits long.
+So they made towards it and drawing near, found that it was an
+egg of the Rukh and fell on it with axes and stones and sticks
+till they uncovered the young bird and found the chick as it were
+a firm set hill. So they plucked out one of the wing feathers,
+but could not do so, save by helping one another, for all the
+quills were not full grown, after which they took what they could
+carry of the young bird's flesh and cutting the quill away from
+the vane, returned to the ship. Then they set sail and putting
+out to sea, voyaged with a fair wind all that night, till the sun
+rose; and while everything went well, they saw the Rukh come
+flying after them, as he were a vast cloud, with a rock in his
+talons, like a great heap bigger than the ship. As soon as he
+poised himself in air over the vessel, he let fall the rock upon
+it; but the craft, having great way on her, outwent the rock,
+which fell into the sea with a loud crash and a horrible. So
+Allah decreed their deliverance and saved them from doom; and
+they cooked the young bird's flesh and ate it. Now there were
+amongst them old white bearded men; and when they awoke on the
+morrow, they found that their beards had turned black, nor did
+any who had eaten of the young Rukh grow gray ever after. Some
+said the cause of the return of youth to them and the ceasing of
+hoariness from them was that they had heated the pot with arrow
+wood, whilst others would have it that it came of eating the Rukh
+chick's flesh; and this is indeed a wonder of wonders.[FN#177]
+And a story is related of
+
+
+
+
+
+              ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND.
+
+
+
+Al-Nu'uman Bin Al-Munzir, King of the Arabs of Irak, had a
+daughter named Hind, who went out one Pasch, which is a feast day
+of the Nazarenes, to the White Church, to take the sacrament; she
+was eleven years old and was the loveliest woman of her age and
+time; and it so chanced that on the same day came to
+Hirah[FN#178] a young man called 'Adí bin Zayd[FN#179] with
+presents from the Chosroë to Al-Nu'uman, and he also went to the
+White Church, to communicate. He was tall of stature and fair of
+favour, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and had with him a
+company of his people. Now there was with Hind bint al-Nu'uman a
+slave girl named Máriyah, who was enamoured of Adi, but had not
+been able to foregather with him. So, when she saw him in the
+church, she said to Hind, "Look at yonder youth. By Allah, he is
+handsomer than all thou seest!" Hind asked, "And who is he?" and
+Mariyah answered, "Adi bin Zayd." Quoth Al-Nu'uman's daughter, "I
+fear lest he know me, if I draw nearer to look on him." Quoth
+Mariyah, "How should he know thee when he hath never seen thee?"
+So she drew near him and found him jesting with the youths his
+companions; and indeed he surpassed them all, not only in his
+personal charms but in the excellence of his speech, the
+eloquence of his tongue and the richness of his raiment. When the
+Princess saw him, she was ravished with him, her reason was
+confounded and her colour changed; and Mariyah, seeing her
+inclination to him, said to her, "Speak him." So she spoke to him
+and went away. Now when he looked upon her and heard her speech,
+he was captivated by her and his wit was dazed; his heart
+fluttered, and his colour changed so that his companions
+suspected him, and he whispered one of them to follow her and
+find out who she was. The young man went after her and returning
+informed him that she was princess Hind, daughter of Al-Nu'uman.
+So Adi left the church, knowing not whither he went, for excess
+of love, and reciting these two couplets,
+
+     "O friends of me, one favour more I pray: *
+          Unto the convents[FN#180] find more your way:
+      Turn me that so I face the land of Hind; *
+          Then go, and fairest greetings for me say."
+
+Then he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless and
+without appetite for the food of sleep.--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Adi
+ended his verses he went to his lodging and lay that night
+restless and without appetite for the food of sleep. Now on the
+morrow Mariyah accosted him and he received her kindly, though
+before he would not incline to her, and said to her, "What is thy
+will?" Quoth she, "I have a want of thee;" and quoth he, "Name
+it, for by Allah, thou shalt not ask me aught, but I will give it
+thee!" So she told him that she loved him, and her want of him
+was that he would grant her a lover's privacy; and he agreed to
+do her will, on condition that she would serve him with Hind and
+devise some device to bring them together. Then he took her into
+a vintner's tavern in one of the by streets of Hirah, and lay
+with her; after which she returned to Hind and asked her, "Dost
+thou not long to see Adi?" She answered, "How can this be? Indeed
+my longing for him makes me restless, and no repose is left me
+since yesterday." Quoth Mariyah, "I will appoint him to be in
+such a place, where thou canst look on him from the palace."
+Quoth Hind, "Do what thou wilt," and agreed with her upon the
+place. So Adi came, and the Princess looked out upon him; and,
+when she saw him, she was like to topple down from the palace top
+and said, "O Mariyah, except thou bring him in to me this night,
+I shall die." So saying, she fell to the ground in a fainting
+fit, and her serving women lifted her up and bore her into the
+palace; whilst Mariyah hastened to Al-Nu'uman and discovered the
+whole matter to him with perfect truth, telling him that indeed
+she was mad for the love of Adi; and except he marry her to him
+she must be put to shame and die of love for him, which would
+disgrace her father among the Arabs, adding at the end, "There is
+no cure for this but wedlock." The King bowed his head awhile in
+thought and exclaimed again and again, "Verily, we are Allah's
+and unto Him we are returning!" Then said he "Woe to thee! How
+shall the marriage be brought about, seeing I mislike to open the
+matter?" And she said, "He is yet more ardently in love and yet
+more desireful of her than she is of him; and I will so order the
+affair that he shall be unaware of his case being known to thee;
+but do not betray thyself, O King." Then she went to Adi and,
+after acquainting him with everything said, "Make a feast and bid
+the King thereto; and, when the wine hath gotten the better of
+him, ask of him his daughter, for he will not refuse thee." Quoth
+Adi, "I fear lest this enrage him against me and be the cause of
+enmity between us." But quoth she, "I came not to thee, till I
+had settled the whole affair with him." Then she returned to Al-
+Nu'uman and said to him, "Seek of Adi that he entertain thee in
+his house." Replied the King, "There is no harm in that;" and
+after three days, besought Adi to give him and his lords the
+morning meal in his house. He consented and the King went to him;
+and when the wine had taken effect on Al-Nu'uman, Adi rose and
+sought of him his daughter in wedlock. He consented and married
+them and brought her to him after three days; and they abode at
+Al-Nu'uman's court, in all solace of life and its delight--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Four Hundred and Seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Adi abode
+with Hind bint Al-Nu'uman bin Munzir three years in all solace of
+life and its delight, after which time the King was wroth with
+Adi and slew him. Hind mourned for him with grievous mourning and
+built her an hermitage outside the city, whither she retired and
+became a religious, weeping and bewailing her husband till she
+died. And her hermitage is seen to this day in the suburbs of
+Hirah. They also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+          DI'IBIL AL-KHUZA'I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM
+                         BIN AL-WALID.
+
+
+
+Quoth Di'ibil al Khuzá'i[FN#181], "I was sitting one day at the
+gate of Al Karkh,[FN#182] when a damsel came past. Never saw I a
+fairer faced or better formed than she, walking with a voluptuous
+swaying gait and ravishing all beholders with her lithe and
+undulating pace. Now as my eyes fell on her, I was captivated by
+her and my vitals trembled and meseemed my heart flew forth of my
+breast; so I stood before her and I accosted her with this verse,
+
+     'The tears of these eyes find easy release; *
+          But sleep flies these eyelids without surcease.'
+
+Whereon she turned her face and looking at me, straightway made
+answer with this distich,
+
+     'A trifle this an his eyes be sore, *
+          When her eyes say 'yes' to his love's caprice!'
+
+I was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the fluency of
+her speech and rejoined with this verse,
+
+     'Say, cloth heart of my fair incline to him *
+          Whose tears like a swelling stream increase?'
+
+And she answered me without hesitation, thus,
+
+     'If thou crave our love, know that love's a loan; *
+          And a debt to be paid by us twain a piece.'
+
+Never entered my ears aught sweeter than her speech nor ever saw
+I brighter than her face: so I changed rhyme and rhythm to try
+her, in my wonder at her words, and repeated this couplet,
+
+     'Will Fate with joy of union ever bless our sight, *
+          And one desireful one with other one unite.'
+
+She smiled at this (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter
+than her lips), and answered me, without stay or delay, in the
+following distich,
+
+     "Pray, tell me what hath Fate to do betwixt us twain? *
+          Thou'rt Elate: so bless our eyne with union and
+          delight.'
+
+At this, I sprang up and fell to kissing her hands and cried, 'I
+had not thought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such occasion. Do
+thou follow me, not of bidding or against thy will, but of the
+grace of thee and thy favour to me.' Then I went on and she after
+me. Now at that time I had no lodging I deemed fit for the like
+of her; but Muslim bin al-Walíd[FN#183] was my fast friend, and
+he had a handsome house. So I made for his abode and knocked at
+the door, whereupon he came out, and I saluted him, saying, ‘'Tis
+for time like this that friends are treasured up'; and he
+replied, 'With love and gladness! Come in you twain.' So we
+entered but found money scarce with him: however, he gave me a
+kerchief, saying, 'Carry it to the bazar and sell it and buy food
+and what else thou needest.' I took the handkerchief, and
+hastening to the market, sold it and bought what we required of
+victuals and other matters; but when I returned, I found that
+Muslim had retired, with her to an underground chamber.[FN#184]
+When he heard my step he hurried out and said to me, 'Allah
+requite thee the kindness thou hast done me, O Abu Ali and reward
+thee in time to come and reckon it of thy good deeds on the Day
+of Doom!' So saying, he took from me the food and wine and shut
+the door in my face. His words enraged me and I knew not what to
+do, but he stood behind the door, shaking for mirth; and, when he
+saw me thus, he said to me, 'I conjure thee on my life, O Abu
+Ali, tell who it was composed this couplet?,
+
+     'I lay in her arms all night, leaving him *
+          To sleep foul-hearted but clean of staff.'
+
+At this my rage redoubled, and I replied, 'He who wrote this
+other couplet',
+
+     'One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, *
+          Exceeding in mighty height Manaf.'[FN#185]
+
+Then I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of
+his action and his lack of honour; and he was silent, never
+uttering a word. But, when I had finished, he smiled and said,
+'Out on thee, O fool! Thou hast entered my house and sold my
+kerchief and spent my silver: so, with whom art thou wroth, O
+pimp?'[FN#186] Then he left me and went away to her, whilst I
+said, 'By Allah, thou art right to twit me as nincompoop and
+pander!' Then I left his door and went away in sore concern, and
+I feel its trace in my heart to this very day; for I never had my
+will of her nor, indeed, ever heard of her more." And amongst
+other tales is that about
+
+
+
+
+
+                ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT.
+
+
+
+Quoth Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, "It so chanced that, one day
+feeling weary of being on duty at the Palace and in attendance
+upon the Caliph, I mounted horse and went forth, at break of
+dawn, having a mind to ride out in the open country and take my
+pleasure. So I said to my servants, 'If there come a messenger
+from the Caliph or another, say that I set out at day break, upon
+a pressing business, and that ye know not whither I am gone.'
+Then I fared forth alone and went round about the city, till the
+sun waxed hot, when I halted in a great thoroughfare known as Al
+Haram,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak bin
+Ibrahim the Mausili continued: "When the sun waxed hot I halted
+in a great thoroughfare known as Al-Haram, to take shelter in the
+shade and found it in a spacious wing of a house which projected
+over the street. And I stood there but a little while before
+there came up a black slave, leading an ass bestridden by a
+damsel; and under her were housings set with gems and pearls and
+upon her were the richest of clothes, richness can go no farther;
+and I saw that she was elegant of make with languorous look and
+graceful mien. I asked one of the passers by who she was, and he
+said, 'She is a singer,' so I fell in love with her at first
+sight: hardly could I keep my seat on horseback. She entered the
+house at whose gate I stood; and, as I was planning a device to
+gain access to her, there came up two men young and comely who
+asked admission and the housemaster gave them leave to enter. So
+they alighted and I also and they entered and I with them, they
+supposing that the master of the house had invited me; and we sat
+awhile, till food was brought and we ate. Then they set wine
+before us, and the damsel came out, with a lute in her hand. She
+sang and we drank, till I rose to obey a call of nature.
+Thereupon the host questioned the two others of me, and they
+replied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth he, 'This is a
+parasite[FN#187]; but he is a pleasant fellow, so treat him
+courteously.' Then I came back and sat down in my place, whilst
+the damsel sang to a pleasing air these two couplets,
+
+     'Say to the she gazelle, who's no gazelle, *
+          And Kohl'd ariel who's no ariel.[FN#188]
+     Who lies with male, and yet no female is, *
+          Whose gait is female most unlike the male.'
+
+She sang it right well, and the company drank and her song
+pleased them. Then she carolled various pieces to rare measures,
+and amongst the rest one of mine, which consisted of this
+distich,
+
+     'Bare hills and campground desolate *
+          And friends who all have ganged their gait.
+     How severance after union leaves *
+          Me and their homes in saddest state!'
+
+Her singing this time was even better than the first; then she
+chanted other rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another
+of mine with the following two couplets,
+
+     'Say to angry lover who turns away, *
+          And shows thee his side whatso thou
+     'Thou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, *
+          Albe 'twas haply thy sport and play.'
+
+I prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her;
+whereupon one of the two men accosted me and said, 'Never saw we
+a more impudent lick platter than thou. Art thou not content with
+sponging, but thou must eke meddle and muddle? Of very sooth, in
+thee is the saying made true, Parasite and pushing wight.' So I
+hung down my head for shame and made him no answer, whilst his
+companion would have withheld him from me, but he would not be
+restrained. Presently, they rose to pray, but I lagged behind a
+little and, taking the lute, screwed up the sides and brought it
+into perfect tune. Then I stood up in my place to pray with the
+rest; and when we had ended praying, the same man fell again to
+blaming me and reviling me and persisted in his rudeness, whilst
+I held my peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute and touching
+it, knew that it had been altered, and said, 'Who hath touched my
+lute?' Quoth they, 'None of us hath touched it.' Quoth she, 'Nay,
+by Allah, some one hath touched it, and he is an artist, a past
+master in the craft; for he hath arranged the strings and tuned
+them like one who is a perfect performer.' Said I, 'It was I
+tuned it;' and said she, 'Then, Allah upon thee, take it and play
+on it!' So I took it; and, playing a piece so difficult and so
+rare, that it went nigh to deaden the quick and quicken the dead,
+I sang thereto these couplets,
+
+     'I had a heart, and with it lived my life: *
+          'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe:
+     I never won the blessing of her love; *
+          God would not on His slave such boon bestow:
+     If what I've tasted be the food of Love, *
+          Must taste it all men who love food would know.'"
+
+--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak of
+Mosul thus continued: "Now when I had finished my verse, there
+was not one of the company but sprang from his place and sat down
+like schoolboys before me, saying, 'Allah upon thee, O our lord,
+sing us another song.' 'With pleasure,' said I, and playing
+another measure in masterly fashion, sang thereto these couplets,
+
+'Ho thou whose heart is melted down by force of Amor's fire, *
+     And griefs from every side against thy happiness conspire:
+Unlawful is that he who pierced my vitals with his shaft, * My
+     blood between my midriff and my breast bone[FN#189] he
+     desire,
+'Twas plain, upon our severance day, that he had set his mind *
+     On an eternal parting, moved by tongue of envious liar:
+He sheds my blood he ne'er had shed except by wound of love, *
+     Will none demand my blood of him, my wreck of him require?'
+
+When I had made an end of this song, there was not one of them
+but rose to his feet and threw himself upon the ground for excess
+of delight. Then I cast the lute from my hand, but they said,
+'Allah upon thee, do not on this wise, but let us hear another
+song, so Allah Almighty increase thee of His bounty!' Replied I,
+'O folk, I will sing you another song and another and another and
+will tell you who I am. I am Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, and by
+Allah, I bear myself proudly to the Caliph when he seeketh me. Ye
+have today made me hear abuse from an unmannerly carle such as I
+loathe; and by Allah, I will not speak a word nor sit with you,
+till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from among you!' Quoth
+the fellow's companion to him, 'This is what I warned thee
+against, fearing for thy good name.' So they hent him by the hand
+and thrust him out; and I took the lute and sang over again the
+songs of my own composing which the damsel had sung. Then I
+whispered the host that she had taken my heart and that I had no
+patience to abstain from her. Quoth he 'She is thine on one
+condition.' I asked, 'What is that?' and he answered, 'It is that
+thou abide with me a month, when the damsel and all belonging to
+her of raiment and jewellery shall be thine.' I rejoined, 'It is
+well, I will do this.' So I tarried with him a whole month,
+whilst none knew where I was and the Caliph sought me everywhere,
+but could come by no news of me; and at the end of this time, the
+merchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that
+pertained to her of things of price and an eunuch to attend upon
+her. So I brought all that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord
+of the whole world, for exceeding delight in her; then I rode
+forthright to Al-Maamun. And when I stood in the presence, he
+said, 'Woe to thee, O Ishak, where hast thou been?' So I
+acquainted him with the story and he said, 'Bring me that man at
+once.' Thereupon I told him where he lived and he sent and
+fetched him and questioned him of the case; when he repeated the
+story and the Caliph said to him, 'Thou art a man of right
+generous mind, and it is only fitting that thou be aided in thy
+generosity.' Then he ordered him an hundred thousand dirhams and
+said to me, 'O Ishak, bring the damsel before me.' So I brought
+her to him, and she sang and delighted him; and being greatly
+gladdened by her he said to me, 'I appoint her turn of service
+every Thursday, when she must come and sing to me from behind the
+curtain.' And he ordered her fifty thousand dirhams, so by Allah,
+I profited both myself and others by my ride." And amongst the
+tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+
+                 THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS.
+
+
+
+Quoth Al-'Utbí[FN#190], "I was sitting one day with a company of
+educated men, telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned
+upon legends of lovers and each of us said his say thereanent.
+Now there was in our company an old man, who remained silent,
+till all had spoken and had no more to say, when quoth he, 'Shall
+I tell you a thing, the like of which you never heard; no,
+never?' 'Yes,' quoth we; and he said, 'Know, then, that I had a
+daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it not; while the youth
+loved a singing girl, who in her turn loved my daughter. One day,
+I was present at an assembly, wherein were also the youth'"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Four Hundred and Tenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+continued: 'One day, I was present at an assembly wherein were
+also the youth and the singing girl and she chanted to us these
+couplets,
+
+     'Prove how Love bringeth low * Lover those tears that run
+     Lowering him still the more * When pity finds he none.'
+
+Cried the youth, 'By Allah, thou hast said well, O my mistress.'
+Dost thou incite me to die?' Answered the girl from behind the
+curtain, 'Yes, if thou be a true lover.' So he laid his head on a
+cushion and closed his eyes; and when the cup came round to him,
+we shook him and behold, he was dead.[FN#191] Therewith we all
+flocked to him, and our pleasure was troubled and we grieved and
+broke up at once. When I came home, my people took in bad part my
+returning before the appointed time, and I told them what had
+befallen the youth, thinking that thereby I should greatly
+surprise them. My daughter heard my words and rising, went from
+the sitting chamber into another, whither I followed her and
+found her lying with her head on a cushion, even as I had told of
+the young man. So I shook her and lo! she was dead. Then we laid
+her out and set forth next morning to bury her, whilst the
+friends of the young man set forth in like guise to bury him. As
+we were on the way to the burial place, we met a third funeral
+and asking whose it was, were told that it was that of the
+singing girl who, hearing of my daughter's death, had done even
+as she did and was dead. So we buried them all three on one day,
+and this is the rarest tale that ever was heard of lovers." And
+they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+                   HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND.
+
+
+
+They recount that in the City Kaukabán of Al-Yaman there was a
+man of the Fazlí tribe who had left Badawi life, and become a
+townsman for many years and was a merchant of the most opulent
+merchants. His wife had deceased when both were young; and his
+friends were instant with him to marry again, ever quoting to him
+the words of the poet,
+
+     "Go, gossip! re-wed thee, for Prime draweth near:
+      A wife is an almanac--good for the year."
+
+So being weary of contention, Abu Hasan entered into negotiations
+with the old women who procure matches, and married a maid like
+Canopus when he hangeth over the seas of Al-Hind. He made high
+festival therefor, bidding to the wedding banquet kith and kin,
+Olema and Fakirs; friends and foes and all his acquaintances of
+that countryside. The whole house was thrown open to feasting:
+there were rices of five several colours, and sherbets of as many
+more; and kids stuffed with walnuts and almonds and pistachios
+and a camel colt[FN#192] roasted whole. So they ate and drank and
+made mirth and merriment; and the bride was displayed in her
+seven dresses and one more, to the women, who could not take
+their eyes off her. At last, the bridegroom was summoned to the
+chamber where she sat enthroned; and he rose slowly and with
+dignity from his divan; but in so doing, for that he was over
+full of meat and drink, lo and behold! he let fly a fart, great
+and terrible. Thereupon each guest turned to his neighbour and
+talked aloud and made as though he had heard nothing, fearing for
+his life. But a consuming fire was lit in Abu Hasan's heart; so
+he pretended a call of nature; and, in lieu of seeking the bride
+chamber, he went down to the house court and saddled his mare and
+rode off, weeping bitterly, through the shadow of the night. In
+time he reached Láhej where he found a ship ready to sail for
+India; so he shipped on board and made Calicut of Malabar. Here
+he met with many Arabs, especially Hazramís[FN#193], who
+recommended him to the King; and this King (who was a Kafir)
+trusted him and advanced him to the captainship of his body
+guard. He remained ten years in all solace and delight of life;
+at the end of which time he was seized with home sickness; and
+the longing to behold his native land was that of a lover pining
+for his beloved; and he came near to die of yearning desire. But
+his appointed day had not dawned; so, after taking the first bath
+of health, he left the King without leave, and in due course
+landed at Makallá of Hazramaut. Here he donned the rags of a
+religious; and, keeping his name and case secret, fared for
+Kaukaban afoot; enduring a thousand hardships of hunger, thirst
+and fatigue; and braving a thousand dangers from the lion, the
+snake and the Ghul. But when he drew near his old home, he looked
+down upon it from the hills with brimming eyes, and said in
+himself, "Haply they might know thee; so I will wander about the
+outskirts, and hearken to the folk. Allah grant that my case be
+not remembered by them!" He listened carefully for seven nights
+and seven days, till it so chanced that, as he was sitting at the
+door of a hut, he heard the voice of a young girl saying, "O my
+mother, tell me the day when I was born; for such an one of my
+companions is about to take an omen[FN#194] for me." And the
+mother answered, "Thou was born, O my daughter, on the very night
+when Abu Hasan farted." Now the listener no sooner heard these
+words than he rose up from the bench, and fled away saying to
+himself, "Verily thy fart hath become a date, which shall last
+for ever and ever; even as the poet said,
+
+     'As long as palms shall shift the flower; *
+          As long as palms shall sift the flour.'[FN#195]
+
+And he ceased not travelling and voyaging and returned to India;
+and there abode in self exile till he died; and the mercy of
+Allah be upon him![FN#196] And they tell another story of
+
+
+
+
+
+                  THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.
+
+
+
+Kásim, son of Adi, was wont to relate that a man of the Banú
+Tamím spake as follows: "I went out one day in search of an
+estray and, coming to the waters of the Banu Tayy, saw two
+companies of people near one another, and behold, those of one
+company were disputing among themselves even as the other. So I
+watched them and observed, in one of the companies, a youth
+wasted with sickness, as he were a worn-out dried-up waterskin.
+And as I looked on him, lo! he repeated these couplets,
+
+     'What ails the Beauty she returneth not? *
+          Is't Beauty's irk or grudging to my lot?
+     I sickened and my friends all came to call; *
+          What stayed thee calling with the friendly knot?
+     Hadst thou been sick, I had come running fast *
+          To thee, nor threats had kept me from the spot:
+     Mid them I miss thee, and I lie alone; *
+          Sweetheart, to lose thy love sad loss I wot!'
+
+His words were heard by a damsel in the other company who
+hastened towards him, and when her people followed her, she
+fought them off. Then the youth caught sight of her and sprang up
+and ran towards her, whilst the people of his party ran after him
+and laid hold of him. However he haled and freed himself from
+them, and she in like manner loosed herself; and, when they were
+free, each ran to other and meeting between the two parties,
+embraced and fell dead upon the ground."--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred ante Eleventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the young
+man and the maid met between the two parties and embraced and
+both fell dead upon the ground; whereat came there out an old man
+from one of the tents and stood over them exclaiming, 'Verily, we
+are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!' Then weeping sore he
+said, 'Allah have ruth on you both! by the Almighty, though you
+were not united in your lives, I will at least unite you after
+your deaths.' And he bade lay them out: so they washed them and
+shrouded them in one shroud and dug for them one grave and prayed
+one prayer over them both and buried them in one tomb; nor was
+there man or woman in the two parties but I saw weeping over them
+and buffeting their faces. Then I questioned the Shaykh of them,
+and he said, 'She was my daughter and he my brother's son; and
+love brought them to the pass thou seest.' I exclaimed, 'Allah
+amend thee! but why didst thou not marry them to each other?'
+Quoth he, 'I feared shame[FN#197] and dishonour; and now I am
+fallen into both.' " And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+                         THE MAD LOVER.
+
+
+
+Quoth Abu 'l-Abbás al-Mubarrad,[FN#198] "I set out one day with a
+company to Al-Bárid on an occasion and, coming to the monastery
+of Hirakl,[FN#199] we alighted in its shade. Presently a man came
+out to us and said, 'There are madmen in the monastery,[FN#200]
+and amongst them one who speaketh wisdom; if ye saw him, ye would
+marvel at his speech.' So we arose all and went into the
+monastery' where we saw a man seated on a skin mat in one of the
+cells, with bare head and eyes intently fixed upon the wall. We
+saluted him, and he returned our salaam, without looking at us,
+and one said to us, 'Repeat some verses to him; for, when he
+heareth verse, he speaketh.' So I repeated these two couplets,
+
+     'O best of race to whom gave Hawwa[FN#201] boon of birth, *
+          Except for thee the world were neither sweet nor fair!
+     Thou'rt he, whose face, by Allah shown to man, *
+          Doth ward off death, decay and hoary hair.'
+
+When he heard from me this praise of the Apostle he turned
+towards us and repeated these lines,
+
+     'Well Allah wotteth I am sorely plagued: *
+          Nor can I show my pain to human sight.
+     Two souls have I, one soul is here contained, *
+          While other woneth in another site.
+     Meseems the absent soul's like present soul, *
+          And that she suffers what to me is dight.'
+
+Then he asked us. 'Have I said well or said ill? And we answered,
+'Thou hast said the clean contrary of ill, well and right well.'
+Then he put out his hand to a stone, that was by him and took it
+up; whereupon thinking he would throw it at us we fled from him;
+but he fell to beating upon his breast therewith violent blows
+and said to us, 'Fear not, but draw near and hear somewhat from
+me and receive it from me.' So we came back, and he repeated
+these couplets,
+
+'When they made their camels yellow white kneel down at dawning
+     grey * They mounted her on crupper and the camel went his
+     way,
+Mine eye balls through the prison wall beheld them, and I cried *
+     With streaming eyelids and a heart that burnt in dire dismay
+O camel driver turn thy beast that I farewell my love! * In
+     parting and farewelling her I see my doomed day
+I'm faithful to my vows of love which I have never broke, * Would
+     Heaven I kenned what they have done with vows that vowed
+     they!'
+
+Then he looked at me and said, 'Say me, dost thou know what they
+did?'[FN#202] Answered I, 'Yes, they are dead; Almighty Allah
+have mercy on them!' At this his face changed and he sprang to
+his feet and cried out, 'How knowest thou they be dead?;' and I
+replied, 'Were they alive they had not left thee thus.' Quoth he,
+'By Allah, thou art right, and I care not to live after them.'
+Then his side muscles quivered and he fell on his face; and we
+ran up to him and shook him and found him dead, the mercy of the
+Almighty be on him! At this we marvelled and mourned for him and,
+sore mourning, laid him out and buried him".--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Four Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Mubarrad
+thus continued: "When the man fell we mourned over him with sore
+mourning and laid him out and buried him. And when I returned to
+Baghdad and went in to the Caliph al-Mutawakkil, he saw the trace
+of tears on my face and said to me, 'What is this?' So I told him
+what had passed and it was grievous to him and he cried, 'What
+moved thee to deal thus with him?[FN#203] By Allah, if I thought
+thou didst not repent it and regret him I would punish thee
+therefor!' And he mourned for him the rest of the day." And
+amongst the tales they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+
+                 THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM.
+
+
+
+Quoth Abu Bakr Mohammed ibn Al-Anbári[FN#204]: "I once left Anbár
+on a journey to 'Amúríyah,[FN#205] where there came out to me the
+prior of the monastery and superior of the monkery, Abd al-Masíh
+hight, and brought me into the building. There I found forty
+religious, who entertained me that night with fair guest rite,
+and I left them after seeing among them such diligence in
+adoration and devotion as I never beheld the like of in any
+others. Next day I farewelled them and fared forth and, after
+doing my business at 'Amuriyah, I returned to my home at Anbar.
+And next year I made pilgrimage to Meccah and as I was
+circumambulating the Holy House I saw Abd al-Masih the monk also
+compassing the Ka'abah, and with him five of his fellows, the
+shavelings. Now when I was sure that it was indeed he, I accosted
+him, saying, 'Art thou not Abd al-Masih, the Religious?' and he
+replied, 'Nay, I am Abdallah, the Desirous.'[FN#206] Therewith I
+fell to kissing his grey hairs and shedding tears; then, taking
+him by the hand, I led him aside into a corner of the Temple and
+said to him, 'Tell me the cause of thy conversion to al-Islam;'
+and he made reply, 'Verily, 'twas a wonder of wonders, and befell
+thus. A company of Moslem devotees came to the village wherein is
+our convent, and sent a youth to buy them food. He saw, in the
+market, a Christian damsel selling bread, who was of the fairest
+of women; and he was struck at first sight with such love of her,
+that his senses failed him and he fell on his face in a fainting
+fit. When he revived, he returned to his companions and told them
+what had befallen him, saying, 'Go ye about your business; I may
+not go with you.' They chided him and exhorted him, but he paid
+no heed to them; so they left him whilst he entered the village
+and seated himself at the door of the woman's booth.[FN#207] She
+asked him what he wanted, and he told her that he was in love
+with her whereupon she turned from him; but he abode in his place
+three days without tasting food, keeping his eyes fixed on her
+face. Now whenas she saw that he departed not from her, she went
+to her people and acquainted them with his case, and they set on
+him the village boys, who stoned him and bruised his ribs and
+broke his head; but, for all this, he would not budge. Then the
+villagers took counsel together to slay him; but a man of them
+came to me and told me of his case, and I went out to him and
+found him lying prostrate on the ground. So I wiped the blood
+from his face and carried him to the convent, and dressed his
+wounds; and there he abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as
+he could walk, he left the monastery"--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah
+the Religious continued: "So I carried him to the convent and
+dressed his wounds, and he abode with me fourteen days. But as
+soon as he could walk, he left the monastery and returned to the
+door of the woman 's booth, where he sat gazing on her as before.
+When she saw him she came out to him and said, 'By Allah thou
+movest me to pity! wilt thou enter my faith that I may marry
+thee?' He cried, 'Allah forbid that I should put off the faith of
+Unity and enter that of Plurality!'[FN#208] Quoth she, 'Come in
+with me to my house and take thy will of me and wend thy ways in
+peace.' Quoth he, 'Not so, I will not waste the worship of twelve
+years for the lust of an eye-twinkle.' Said she, 'Then depart
+from me forthwith;' and he said, 'My heart will not suffer me to
+do that;' whereupon she turned her countenance from him.
+Presently the boys found him out and began to pelt him with
+stones; and he fell on his face, saying, 'Verily, Allah is my
+protector, who sent down the Book of the Koran; and He protecteth
+the Righteous![FN#209] At this I sallied forth and driving away
+the boys, lifted his head from the ground and heard him say,
+'Allah mine, unite me with her in Paradise!' Then I carried him
+to the monastery, but he died, before I could reach it, and I
+bore him without the village and I dug for him a grave and buried
+him. And next night when half of it was spent, the damsel cried
+with a great cry (and she in her bed); so the villagers flocked
+to her and questioned her of her case. Quoth she, 'As I slept,
+behold the Moslem man came in to me and taking me by the hand,
+carried me to the gate of Paradise; but the Guardian denied me
+entrance, saying, 'Tis forbidden to unbelievers.' So I embraced
+Al Islam at his hands and, entering with him, beheld therein
+pavilions and trees, such as I cannot describe to you. Moreover,
+he brought me to a pavilion of jewels and said to me, 'Of a truth
+this is my pavilion and thine, nor will I enter it save with
+thee; but, after five nights thou shalt be with me therein, if it
+be the will of Allah Almighty.' Then he put forth his hand to a
+tree which grew at the door of the pavilion and plucked there
+from two apples and gave them to me, saying, 'Eat this and keep
+the other, that the monks may see it.' So I ate one of them and
+never tasted I aught sweeter.' "--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman
+continued: "'So he plucked two apples and gave them to me,
+saying, 'Eat this and keep the other that the monks may see it.'
+So I ate one of them and never tasted I aught sweeter. Then he
+took my hand and fared forth and carried me back to my house;
+and, when I awoke, I found the taste of the apple in my mouth and
+the other in my hand.' So saying she brought out the apple, and
+in the darkness of the night it shone as it were a sparkling
+star. So they carried her (and the apple with her) to the
+monastery, where she repeated her vision and showed it to us;
+never saw we its like among all the fruits of the world. Then I
+took a knife and cut the apple into pieces according as we were
+folk in company; and never knew we aught more delicious than its
+savour nor more delightsome than its scent; but we said, 'Haply
+this was a devil that appeared unto her to seduce her from her
+faith.' Thereupon her people took her and went away; but she
+abstained from eating and drinking and on the fifth night she
+rose from her bed, and going forth the village to the grave of
+her Moslem lover threw herself upon it and died, her family not
+knowing what was come of her. But, on the morrow, there came to
+the village two Moslem elders, clad in hair cloth, and with them
+two women in like garb, and said, 'O people of the village, with
+you is a woman Saint, a Waliyah of the friends of Allah, who died
+a Moslemah; and we will take charge of her in lieu of you.' So
+the villagers sought her and found her dead on the Moslem's
+grave; and they said, 'This was one of us and she died in our
+faith; so we will take charge of her.' Rejoined the two old men,
+'Nay, she died a Moslemah and we claim her.' And the dispute
+waxed to a quarrel between them, till one of the Shaykhs said,
+'Be this the test of her faith: the forty monks of the monastery
+shall come and try to lift her from the grave. If they succeed,
+then she died a Nazarene; if not, one of us shall come and lift
+her up and if she be lifted by him, she died a Moslemah.' The
+villagers agreed to this and fetched the forty monks, who
+heartened one another, and came to her to lift her, but could
+not. Then we tied a great rope round her middle and haled at it;
+but the rope broke in sunder, and she stirred not; and the
+villagers came and did the like, but could not move her from her
+place.[FN#210] At last, when all means failed, we said to one of
+the two Shaykhs, 'Come thou and lift her.' So he went up to the
+grave and, covering her with his mantle, said, 'In the name of
+Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate, and of the Faith of
+the Apostle of Allah, on whom be prayers and peace!' Then he
+lifted her and, taking her in his bosom, betook himself with her
+to a cave hard by, where they laid her, and the two women came
+and washed her and shrouded her. Then the two elders bore her to
+her Moslem lover's grave and prayed over her and buried her by
+his side and went their ways. Now we were eye witnesses of all
+this; and, when we were alone with one another, we said, 'In
+sooth, the truth is most worthy to be followed;'[FN#211] and
+indeed the verity hath been made manifest to us, nor is there a
+proof more patent of the truth of al-Islam than that we have seen
+this day with our eyes.' So I and all the monks became Moslems
+and on like wise did the villagers; and we sent to the people of
+Mesopotamia for a doctor of the law, to instruct us in the
+ordinances of al-Islam and the canons of the Faith. They sent us
+a learned man and a pious, who taught us the rites of prayer and
+the tenets of the faith; and we are now in ease abounding; so to
+Allah be the praise and the thanks!" And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN.
+
+
+
+Quoth Amrú bin Masa'dah:[FN#212] "Abú Isá, son of al-Rashíd and
+brother to al-Maamun, was enamoured of one Kurrat al-Ayn, a slave
+girl belonging to Ali bin Hishám,[FN#213] and she also loved him;
+but he concealed his passion, complaining of it to none neither
+discovering his secret to anyone, of his pride and magnanimity;
+for he had used his utmost endeavour to purchase her of her
+master, but he had failed. At last when his patience was at an
+end and his passion was sore on him and he was helpless in the
+matter, he went in to al-Maamun, one day of state after the folk
+had retired, and said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, if
+thou wilt this day make trial of thine Alcaydes by taking them
+unawares, thou wilt know the generous from the mean and note each
+one's place, after the quality of his mind.' But, in saying this
+he purposed only to sit with Kurrat al-Ayn in her lord's house.
+Quoth al-Maamun, 'Right is thy recking,' and bade make ready a
+barge, called 'the Flyer,' wherein he embarked with Abu Isa and a
+party of his chief officers. The first mansion he visited
+unexpectedly was that of Hamíd al-Tawil of Tús, whom he found
+seated"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Maamun
+embarked with his chief officers and fared on till they reached
+the mansion of Hamíd al-Tawil of Tús; and, unexpectedly entering
+they found him seated on a mat and before him singers and players
+with lutes and flageolets and other instruments of music in their
+hands. So Al Maamun sat with him awhile and presently he set
+before him dishes of nothing but flesh meat, with no birds among
+them. The Caliph would not taste thereof and Abu Isa said to him,
+"O Commander of the Faithful, we have taken the owner of this
+place unawares, and he knew not of thy coming; but now let us go
+to another place which is prepared for thee and fitted for thee."
+Thereupon the Caliph arose and betook himself with his brother
+Abu Isa and his suite, to the abode of Ali son of Hisham who, on
+hearing of their approach, came out and received them with the
+goodliest of reception, and kissed the earth before the King.
+Then he brought them into his mansion and opened to them a saloon
+than which seer never saw a goodlier. Its floors, pillars and
+walls were of many coloured marbles, adorned with Greek
+paintings: and it was spread with matting of Sind[FN#214] whereon
+were carpets and tapestry of Bassorah make, fitted to the length
+and breadth of the room. So the Caliph sat awhile, examining the
+house and its ceilings and walls, then said, "Give us somewhat to
+eat." So they brought him forthwith nearly an hundred dishes of
+poultry besides other birds and brewises, fritters and cooling
+marinades. When he had eaten, he said, "Give us some thing to
+drink, O Ali;" and the host set before him, in vessels of gold
+and silver and crystal, raisin wine boiled down to one third with
+fruits and spices; and the cupbearers were pages like moons, clad
+in garments of Alexandrian stuff interwoven with gold and bearing
+on their breasts beakers of crystal, full of rose water mingled
+with musk. So al-Maamun marvelled with exceeding marvel at all he
+saw and said, "Ho thou, Abu al-Hasan!" Whereupon Ali sprang to
+the Caliph's carpet and kissing it, said, "At thy service, O
+Commander of the Faithful!" and stood before him. Quoth
+al-Maamun, "Let us hear some pleasant and merry song." Replied
+Ali, "I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful," and said to
+one of his eunuchs, "Fetch the singing women." So the slave went
+out and presently returned, followed by ten castratos, bearing
+ten stools of gold, which they set down in due order; and after
+these came ten damsels, concubines of the master, as they were
+shining full moons or gardens full of bloom, clad in black
+brocade, with crowns of gold on their heads; and they passed
+along the room till they sat down on the stools, when sang they
+sundry songs. Al-Maamun looked at one of them; and, being
+captivated by her elegance and fair favour, asked her, "What is
+thy name, O damsel?"; and she answered, "My name is
+Sajáhí,[FN#215] O Commander of the Faithful," and he said, "Sing
+to us, O Sajahi!" So she played a lively measure and sang these
+couplets,
+
+     "I walk, for fear of interview, the weakling's walk *
+          Who sees two lion whelps the fount draw nigh:
+     My cloak acts sword, my heart's perplex'd with fright, *
+          Lest jealous hostile eyes th' approach descry:
+     Till sudden hapt I on a delicate maid *
+          Like desert-doe that fails her fawns to espy."
+
+Quoth the Caliph, "Thou hast done well, O damsel! whose are these
+lines?" She answered, "Written by Amru bin Ma'di Karib al
+-Zubaydi,[FN#216] and the air is Ma'abid's."[FN#217] Then the
+Caliph and Abu Isa and Ali drank and the damsels went away and
+were succeeded by other ten, all clad in flowered silk of
+Al-Yaman, brocaded with gold, who sat down on the chairs and sang
+various songs. The Caliph looked at one of the concubines, who
+was like a wild heifer of the waste, and said to her, "What is
+thy name, O damsel?" She replied, "My name is Zabiyah,[FN#218] 0
+Commander of the Faithful;" and he, "Sing to us Zabiyah;" so she
+warbled like a bird with many a trill and sang these two
+couplets,
+
+     "Houris, and highborn Dames who feel no fear of men, *
+          Like Meccan game forbidden man to slam:[FN#219]
+     Their soft sweet voices make you deem them whores, *
+          But bars them from all whoring Al-Islam."
+
+When she had finished, al-Maamun cried, "favoured of Allah art
+thou!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+slave girl finished her song, al-Maamun cried, "Favoured of Allah
+art thou! Whose is this verse?" and she answered,
+"Jarír's[FN#220] and the air is By Ibn Surayj." Then the Caliph
+and his company drank, whilst the girls went away and there came
+forth yet other ten, as they were rubies, robed in red brocade
+inwoven with gold and purfled with pearls and jewels whilst all
+their heads were bare. They sat down on the stools and sang
+various airs; so the Caliph looked at one of them, who was like
+the sun of the day, and asked her, "What is thy name, O damsel?";
+and she answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, my name is
+Fátin." "Sing to us, O Fatin," quoth he; whereat she played a
+lively measure and sang these couplets,
+
+     "Deign grant thy favours; since 'tis time I were engraced; *
+          Tnough of severance hath it been my lot to taste.
+     Thou'rt he whose face cloth every gift and charm unite, *
+          Yet is my patience spent for that 'twas sore misplaced:
+     I've wasted life in loving thee; and would high Heaven *
+          Grant me one meeting hour for all this wilful waste."
+
+"Well sung, O Fatin!'' exclaimed the Caliph; "whose verse is
+this?" And she answered, "Adi bin Zayd's, and the air is
+antique." Then all three drank, whilst the damsels retired and
+were succeeded by other ten maidens, as they were sparkling
+stars, clad in flowered silk embroidered with red gold and girt
+with jewelled zones. They sat down and sang various motives; and
+the Caliph asked one of them, who was like a wand of willow,
+"What is thy name, O damsel?"; and she answered, "My name is
+Rashaa,[FN#221] 0 Commander of the Faithful." "Sing to us, O
+Rashaa," quoth he; so she played a lively measure and sang these
+couplets,
+
+     "And wand-like Houri, who can passion heal *
+          Like young gazelle that paceth o'er the plain:
+     I drain this wine cup on the toast, her cheek, *
+          Each cup disputing till she bends in twain
+     Then sleeps the night with me, the while I cry *
+          'This is the only gain my Soul would gain!' "
+
+Said the Caliph, "Well done, O damsel! Sing us something more."
+So she rose and kissing the ground before him, sang the following
+distich,
+
+     "She came out to gaze on the bridal at ease *
+          In a shift that reeked of ambergris."
+
+The Caliph was highly pleased with this couplet and, when the
+slave girl saw how much it delighted him, she repeated it several
+times. Then said al-Maamun, "Bring up 'the Flyer,'" being minded
+to embark and depart: but Ali bin Hisham said to him, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, I have a slave girl, whom I bought for
+ten thousand diners; she hath taken my heart in whole and part,
+and I would fain display her to the Commander of the Faithful. If
+she please him and he will accept of her, she is his: and if not,
+let him hear something from her." Said the Caliph, "Bring her to
+me;" and forth came a damsel, as she were a branchlet of willow,
+with seducing eyes and eyebrows set like twin bows; and on her
+head she wore a crown of red gold crusted with pearls and
+jewelled, under which was a fillet bearing this couplet wrought
+in letters of chrysolite,
+
+     "A Jinniyah this, with her Jinn, to show *
+          How to pierce man's heart with a stringless bow!"
+
+The handmaiden walked, with the gait of a gazelle in flight and
+fit to damn a devotee, till she came to a chair, whereon she
+seated herself.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the hand
+maiden walked with the gait of a gazelle in flight, fit to damn a
+devotee, till she came to a chair whereon she seated herself. And
+Al-Maamun marvelled at her beauty and loveliness; but, when Abu
+Isa saw her, his heart throbbed with pain, his colour changed to
+pale and wan and he was in evil case. Asked the Caliph, "O Abu
+Isa, what aileth thee to change thus?"; and he answered, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, it is because of a twitch that seizeth
+me betimes." Quoth the Caliph, "Hast thou known yonder damsel
+before to day?" Quoth he, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, can
+the moon be concealed?" Then said al-Maamun to her, "What is thy
+name, O damsel?"; and she replied, "My name is Kurrat al-Ayn. O
+Commander of the Faithful," and he rejoined, "Sing to us, O
+Kurrat al-Ayn." So she sang these two couplets,
+
+     "The loved ones left thee in middle night, *
+          And fared with the pilgrims when dawn shone bright:
+     The tents of pride round the domes they pitched, *
+          And with broidered curtains were veiled fro' sight."
+
+Quoth the Caliph, "Favoured of Heaven art thou, O Kurrat al-Ayn!
+Whose song is that?"; whereto she answered "The words are by
+Di'ibil al-Khuza'i, and the air by Zurzúr al-Saghír." Abu Isa
+looked at her and his tears choked him; so that the company
+marvelled at him. Then she turned to al-Maamun and said to him,
+"O Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou give me leave to change
+the words?" Said he, "Sing what thou wilt;" so she played a merry
+measure and carolled these couplets,
+
+     "If thou should please a friend who pleaseth thee *
+          Frankly, in public practise secrecy.
+     And spurn the slanderer's tale, who seldom[FN#222] *
+          seeks Except the severance of true love to see.
+     They say, when lover's near, he tires of love, *
+          And absence is for love best remedy:
+     Both cures we tried and yet we are not cured, *
+          Withal we judge that nearness easier be:
+     Yet nearness is of no avail when he *
+          Thou lovest lends thee love unwillingly."
+
+But when she had finished, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the
+Faithful," --And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kurrat
+al-Ayn had finished her verse, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, though we endure disgrace, we shall be at ease.[FN#223]
+Dost thou give me leave to reply to her?" Quoth the Caliph, "Yes,
+say what thou wilt to her." So he swallowed his tears and sang
+these two distichs,
+
+     "Silent I woned and never owned my love; *
+          But from my heart I hid love's blissful boon;
+     Yet, if my eyes should manifest my love, *
+          'Tis for my nearness to the shining moon."
+
+Then Kurrat al-Ayn took the lute and played a lively tune and
+rejoined with these couplets,
+
+     "An what thou claimest were the real truth, *
+          With only Hope content thou hadst not been
+     Nor couldest patient live without the girl *
+          So rare of inner grace and outward mien.
+     But there is nothing in the claim of thee *
+          At all, save tongue and talk that little mean."
+
+When Abu Isa heard this he fell to weeping and wailing and
+evidencing his trouble and anguish. Then he raised his eyes to
+her and sighing, repeated these couplets,
+
+     "Under my raiment a waste body lies, *
+          And in my spirit all comprising prize.
+     I have a heart, whose pain shall aye endure, *
+          And tears like torrents pour these woeful eyes.
+     Whene'er a wise man spies me, straight he chides *
+          Love, that misleads me thus in ways unwise:
+     O Lord, I lack the power this dole to bear: *
+          Come sudden Death or joy in bestest guise!"
+
+When he had ended, Ali bin Hisham sprang up and kissing his feet,
+said, "O my lord, Allah hearing thy secret hath answered thy
+prayer and consenteth to thy taking her with all she hath of
+things rare and fair, so the Commander of the Faithful have no
+mind to her." Quoth Al Maamun, "Had we a mind to her, we would
+prefer Abu Isa before ourselves and help him to his desire." So
+saying, he rose and embarking, went away, whilst Abu Isa tarried
+for Kurrat al-Ayn, whom he took and carried to his own house, his
+breast swelling with joy. See then the generosity of Ali son of
+Hisham! And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+
+             AL-AMIN SON OF AL-RASHID AND HIS UNCLE
+                     IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI.
+
+
+
+Al-Amin,[FN#224] brother of al-Maamun, once entered the house of
+his uncle Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi, where he saw a slave girl playing
+upon the lute; and, she being one of the fairest of women, his
+heart inclined to her. Ibrahim, seeing how it was with him, sent
+the girl to him, with rich raiment and precious ornaments. When
+he saw her, he thought that his uncle had lain with her; so he
+was loath to have to do with her, because of that, and accepting
+what came with her sent her back to Ibrahim. His uncle learnt the
+cause of this from one of al-Amin's eunuchs; so he took a shift
+of watered silk and worked upon its skirt, in letters of gold,
+these two couplets,
+
+     "No! I declare by Him to whom all bow, *
+          Of nothing 'neath her petticoat I trow:
+     Nor meddle with her mouth; nor aught did I *
+          But see and hear her, and it was enow!"
+
+Then he clad her in the shift and, giving her a lute, sent her
+back again to his nephew. When she came into al-Amin's presence,
+she kissed ground before him and tuning the lute, sang thereto
+these two couplets,
+
+     "Thy breast thou baredst sending back the gift; *
+          Showing unlove for me withouten shift:
+     An thou bear spite of Past, the Past forgive, *
+          And for the Caliphate cast the Past adrift."
+
+When she had made an end of her verse, Al-Amin looked at her and,
+seeing what was upon her skirt, could no longer control him self,
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+Al-Amin looked at the damsel and saw what was upon her skirt, he
+could no longer control himself, but drew near unto her and
+kissed her and appointed her a separate lodging in his palace.
+Moreover, he thanked his uncle for this and bestowed on him the
+government of Rayy. And a tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+
+               AL-FATH BIN KHAKAN AND THE CALIPH
+                         AL-MUTAWAKKIL.
+
+
+
+Al-Mutawakkil[FN#225] was once taking medicine, and folk sent him
+by way of solace all sorts of presents and rarities and things
+costly and precious. Amongst others, al-Fath bin Khákán[FN#226]
+sent him a virgin slave, high breasted, of the fairest among
+women of her time, and with her a vase of crystal, containing
+ruddy wine, and a goblet of red gold, whereon were graven in
+black these couplets,
+
+     "Since our Imam came forth from medicine, *
+          Which made him health and heartiness rewin,
+     There is no healing draught more sovereign *
+          Than well boiled wine this golden goblet in:
+     Then let him break the seal for him secured; *
+          'Tis best prescription after medicine[FN#227]
+
+Now when the damsel entered, the physician Yohanná[FN#228] was
+with the Caliph, and as he read the couplets, he smiled and said,
+"By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, Fath is better versed
+than I in the art of healing: so let not the Prince of True
+Believers gainsay his prescription." Accordingly, the Caliph
+followed the recipe contained in the poetry and was made whole by
+the blessing of Allah and won his every wish. And among tales
+they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE MAN'S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN
+             CONCERNING THE RELATIVE EXCELLENCE OF
+                        MALE AND FEMALE.
+
+
+
+Quoth a certain man of learning, "I never saw amongst woman kind
+one wittier, and wiser, better read and by nature more generously
+bred; and in manners and morals more perfected than a preacher of
+the people of Baghdad, by name Sitt al-Mashá'ikh.[FN#229] It
+chanced that she came to Hamah city in the year of the Flight
+five hundred and sixty and one[FN#230]; and there delivered
+salutary exhortations to the folk from the professorial chair.
+Now there used to visit her house a number of students of
+divinity and persons of learning and polite letters, who would
+discuss with her questions of theology and dispute with her on
+controversial points. I went to her one day, with a friend of
+mine, a man of years and education; and when we had taken our
+seats, she set before us a dish of fruit and seated herself
+behind a curtain. Now she had a brother, a handsome youth, who
+stood behind us, to serve us. And when we had eaten we fell to
+disputing upon points of divinity, and I propounded to her a
+theological question bearing upon a difference between the Imams,
+the Founders of the Four Schools. She proceeded to speak in
+answer, whilst I listened; but all the while my friend fell to
+looking upon her brother's face and admiring his beauties without
+paying any heed to what she discoursed. Now as she was watching
+him from behind the curtain; when she had made an end of her
+speech, she turned to him and said, 'Methinks thou be of those
+who give men the preference over women!' He replied, 'Assuredly,'
+and she asked, 'And why so?'; whereto he answered, 'For that
+Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the feminine,'" --And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+replied, " 'For that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than
+the feminine; and I like the excelling and mislike the excelled.'
+She laughed and presently said, 'Wilt thou deal fairly with me in
+debate, if I battle the matter with thee?' and he rejoined,
+'Yes.' Then quoth she, 'What is the evidence of the superiority
+of the male to the female?' Quoth he, 'It is of two kinds,
+traditional and reasonable. The authoritative part deriveth from
+the Koran and the Traditions of the Apostle. As for the first we
+have the very words of Almighty Allah, 'Men shall have the
+pre-eminence above women because of those advantages wherein
+Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the other;[FN#231] and
+again, 'If there be not two men, let there be one man and two
+women;'[FN#232] and again, when treating of inheritance, 'If
+there be brothers and sisters let a male have as much as the
+portion of two females.'[FN#233] Thus Allah (extolled and exalted
+be He!) hath in these places preferred the male over the female
+and teacheth that a woman is as the half of a man, for that he is
+worthier than she. As for the Sunnah traditions, is it not
+reported of the Prophet (whom Allah save and assain!) that he
+appointed the blood money for a woman to be half that of a man.
+And as for the evidence of reason, the male is the agent and
+active and the female the patient and passive.'[FN#234] Rejoined
+she, 'Thou hast said well, O my lord, but, by Allah, thou hast
+proved my contention with thine own lips and hast advanced
+evidence which telleth against thee, and not for thee. And thus
+it is: Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) preferred the male
+above the female solely because of the inherent condition and
+essential quality of masculinity; and in this there is no dispute
+between us. Now this quality of male-hood is common to the child,
+the boy, the youth, the adult and the old man; nor is there any
+distinction between them in this. If, then, the superior
+excellence of male masculant belong to him solely by virtue of
+manhood, it behoveth that thy heart incline and thy sole delight
+in the graybeard, equally with the boy; seeing that there is no
+distinction between them, in point of male-hood. But the
+difference between thee and me turneth upon the accident of
+qualities that are sought as constituting the pleasure of
+intercourse and its enjoyment; and thou hast adduced no proof of
+the superiority of the youth over the young girl in this matter
+of non-essentials.' He made answer, 'O reverend lady, knowest
+thou not that which is peculiar to the youth of limber shape and
+rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and sweetness of speech? Youths
+are, in these respects superior to women; and the proof of this
+is what they traditionally report of the Prophet (whom Allah
+bless and preserve!) that he said, 'Stay not thy gaze upon the
+beardless, for in them is a momentary eye glance at the black
+eyed girls of Paradise.' Nor indeed is the superiority of the lad
+over the lass hidden to any of mankind, and how well saith Abu
+Nowas,[FN#235]
+
+     'The least of him is the being free *
+          From monthly courses and pregnancy.'
+
+And the saying of another poet,
+
+     'Quoth our Imam, Abu Nowas, who was *
+          For mad debauch and waggishness renowned:
+     'O tribe that loves the cheeks of boys, take fill *
+          Of joys in Paradise shall ne'er be found!'
+
+So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and wish to
+enhance her value by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her
+to a youth,'" --And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
+continued, "'So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and
+wish to enhance her value by the mention of her beauties, he
+likeneth her to a youth, because of the illustrious qualities
+that belong to the male, even as saith the poet,
+
+     'Boy like of backside, in the deed of kind, *
+          She sways, as sways the wand like boughs a-wind.'
+
+An youths, then, were not better and fairer than girls, why
+should these be likened to them? And know also (Almighty Allah
+preserve thee!) that a youth is easy to be led, adapting himself
+to every rede, pleasant of converse and manners, inclining to
+assent rather than dissent, especially when his side face is
+newly down'd and his upper lip is first embrowned, and the purple
+lights of youth on his cheeks abound, so that he is like the full
+moon sound; and how goodly is the saying of Abu Tammám[FN#236],
+
+     'The slanderers said 'There's hair upon his cheeks'; *
+          Quoth I, 'Exceed not, that's no blemish there.'
+     When he could bear that haling of his hips *
+          And pearl-beads shaded by mustachio hair;[FN#237]
+     And Rose swore solemn, holiest oath that is, *
+          From that fair cheek she nevermore would fare
+     I spoke with eyelids without need of speech, *
+          And they who answered me his eyebrows were.
+     He's even fairer than thou knewest him, *
+          And cheek down guards from all would overdare.
+     Brighter and sweeter now are grown his charms, *
+          Since down robes lip and cheek before were bare.
+     And those who blame me for my love of him, *
+          When him they mention say of him, 'Thy Fair'!'
+
+And quoth al-Hariri[FN#238] and quoth excellently well,
+
+     'My censors say, 'What means this pine for him? *
+          Seest not the flowing hair on cheeks a flowing?'
+     I say, 'By Allah, an ye deem I dote, *
+          Look at the truth in those fine eyes a-showing!
+     But for the down that veils his cheek and chin, *
+          His brow had dazed all eyes no sight allowing:
+     And whoso sojourns in a growthless land, *
+          How shall he move from land fair growths a-growing?'
+
+And quoth another,
+
+     'My blamers say of me, 'He is consoled,' And lie! *
+          No consolation comes to those who pine and sigh.
+     I had no solace when Rose bloomed alone on cheek, *
+          Now Basil blooms thereon and now consoled am I.'
+
+And again,
+
+     'Slim waisted one, whose looks with down of cheek *
+          In slaughtering mankind each other hurtle
+     With the Narcissus blade he sheddeth blood, *
+          The baldrick of whose sheath is freshest
+          myrtle.'[FN#239]
+
+And again,
+
+     'Not with his must I'm drunk, but verily *
+          Those curls turn manly heads like newest wine[FN#240]
+     Each of his beauties envies each, and all *
+          Would be the silky down on side face li'en.'
+
+Such are the excellencies of the youth which women do not own,
+and they more than suffice to give those the preference over
+these.' She replied, 'Allah give thee health! verily, thou hast
+imposed the debate upon thyself; and thou hast spoken and hast
+not stinted and hast brought proofs to support every assertion.
+But, 'Now is the truth become manifest;'[FN#241] so swerve thou
+not from the path thereof; and, if thou be not content with a
+summary of evidence, I will set it before thee in fullest detail.
+Allah upon thee, where is the youth beside the girl and who shall
+compare kid and wild cow? The girl is soft of speech, fair of
+form, like a branchlet of basil, with teeth like chamomile-petals
+and hair like halters wherefrom to hang hearts. Her cheeks are
+like blood-red anemones and her face like a pippin: she hath lips
+like wine and breasts like pomegranates twain and a shape supple
+as a rattan-cane. Her body is well formed and with sloping
+shoulders dight; she hath a nose like the edge of a sword shining
+bright and a forehead brilliant white and eyebrows which unite
+and eyes stained by Nature's hand black as night. If she speak,
+fresh young pearls are scattered from her mouth forthright and
+all hearts are ravished by the daintiness of her sprite; when she
+smileth thou wouldst ween the moon shone out her lips between and
+when she eyes thee, sword blades flash from the babes of her
+eyes. In her all beauties to conclusion come, and she is the
+centre of attraction to traveller and stay-at-home. She hath two
+lips of cramoisy, than cream smoother and of taste than honey
+sweeter,'" --And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+preacher woman thus pursued her theme in the praise of fair
+maids, "'She hath two lips of cramoisy, than cream smoother and
+than honey sweeter;' adding, 'And she hath a bosom, as it were a
+way two hills between which are a pair of breasts like globes of
+ivory sheen; likewise, a stomach right smooth, flanks soft as the
+palm-spathe and creased with folds and dimples which overlap one
+another, and liberal thighs, which like columns of pearl arise,
+and back parts which billow and beat together like seas of glass
+or mountains of glance, and two feet and hands of gracious mould
+like unto ingots of virgin gold. So, O miserable! where are
+mortal men beside the Jinn? Knowest thou not that puissant
+princes and potent Kings before women ever humbly bend and on
+them for delight depend? Verily, they may say, 'We rule over
+necks and rob hearts.' These women! how many a rich man have they
+not paupered, how many a powerful man have they not prostrated
+and how many a superior man have they not enslaved! Indeed, they
+seduce the sage and send the saint to shame and bring the wealthy
+to want and plunge the fortune favoured into penury. Yet for all
+this, the wise but redouble in affection of them and honour; nor
+do they count this oppression or dishonour. How many a man for
+them hath offended his Maker and called down on him self the
+wrath of his father and mother! And all this because of the
+conquest of their love over hearts. Knowest thou not, O wretched
+one, that for them are built pavilions, and slave girls are for
+sale;[FN#242] that for them tear floods rail and for them are
+collected jewels of price and ambergris and musk odoriferous; and
+armies are arrayed and pleasaunces made and wealth heaped up and
+smitten off is many a head? And indeed he spoke sooth in the
+words, 'Whoso saith the world meaneth woman.' Now as for thy
+citation from the Holy Traditions, it is an argument against thee
+and not for thee in that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) compareth the beardless with the black eyed girls of
+Paradise. Now, doubtless, the subject of comparison is worthier
+than the object there with compared; so, unless women be the
+worthier and the goodlier, wherefore should other than they be
+likened to them? As for thy saying that girls are likened to
+boys, the case is not so, but the contrary: boys are likened to
+girls; for folk say, Yonder boy is like a girl. As for what proof
+thou quotest from the poets, the verses were the product of a
+complexion unnatural in this respect; and as for the habitual
+sodomites and catamites, offenders against religion, Almighty
+Allah hath condemned them in His Holy Book,[FN#243] herein He
+denounceth their filthy practices, saying, 'Do ye approach unto
+the males among mankind[FN#244] and leave your wives which your
+Lord hath created for you? Surely ye are a people who
+transgress!' These it is that liken girls to boys, of their
+exceeding profligacy and ungraciousness and inclination to follow
+the fiend and own lusts, so that they say, 'She is apt for two
+tricks,'[FN#245] and these are all wanderers from the way of
+right and the righteous. Quoth their chief Abu Nowas,
+
+     'Slim waist and boyish wits delight *
+          Wencher, as well as Sodomite,'[FN#246]
+
+As for what thou sayest of a youth's first hair on cheek and lips
+and how they add to his beauty and loveliness, by Allah, thou
+strayest from the straight path of sooth and sayest that which is
+other than the truth; for whiskers change the charms of the
+comely into ugliness (quoting these couplets),
+
+     'That sprouting hair upon his face took wreak *
+          For lovers' vengeance, all did vainly seek.
+     I see not on his face a sign fuli- *
+          genous, except his curls are hue of reek.
+     If so his paper[FN#247] mostly be begrimed *
+          Where deemest thou the reed shall draw a streak?
+     If any raise him other fairs above, *
+          This only proves the judge of wits is weak.'
+
+And when she ended her verse she resumed, 'Laud be to Allah
+Almighty,'" --And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+preacher woman ended her verse she resumed, addressing the man, "
+'Laud to Allah Almighty! how can it be hid from thee that the
+perfect pleasure is in women and that abiding blessings are not
+to be found but with them, seeing that Allah (extolled and
+exalted be He!) hath promised His prophets and saints black eyed
+damsels in Paradise and hath appointed these for a recompense of
+their godly works. And had the Almighty known that the joy
+supreme was in the possession of other than women, He had
+rewarded them therewith and promised it to them. And quoth he
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!), 'The things I hold dearest of
+the things of your world are three: women and perfume and the
+solace of my eyes in prayer.' Verily Allah hath appointed boys to
+serve his prophets and saints in Paradise, because Paradise is
+the abode of joy and delight, which could not be complete without
+the service of youths; but, as to the use of them for aught but
+service, it is Hell's putridity[FN#248] and corruption and
+turpitude. How well saith the poet,
+
+    'Men's turning unto bums of boys is bumptious; *
+          Whoso love noble women show their own noblesse.
+    How many goodly wights have slept the night, enjoying *
+          Buttocks of boys, and woke at morn in foulest mess
+    Their garments stained by safflower, which is yellow merde; *
+          Their shame proclaiming, showing colour of distress.
+    Who can deny the charge, when so bewrayed are they *
+          That e'en by day light shows the dung upon their dress?
+    What contrast wi' the man, who slept a gladsome night *
+          By Houri maid for glance a mere enchanteress,
+    He rises off her borrowing wholesome bonny scent; *
+          That fills the house with whiffs of perfumed
+          goodliness.
+    No boy deserved place by side of her to hold; *
+          Canst even aloes wood with what fills pool of
+          cess!'[FN#249]
+
+Then said she, 'O folk ye have made me to break the bounds of
+modesty and the circle of free born women and indulge in idle
+talk of chambering and wantonness, which beseemeth not people of
+learning. But the breasts of free-borns are the sepulchres of
+secrets' and such conversations are in confidence. Moreover,
+actions are according to intentions,[FN#250] and I crave pardon
+of Allah for myself and you and all Moslems, seeing that He is
+the Pardoner and the Compassionate.' Then she held her peace and
+thereafter would answer us of naught; so we went our way,
+rejoicing in that we had profited by her contention and yet
+sorrowing to part from her." And among the tales they tell is one
+of
+
+
+
+
+              ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN.
+
+
+
+Quoth Abu Suwayd, "I and a company of my friends, entered a
+garden one day to buy somewhat of fruit; and we saw in a corner
+an old woman, who was bright of face, but her head-hair was
+white, and she was combing it with an ivory comb. We stopped
+before her, yet she paid no heed to us neither veiled her face:
+so I said to her, 'O old woman,[FN#251] wert thou to dye thy hair
+black, thou wouldst be handsomer than a girl: what hindereth thee
+from this?' She raised her head towards me"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Suwayd
+continued: "When I spake these words to the ancient dame she
+raised her head towards me and, opening wide her eyes, recited
+these two couplets,
+
+     'I dyed what years have dyed, but this my staining *
+          Lasts not, while that of days is aye remaining:
+     Days when beclad in gear of youth I fared, *
+          Raked fore and aft by men with joy unfeigning.'
+
+I cried, 'By Allah, favoured art thou for an old woman! How
+sincere art thou in thine after-pine for forbidden pleasures and
+how false is thy pretence of repentance from frowardness!'" And
+another tale is that of
+
+
+
+
+
+          THE EMIR ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS.
+
+
+
+Once on a time was displayed for sale to Ali bin Mohammed bin
+Abdallah bin Táhir[FN#252] a slave-girl called Muunis who was
+superior to her fellows in beauty and breeding, and to boot an
+accomplished poetess; and he asked her of her name. Replied she,
+"Allah advance the Emir, my name is Muunis."[FN#253] Now he knew
+this before; so he bowed his head awhile, then raising his eyes
+to her, recited this verse,
+
+     "What sayest of one by a sickness caught *
+          For the love of thy love till he waxed distraught?"
+
+Answered she, "Allah exalt the Emir!" and recited this verse in
+reply,
+
+     "If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, *
+          Wi' love we would grant him all favours he sought."
+
+She pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams
+and begat on her Obayd' Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister
+of Police.[FN#254] And we are told by Abu al-Ayná[FN#255] a tale
+of
+
+
+
+
+             THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER
+                    WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER.
+
+
+
+Quoth Abu al-Ayná, "There were in our street two women, one of
+whom had for lover a man and the other a beardless youth, and
+they foregathered one night on the terrace-roof of a house
+adjoining mine, knowing not that I was near. Quoth the boy's
+lover to the other, 'O my sister, how canst thou bear with
+patience the harshness of thy lover's beard as it falleth on thy
+breast, when he busseth thee and his mustachios rub thy cheek and
+lips?' Replied the other, 'Silly that thou art, what decketh the
+tree save its leaves and the cucumber but its warts?[FN#256]
+Didst ever see in the world aught uglier than a scald-head bald
+of his beard? Knowest thou not that the beard is to men as the
+sidelocks to women; and what is the difference between chin and
+cheek?[FN#257] Knowest thou not that Allah (extolled and exalted
+be He!) hath created an angel in Heaven, who saith: 'Glory be to
+Him who ornamenteth men with beards and women with long hair?'
+So, were not the beard even as the tresses in comeliness, it had
+not been coupled with them, O silly! How shall I spread-eagle
+myself under a boy, who will emit long before I can go off and
+forestall me in limpness of penis and clitoris; and leave a man
+who, when he taketh breath clippeth close and when he entereth
+goeth leisurely, and when he hath done, repeateth, and when he
+pusheth poketh hard, and as often as he withdraweth, returneth?'
+The boy's leman was edified by her speech and said, 'I forswear
+my lover by the lord of the Ka'abah!'" And amongst tales is one
+of
+
+
+
+
+
+            ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN
+                            BAGHDAD.
+
+
+
+There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great
+store of monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and
+houses beyond count, and his name was Hasan the Jeweller, the
+Baghdad man. Furthermore Allah had blessed him with a son of
+perfect beauty and brilliancy; rosy-cheeked, fair of face and
+well-figured, whom he named Ali of Cairo, and had taught the
+Koran and science and elocution and the other branches of polite
+education, till he became proficient in all manner of knowledge.
+He was under his father's hand in trade but, after a while, Hasan
+fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he made sure of
+death; so he called his son to him,--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Jeweller, the Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he
+called to him his son, named Ali of Cairo, and said, "O my son,
+verily this world passeth away; but the next world endureth for
+aye. Every soul shall taste of death;[FN#258] and now, O my son,
+my decease is at hand and I desire to charge thee with a charge,
+which if thou observe, thou shalt abide in safety and prosperity,
+till thou meet Almighty Allah; but if thou follow it not, there
+shall befal thee much weariness and thou wilt repent of having
+transgressed mine injunctions." Replied Ali, "O my father, how
+shall I do other than hearken to thy words and act according to
+thy charge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the Faith to
+obey thee and give ear to thy command?" Rejoined his father, "O
+my son, I leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past
+count; so that wert thou each day to spend thereof five hundred
+dinars, thou wouldst miss naught of it. But, O my son, look that
+thou live in the fear of Allah and follow His Chosen One,
+Mustafa, (whom may He bless and preserve!) in whatso he is
+reported to have bidden and forbidden in his traditional
+law.[FN#259] Be thou constant in alms-deeds and the practice of
+beneficence and in consorting with men of worth and piety and
+learning; and look that thou have a care for the poor and needy
+and shun avarice and meanness and the conversation of the wicked
+or those of suspicious character. Look thou kindly upon thy
+servants and family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the
+daughters of the great and is big with child by thee; haply Allah
+will vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her." And he ceased not to
+exhort him thus, weeping and saying, "O my son, I beseech Allah
+the Bountiful, the Lord of the glorious Empyrean[FN#260] to
+deliver thee from all straits that may encompass thee and grant
+thee His ready relief!" Thereupon his son wept with sore weeping
+and said, "O my father, I am melted by thy words, for these are
+as the words of one that saith farewell." Replied the merchant,
+"Yes, O my son, I am aware of my condition: forget thou not my
+charge." Then he fell to repeating the two professions of the
+Faith and to reciting verses of the Koran, until the appointed
+hour arrived, when he said, "Draw near unto me, O my son." So Ali
+drew near and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed
+his body and he went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[FN#261]
+Therewith great grief fell upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose
+in his house and his father's friends flocked to him. Then he
+betook himself to preparing the body for burial and made him a
+splendid funeral. They bore his bier to the place of prayer and
+prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they buried him and
+recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran; after which
+they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man's son
+and wended each his own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday
+prayer for his father and had perlections of the Koran every day
+for the normal forty, during which time he abode in the house and
+went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every Friday he
+visited his father's tomb. So he ceased not from his praying and
+reciting for some time, until his fellows of the sons of the
+merchants came in to him one day and saluting him, said, "How
+long this thy mourning and neglecting thy business and the
+company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion which will
+bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it
+exceedingly." Now when they came in to him, Iblis the Accursed
+was with them, prompting them; and they went on to recommend him
+to accompany them to the bazar, whilst Iblis tempted him to
+consent to them, till he yielded,--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+sons of the merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan
+the Jeweller, they recommended him to accompany them to the
+bazar, till he yielded, that the will of Allah (extolled and
+exalted be He!) might be fulfilled; and he left the house of
+mourning with them. Presently they said, "Mount thy she-mule and
+ride with us to such a garden, that we may solace us there and
+that thy grief and despondency may depart from thee." So he
+mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden in
+question; and when they entered one of them went and making ready
+the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were
+merry and sat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted
+and returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the
+night. As soon as the morrow dawned, they again visited Ali and
+said, "Come with us." Asked he, "Whither?"; and they answered,
+"To such a garden; for it is finer than the first and more
+pleasurable." So he went with them to the garden, and one of
+them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and brought it to
+them, together with strong heady wine; and after eating, they
+brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, "What is this? and quoth
+they, "This is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth gladness.
+And they ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed
+upon him and he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and
+talking, till the end of the day, when each returned home. But as
+for Ali, the Cairene, he was giddy with wine and in this plight
+went in to his wife, who said to him, "What aileth thee that thou
+art so changed?" He said, "We were making merry to-day, when one
+of my companions brought us liquor; so my friends drank and I
+with them, and this giddiness came upon me." And she replied, "O
+my lord, say me, hast thou forgotten thy father's injunction and
+done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with doubtful
+folk?" Answered he, "These be of the sons of the merchants; they
+are no suspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer." And
+he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day,
+going from place to place and feasting with them and drinking,
+till they said to him, "Our turns are ended, and now it is thy
+turn." "Well come, and welcome and fair cheer!" cried he; so on
+the morrow, he made ready all that the case called for of meat
+and drink, two-fold what they had provided, and taking cooks and
+tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[FN#262] repaired with the others
+to Al-Rauzah[FN#263] and the Nilometer, where they abode a whole
+month, eating and drinking and hearing music and making merry. At
+the end of the month, Ali found that he had spent a great sum of
+money; but Iblis the Accursed deluded him and said to him,
+"Though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou
+not miss aught of it." So he took no account of money expenses
+and continued this way of life for three years, whilst his wife
+remonstrated with him and reminded him of his father's charge;
+but he hearkened not to her words, till he had spent all the
+ready monies he had, when he fell to selling his jewels and
+spending their price, until they also were all gone. Then he sold
+his houses, fields, farms and gardens, one after other, till they
+likewise were all gone and he had nothing left but the tenement
+wherein he lived. So he tore out the marble and wood-work and
+sold it and spent of its price, till he had made an end of all
+this also, when he took thought with himself and, finding that he
+had nothing left to expend, sold the house itself and spent the
+purchase-money. After that, the man who had bought the house came
+to him and said "Seek out for thyself a lodging, as I have need
+of my house." So he bethought himself and, finding that he had no
+want of a house, except for his wife, who had borne him a son and
+daughter (he had not a servant left), he hired a large room in
+one of the mean courts[FN#264] and there took up his abode, after
+having lived in honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much
+wealth; and he soon came to want one day's bread. Quoth his wife,
+"Of this I warned thee and exhorted thee to obey thy father's
+charge, and thou wouldst not hearken to me; but there is no
+Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the
+Great! Whence shall the little ones eat? Arise then, go round to
+thy friends, the sons of the merchants: belike they will give
+thee somewhat on which we may live this day." So he arose and
+went to his friends one by one; but they all hid their faces from
+him and gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but naught
+else; and he returned to his wife and said to her, "They have
+given me nothing." Thereupon she went forth to beg of her
+neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wife of
+Ali the Cairene, seeing her husband return empty-handed, went
+forth to beg of her neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves
+alive and repaired to a woman, whom she had known in former days.
+When she came in to her and she saw her case, she rose and
+receiving her kindly, wept and said, "What hath befallen you?" So
+she told her all that her husband had done, and the other
+replied, "Well come and welcome and fair cheer!; whatever thou
+needest, Seek it of me, without price." Quoth she, "Allah requite
+thee abundantly!"[FN#265] Then her friend gave her as much
+provision as would suffice herself and her family a whole month,
+and she took it and returned to her lodging. When her husband saw
+her, he wept and asked, "Whence hadst thou that?"; and she
+answered, "I got it of such a woman; for, when I told her what
+had befallen us, she failed me not in aught, but said, 'Seek of
+me all thou needest.'" Whereupon her husband rejoined, "Since
+thou hast this much I will betake myself to a place I have in my
+mind; peradventure Allah Almighty will bring us relief."[FN#266]
+With these words he took leave of her and kissed his children and
+went out, not knowing whither he should go, and he continued
+walking on till he came to Bulák, where he saw a ship about to
+sail for Damietta.[FN#267] Here he met a man, between whom and
+his father there had been friendship, and he saluted him and said
+to him, "Whither now?" Replied Ali, "To Damietta: I have friends
+there, whom I would enquire after and visit them and then
+return." The man took him home and treated him honourably; then,
+furnishing him with vivers for the voyage and giving him some
+gold pieces, embarked him on board the vessel bound for Damietta.
+When they reached it, Ali landed, not knowing whither to go; but
+as he was walking along, a merchant saw him and had pity on him,
+and carried him to his house. Here he abode awhile, after which
+he said in himself, "How long this sojourning in other folk's
+homes?" Then he left the merchant's place and walked to the wharf
+where, after enquiry, he found a ship ready to sail for Syria.
+His hospitable host provided him with provision and embarked him
+in the ship; and it set sail and Ali reached in due season the
+Syrian shores where he disembarked and journeyed till he entered
+Damascus. As he walked about the great thoroughfare behold, a
+kindly man saw him and took him to his house, where he tarried
+for a time till, one day, going abroad, he saw a caravan about to
+start for Baghdad and bethought himself to journey thither with
+it. Thereupon he returned to his host and taking leave of him,
+set out with the Cafilah. Now Allah (extolled and exalted be He!)
+inclined to him the heart of one of the merchants, so that he
+took him with him, and Ali ate and drank with him, till they came
+within one day's journey of Baghdad. Here, however, a company of
+highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they had and but
+few of the merchants escaped. These made each for a separate
+place of refuge; but as for Ali the Cairene he fared for Baghdad,
+where he arrived at sundown, as the gatekeepers were about to
+shut the gates, and said to them, "Let me in with you." They
+admitted him and asked him, "Whence come, and whither wending?"
+and he answered, "I am a man from Cairo-city and have with me
+mules laden with merchandise and slaves and servants. I forewent
+them, to look me out a place wherein to deposit my goods: but, as
+I rode along on my she-mule, there fell upon me a company of
+banditti, who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from them
+but at my last gasp." The gate-guard entreated him honourably and
+bade him be of good cheer, saying, "Abide with us this night, and
+in the morning we will look thee out a place befitting thee."
+Then he sought in his breast-pocket and, finding a dinar of those
+given to him by the merchant at Bulak, handed it to one of the
+gatekeepers, saying, "Take this and change it and bring us
+something to eat." The man took it and went to the market, where
+he changed it, and brought Ali bread and cooked meat: so he ate,
+he and the gate-guards, and he lay the night with them. Now on
+the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a certain of the
+merchants of Baghdad, to whom he told the same story, and he
+believed him, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him
+loads of merchandise. Then he took him up into his shop and
+entreated him with honour; moreover, he sent to his house for a
+splendid suit of his own apparel for him and carried him to the
+Hammam. "So," quoth Ali of Cairo: "I went with him to the bath,
+and when we came out, he took me and brought me to his house,
+where he set the morning-meal before us, and we ate and made
+merry. Then said he to one of his black slaves, 'Ho Mas'dd, take
+this thy lord: show him the two houses standing in such a place,
+and whichever pleaseth him, give him the key of it and come
+back.' So I went with the slave, till we came to a street-road
+where stood three houses side by side, newly built and yet shut
+up. He opened the first and I looked at it; and we did the same
+to the second; after which he said to me 'Of which shall I give
+thee the key?' 'To whom doth the big house belong?' 'To us!'
+'Open it, that I may view it.' 'Thou hast no business there.'
+'Wherefore?' 'Because it is haunted, and none nighteth there but
+in the morning he is a dead man; nor do we use to open the door,
+when removing the corpse, but mount the terrace-roof of one of
+the other two houses and take it up thence. For this reason my
+master hath abandoned the house and saith: 'I will never again
+give it to any one.' 'Open it,' I cried, 'that I may view it;'
+and I said in my mind, 'This is what I seek; I will pass the
+night there and in the morning be a dead man and be at peace from
+this my case.' So he opened it and I entered and found it a
+splendid house, without its like; and I said to the slave, 'I
+will have none other than this house; give me its key.' But he
+rejoined, 'I will not give thee this key till I consult my
+master,'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the negro
+(continued Ali of Cairo) "rejoined, 'I will not give thee its key
+till I consult my master,'" and going to him, reported, "'The
+Egyptian trader saith, 'I will lodge in none but the big house.'"
+Now when the merchant heard this, he rose and coming to Ali,
+spake thus to him, "O my lord, thou hast no need of this house."
+But he answered, "I will lodge in none other than this; for I
+care naught for this silly saying." Quoth the other, "Write me an
+acknowledgment that, if aught happen to thee, I am not
+responsible." Quoth Ali, "So be it;" whereupon the merchant
+fetched an assessor from the Kazi's court and, taking the
+prescribed acknowledgment, delivered to him the key wherewith he
+entered the house. The merchant sent him bedding by a blackamoor
+who spread it for him on the built bench behind the door[FN#268]
+and walked away. Presently Ali went about and, seeing in the
+inner court a well with a bucket, let this down and drew water,
+wherewith he made the lesser ablution and prayed the obligatory
+prayers. Then he sat awhile, till the slave brought him the
+evening meal from his master's house, together with a lamp, a
+candle and candlestick, a basin and ewer and a gugglet[FN#269];
+after which he left him and returned home. Ali lighted the
+candle, supped at his ease and prayed the night-prayer; and
+presently he said to himself, "Come, take the bedding and go
+upstairs and sleep there; 'twill be better than here." So he took
+the bed and carried it upstairs, where he found a splendid
+saloon, with gilded ceiling and floor and walls cased with
+coloured marbles. He spread his bed there and sitting down, began
+to recite somewhat of the Sublime Koran, when (ere he was ware)
+he heard one calling to him and asking, "O Ali, O son of Hasan,
+say me, shall I send thee down the gold?" And he answered, "Where
+be the gold thou hast to send?" But hardly had he spoken, when
+gold pieces began to rain down on him, like stones from a
+catapult, nor ceased till the saloon was full. Then, after the
+golden shower, said the Voice, "Set me free, that I may go my
+way; for I have made an end of my service and have delivered unto
+thee that which was entrusted to me for thee." Quoth Ali, "I
+adjure thee, by Allah the Almighty, to tell me the cause of this
+gold-rain." Replied the Voice, "This is a treasure that was
+talisman'd to thee of old time, and to every one who entered the
+house, we used to come and say: 'O Ali, O son of Hasan, shall we
+send thee down the gold?' Whereat he would be affrighted and cry
+out, and we would come down to him and break his neck and go
+away. But, when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy name and
+that of thy father, saying, 'Shall we send thee down the gold?'
+and thou madest answer to us, 'And where be the gold?' we knew
+thee for the owner of it and sent it down. Moreover, there is yet
+another hoard for thee in the land of Al-Yaman and thou wouldst
+do well to journey thither and fetch it. And now I would fain
+have thee set me free, that I may go my way." Said Ali, "By
+Allah, I will not set thee free, till thou bring me hither the
+treasure from the land of Al-Yaman!" Said the Voice, "An I bring
+it to thee, wilt thou release me and eke the servant of the other
+hoard?" "Yes," replied Ali, and the Voice cried, "Swear to me."
+So he swore to him, and he was about to go away, when Ali said to
+him, "I have one other need to ask of thee;" and he, "What is
+that?" Quoth Ali, "I have a wife and children at Cairo in such a
+place; thou needs must fetch them to me, at their ease and
+without their unease." Quoth he, "I will bring them to thee in a
+mule-litter[FN#270] and much state, with a train of eunuchs and
+servants, together with the treasure from Al-Yaman,
+Inshallah!"[FN#271] Then he took of him leave of absence for
+three days, when all this should be with him, and vanished. As
+soon as it was morning Ali went round about the saloon, seeking a
+place wherein to store the gold, and saw on the edge of the dais
+a marble slab with a turning-pin; so he turned the pin and the
+slab sank and showed a door which he opened and entering, found a
+great closet, full of bags of coarse stuff carefully sewn. So he
+began taking out the bags and fell to filling them with gold and
+storing them in the closet, till he had transported thither all
+the hoarded gold, whereupon he shut the door and turning the pin,
+the slab returned to its place. Then he went down and seated
+himself on the bench behind the door; and presently there came a
+knock; so he opened and found the merchant's slave who, seeing
+him comfortably sitting, returned in haste to his master,--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+house-owner's black slave returned and knocked at the door, Ali
+the Cairene, son of the merchant Hasan, opened it to him and the
+negro, seeing him comfortably sitting, returned in haste to his
+master with the good tidings, saying, "O my Lord, the merchant,
+who is lodged in the house inhabited by the Jinn,[FN#272] is
+alive and well and sitteth on the bench behind the door." Then
+the merchant rose joyfully and went to the house, taking
+breakfast with him; and, when he saw Ali, he embraced him and
+kissed him between the eyes, asking, "How hath Allah dealt with
+thee?"; and Ali answered, "Right well, I slept upstairs in the
+marble saloon." Quoth the merchant, "Did aught come to thee or
+didst thou see any thing?" and quoth Ali "No, I recited some
+little of the Sublime Koran and slept till morning, when I arose
+and, after making the minor ablution and praying, seated myself
+on the bench behind the door." "Praised be Allah for safety!"
+exclaimed the merchant, then left him and presently sent him
+black slaves and white Mamelukes and handmaidens with household
+gear. They swept the house from top to bottom and furnished it
+with magnificent furniture; after which three white slaves and
+three blacks and four slave-girls remained with him, to serve
+him, while the rest returned to their master's house. Now when
+the merchants heard of him, they sent him presents of all manner
+things of price, even to food and drink and clothes, and took him
+with them to the market, asking, "When will thy baggage arrive?"
+And he answered, "After three days it will surely come." When the
+term had elapsed, the servant of the first hoard, the golden
+rain, came to him and said, "Go forth and meet the treasure I
+have brought thee from Al-Yaman together with thy Harim; for I
+bring part of the wealth in the semblance of costly merchandise;
+but the eunuchs and Mamelukes and the mules and horses and camels
+are all of the Jann." Now the Jinni, when he betook himself to
+Cairo, found Ali's wife and children in sore misery, naked and
+hungry; so he carried them out of the city in a travelling-litter
+and clad them in sumptuous raiment of the stuffs which were in
+the treasure of Al-Yaman. So when Ali heard this, he arose and
+repairing to the merchants, said to them, "Rise and go forth with
+us from the city, to meet the caravan bringing my merchandise,
+and honour us with the presence of your Harims, to meet my
+Harim." "Hearkening and obedience," answered they and, sending
+for their Harims, went forth all together and took seat in one of
+the city-gardens; and as they sat talking, behold, a dust-cloud
+arose out of the heart of the desert, and they flocked forth to
+see what it was. Presently it lifted and discovered mules and
+muleteers, tent-pitchers and linkmen, who came on, singing and
+dancing, till they reached the garden, when the chief of the
+muleteers walked up to Ali and kissing his hand, said to him, "O
+my master, we have been long on the way, for we purposed entering
+yesterday; but we were in fear of the bandits, so abode in our
+station four days, till Almighty Allah rid us of them." Thereupon
+the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with the
+caravan, the Harims waiting behind, till Ali's wife and children
+mounted with them; and they all entered in splendid train. The
+merchants marvelled at the number of mules laden with chests,
+whilst the women of the merchants wondered at the richness of the
+apparel of his wife and the fine raiment of her children; and
+kept saying each to other, "Verily, the King of Baghdad hath no
+such gear; no, nor any other of the kings or lords or merchants!"
+So they ceased not to fare forwards in high great state, the men
+with Ali of Cairo and the Harims with his Harim, till they came
+to the mansion,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased
+not to fare forwards in high state, the men with Ali's men and
+the women with his wife, till they came to the mansion, where
+they alighted and brought the mules and their burdens into the
+midst of the courtyard. Then they unloaded them and warehoused
+the goods whilst the merchants' wives went up with Ali's family
+to the saloon, which they found as it were a luxuriant garden,
+spread with magnificent furniture. They sat in mirth and good
+cheer till noon, when they brought them up the midday meal, all
+manner meats and sweetmeats of the very best; and they ate and
+drank costly sherbets and perfumed themselves thereafter with
+rose-water and scented woods. Then they took leave and went home,
+men and women; and, when the merchants returned to their places,
+they sent presents to the husband according to their conditions;
+and their wives likewise sent presents to the wife, so that there
+came to them great store of handmaids and negroes and Mamelukes;
+and all kinds of goods, such as grain, sugar and so forth, in
+abundance beyond account. As for the Baghdad merchant, the
+landlord of the house, he abode with Ali and quitted him not, but
+said to him, "Let the black slaves and servants take the mules
+and the common cattle into one of my other houses, to rest."
+Quoth Ali, "They set out again to-night for such a place." Then
+he gave them leave to go forth and camp outside the city, that
+they might start on their journey at night-come; whereupon,
+hardly believing that they were dismissed, they took leave of him
+and departing to the outliers of the city, flew off through the
+air to their several abodes. So Ali and his house-owner sat
+together till a third of the night was past, when their colloquy
+ended and the merchant returned to his own house and Ali went up
+to his wife and children and after saluting them, said, "What
+hath befallen you in my absence all this time?" So she told him
+what they had suffered of hunger and nakedness and travail, and
+he said, "Praised be Allah for safety! How did ye come?" Answered
+she, "O my lord, I was asleep with my children yesternight, when
+suddenly and unexpectedly one raised us from the ground and flew
+with us through the firmament without doing us any hurt, nor did
+he leave flying with us, till he set us down in a place as it
+were an Arab camping-ground, where we saw laden mules and a
+travelling litter borne upon two great mules, and around it
+servants, all boys and men. So I asked them, 'Who are ye and what
+are these loads and where are we?;' and they answered, 'We are
+the servants of the merchant Ali of Cairo, son of the merchant-
+jeweller, who hath sent us to fetch you to him at Baghdad.' Quoth
+I, 'Tell me, is it far or near, hence to Baghdad?' They replied,
+'Near: there lieth between us and the city but the darkness of
+the night.' Then they mounted us in the litter and, when the
+morrow dawned, we found ourselves with thee, without having
+suffered any hurt whatever." Quoth he, "Who gave you these
+dresses?;" and quoth she, "The chief of the caravan opened one of
+the boxes on the mules and taking out thereof these clothes, clad
+me and thy children each in a suit; after which he locked the
+case and gave me the key, saying, 'Take care of it, till thou
+give it to thy husband.' And here it is safe by me." So saying,
+she gave him the key, and he said, "Dost thou know the chest?"
+Said she, "Yes, I know it." So he took her down to the magazine
+and showed her the boxes, when she cried, "This is the one whence
+the dresses were taken;" upon which he put the key in the lock
+and opened the chest, wherein he found much raiment and the keys
+of all the other cases. So he took them and fell to opening them,
+one after another, and feasting his eyes upon the gems and
+precious ores they contained, whose like was not found with any
+of the kings; after which he locked them again, took the keys,
+and returned to the saloon, saying to his wife, "This is of the
+bounty of Almighty Allah!" Then bringing her to the secret slab
+he turned the pin and opened the door of the closet, into which
+he entered with her and showed her the gold he had laid up
+therein. Quoth she, "Whence came all this to thee?" "It came to
+me by the grace of my Lord," answered he:--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali's
+wife had looked upon the gold she said to him, "Whence came all
+this to thee?" "It came to me by the grace of my Lord," answered
+he: "When I left thee in my trouble, I shipped at Bulak for
+Damietta and met a friend there who forwarded me to Damascus": in
+brief he told her all that had befallen him, from first to last.
+Said she, "O my lord, all this cometh by boon of thy father's
+blessing and orisons when he prayed for thee, before his death,
+saying, 'I beseech Allah to cast thee into no straits except He
+grant thee ready relief!' So praised be Allah Almighty for that
+He hath brought thee deliverance and hath requited thee with more
+than went from thee! But Allah upon thee, O my lord, return not
+to thy practice of associating with doubtful folk; but look thou
+fear Allah (whose name be exalted!) both in private and in
+public." And as she went on to admonish him, he said, "I accept
+thine admonition and beg the Almighty to remove the froward from
+amongst us and stablish us in His obedience and in the observance
+of the law and practice of His Prophet, on whom be blessings and
+peace!" After that Ali and his wife and children were in all
+solace of life and gladness; and he opened him a shop in the
+merchants' bazar and, stocking it with a somewhat of jewels and
+bullion, sat therein with his children and white servants.
+Presently he became the most considerable of the merchants of
+Baghdad, and his report reached the King of that city,[FN#273]
+who sent a messenger to command his attendance, saying, "Answer
+the summons of the King who requireth thee." He replied, "I hear
+and obey," and straightway prepared his present and he took four
+trays of red gold and, filling them with jewels and precious
+metals, such as no King possessed, went up to the palace and
+presenting himself before the presence, kissed the ground between
+his hands and wished him endurance of goods and glory in the
+finest language he could command. Said the King, "O merchant,
+thou cheerest our city with thy presence!" and Ali rejoined, "O
+King of the age, thy slave hath brought thee a gift and hopeth
+for acceptance thereof from thy favour." Then he laid the four
+trays before the King, who uncovered them and seeing that they
+contained gems, whose fellows he possessed not and whose worth
+equalled treasuries of money, said, "Thy present is accepted, O
+merchant, and Inshallah! we will requite thee with its like." And
+Ali kissed his hands and went away; whereupon the King called his
+grandees and said to them, "How many of the Kings have sought my
+daughter in marriage?" "Many," answered they; and he asked, "Hath
+any of them given me the like of this gift?"; whereto they
+replied, "Not one, for that none of them hath its like;" and he
+said, "I have consulted Allah Almighty by lot as to marrying my
+daughter to this merchant. What say ye?" "Be it as thou reckest,"
+answered they. Then he bade the eunuch carry the four trays into
+his serraglio and going in to his wife, laid them before her. She
+uncovered them and seeing therein that whose like she possessed
+not; no, nor a fraction thereof, said to him, "From which of the
+Kings hadst thou these?: perchance of one of the royalties that
+seek thy daughter in marriage?" Said he, "Not so, I had them of
+an Egyptian merchant, who is lately come to this our city. Now
+when I heard of his coming I sent to command him to us, thinking
+to make his acquaintance, so haply we might find with him
+somewhat of jewels and buy them of him for our daughter's
+trousseau. He obeyed our summons and brought us these four trays,
+as a present, and I saw him to be a handsome youth of dignified
+aspect and intelligent as elegant, almost such as should be the
+sons of Kings. Wherefore my heart inclined to him at sight, and
+my heart rejoiced in him and I thought good to marry my daughter
+to him. So I showed the gift to my grandees, who agreed with me
+that none of the Kings hath the like of these and I told them my
+project. But what sayst thou?"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+King of Baghdad, after showing the presents to his wife and
+highly praising Ali, the merchant-jeweller, and informing her of
+the proposed marriage, asked, "But what sayst thou?" She replied,
+"O King of the age, the ordering this affair is in Allah's hand,
+and thine, and whatso Allah willeth shall come to pass." Rejoined
+the King, "If it be His will, I will marry her to none other than
+this young man." He slept on this resolve and on the morrow, he
+went out to his Divan and summoned Ali and the rest of the
+merchants of Baghdad, and when all came bade them be seated. Then
+said he, "Bring me the Kazi of the Divan" and they brought him;
+whereupon the King said to him, "O Kazi, write the contract of
+marriage between my daughter and the merchant Ali the Cairene."
+But Ali said, "Thy pardon, O our lord the Sultan! It befitteth
+not that a trader such as I, be the King's son-in-law." Quoth the
+King, "It is my will to bestow this favour upon thee, as well as
+the Wazirate;" and he invested him forthwith in the Wazir's
+office and ministerial robes. Then Ali sat down in the chair of
+the Wazirate and said, "O King of the age, thou hast bestowed on
+me this; and indeed I am honoured by thy bounties; but hear one
+word I have to say to thee!" He replied, "Say on, and fear not."
+Quoth Ali, "Since it is thine august resolution to marry thy
+daughter, thou wouldst do better to marry her to my son. Quoth
+the King, "Hast thou then a son?"; and Ali replied, "Yes." "Send
+for him forthwith," said the King. Thereupon answered Ali
+"Hearkening and obedience!", and despatched a servant to fetch
+his son, who came and kissing the ground before the King, stood
+in an attitude of respect. The King looked at him and seeing him
+to be yet comelier than his daughter and goodlier than she in
+stature and proportion and brightness and perfection, said to
+him, "What is thy name, O my son?" "My name is Hasan, O our lord
+the Sultan," replied the young man, who was then fourteen years
+old. Then the Sultan said to the Kazi, "Write the contract of
+marriage between my daughter Husn al-Wujdd and Hasan, son of the
+merchant Ali the Cairene." So he wrote the marriage-contract
+between them, and the affair was ended in the goodliest fashion;
+after which all in the Divan went their ways and the merchants
+followed the Wazir Ali, escorting him to his house, where they
+gave him joy of his advancement and departed. Then he went in to
+his wife, who seeing him clad in the Wazir's habit, exclaimed,
+"What is this?"; when he told her all that had passed from first
+to last and she joyed therein with exceeding joy. So sped the
+night and on the morrow, he went up to the Divan, where the King
+received him with especial favour and seating him close by his
+side, said, "O Wazir, we purpose to begin the wedding festivities
+and bring thy son in to our daughter." Replied Ali, "O our lord
+the Sultan, whatso thou deemest good is good." So the Sultan gave
+orders to celebrate the festivities, and they decorated the city
+and held high festival for thirty days, in all joy and gladness;
+at the end of which time, Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali, went in to
+the Princess and enjoyed her beauty and loveliness. When the
+Queen saw her daughter's husband, she conceived a warm affection
+for him, and in like manner she rejoiced greatly in his mother.
+Then the King bade build for his son-in-law Hasan Ali-son a
+palace beside his own; so they built him with all speed a
+splendid palace in which he took up his abode; and his mother
+used to tarry with him some days and then go down to her own
+house. After awhile the Queen said to her husband, "O King of the
+age, Hasan's lady-mother cannot take up her abode with her son
+and leave the Wazir; neither can she tarry with the Wazir and
+leave her son." "Thou sayest sooth," replied the King, and bade
+edify a third palace beside that of Hasan, which being done in a
+few days he caused remove thither the goods of the Wazir, and the
+Minister and his wife took up their abode there. Now the three
+palaces communicated with one another, so that when the King had
+a mind to speak with the Wazir by night, he would go to him or
+send to fetch him; and so with Hasan and his father and mother.
+On this wise they dwelt in all solace and in the greatest
+happiness--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
+and the Wazir and his son ceased not to dwell in all solace and
+in the greatest happiness awhile, till the King fell ill and his
+sickness grew on him. So he summoned the lords of his realm and
+said to them, "There is come upon me a sore malady, peradventure
+a mortal; and I have therefore summoned you to consult you
+respecting a certain matter, on which I would have you counsel me
+as you deem well." They asked, "What is the matter of which thou
+wouldst take counsel with us, O King?"; and he answered, "I am
+old and sickly and I fear for the realm after me from its
+enemies; so I would have you all agree upon some one, that I may
+proclaim him King in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease."
+Whereupon quoth they with one voice, "We all approve of thy
+daughter's husband Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali; for we have seen
+his wit and perfect understanding, and he knoweth the place of
+all, great and small." Asked the King, "Are ye indeed agreed upon
+this?" and they answered, "Yes." Rejoined he "Peradventure ye all
+say this to my face, of respect for me; but behind my back ye
+will say otherwise." However, they all replied, "By Allah, our
+word is one and the same in public and in private, and we accept
+him frankly and with heartiness of heart and breadth of breast."
+Quoth he, "Since the case is thus, bring the Kazi of the Holy Law
+and all the Chamberlains and Viceroys and Officers of state
+before me to-morrow, and we will order the affair after the
+goodliest fashion." "We hear and we obey," answered they and
+withdrawing, notified all the Olema,[FN#274] the doctors of the
+law and the chief personages among the Emirs. So when the morrow
+dawned, they came up to the Divan and, having craved and obtained
+permission to enter, they saluted the King, saying, "Here are we
+all in thy presence." Whereto he made reply, "O Emirs of Baghdad,
+whom will ye have to be King over you after me, that I may
+inaugurate him during my lifetime, before the presence of you
+all?" Quoth they with one voice, "We are agreed upon thy
+daughter's husband Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali." Quoth he, "If it
+be so, go all of you and bring him before me." So they all arose
+and, repairing to Hasan's palace, said to him, "Rise, come with
+us to the King." "Wherefore?" asked he, and they answered, "For a
+thing that will benefit both us and thee." So he went in with
+them to the King and kissed the ground before his father-in-law
+who said to him, "Be seated, O my son!" He sat down and the King
+continued, "O Hasan, all the Emirs have approved of thee and
+agreed to make thee King over them after me; and it is my purpose
+to proclaim thee, whilst I yet live, and so make an end of the
+business." But Hasan stood up and, kissing the ground once more
+before the King, said to him, "O our lord the King, among the
+Emirs there be many who are older than I and greater of worth;
+acquit me therefore of this thing." But all the Emirs cried out
+saying, "We consent not but that thou be King over us." Then said
+Hasan, "My father is older than I, and I and he are one thing;
+and it befits not to advance me over him." But Ali said, "I will
+consent to nothing save whatso contenteth my brethren; and they
+have all chosen and agreed upon thee; wherefore gainsay thou not
+the King's commandment and that of thy brethren." And Hasan hung
+his head abashed before the King and his father. Then said the
+King to the Emirs, "Do ye all accept of him?" "We do," answered
+they and recited thereupon seven Fátihahs.[FN#275] So the King
+said, "O Kazi, draw up a legal instrument testifying of these
+Emirs that they are agreed to make King over them my daughter's
+husband Hasan." The Kazi wrote the act and made it binding on all
+men,[FN#276] after they had sworn in a body the oath of fealty to
+Hasan. Then the King did likewise and bade him take his seat on
+the throne of kingship; whereupon they all arose and kissed King
+Hasan's hands and did homage to him, and swore lealty to him. And
+the new King dispensed justice among the people that day in
+fashion right royal, and invested the grandees of the realm in
+splendid robes of honour. When the Divan broke up, he went in to
+and kissed the hands of his father-in-law who spake thus to him,
+"O my son, look thou rule the lieges in the fear of Allah;"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King
+Hasan was quit of the Divan, he went in to and kissed the hands
+of his wife's father, who spake thus to him, "O my son, look thou
+rule the lieges in the fear of Allah;" whereto he replied, "O my
+father, through thy prayers for me, the grace and guidance of
+Allah will come to me." Then he entered his own palace and was
+met by his wife and her mother and their attendants, who kissed
+his hands and gave him joy of his advancement, saying, "Be this
+day blessed!" Next he went in to his father and mother, who joyed
+with exceeding joy in that which Allah had vouchsafed him of his
+advancement to the kingship, and his father charged him to fear
+Allah and to deal mercifully with his subjects. He passed the
+night in glee and gladness, and on the morrow, having prayed the
+obligatory prayers ending with the usual short chapters[FN#277]
+of the Koran, he went up to the Divan, whither came all his
+officers and dignitaries. He passed the day in dispensing justice
+among the folk, bidding to graciousness and forbidding
+ungraciousness and appointing to place and displacing, till day-
+end, when the Divan broke up, after the goodliest fashion, and
+all the troops withdrew and each went his own way. Then he arose
+and repaired to the palace, where he found his father-in-law's
+sickness grown heavy upon him and said to him, "May no ill befal
+thee!" At this the old King opened his eyes and said, "O Hasan!"
+and he replied, "At thy service, O my lord." Quoth the old King
+"Mine appointed hour is at hand: be thou careful of thy wife and
+her mother, and look thou fear Allah and honour thy parents; and
+bide in awe of the majesty of the Requiting King and bear in mind
+that He commandeth justice and good works." And King Hasan
+replied, "I hear and obey." Now after this the old King lingered
+three days and then departed into the mercy of Almighty Allah. So
+they laid him out and shrouded and buried him and held over him
+readings and perlections of the Koran, to the end of the
+customary forty days. And King Hasan, son of the Wazir, reigned
+in his stead, and his subjects joyed in him and all his days were
+gladness; moreover, his father ceased not to be his chief Wazir
+on his right hand, and he took to himself another Wazir, to be at
+his left hand. His reign was a prosperous and well ordered, and
+he lived a long life as King of Baghdad; and Allah blessed him,
+by the old King's daughter, with three sons who inherited the
+kingdom after him; and they abode in the solace of life and its
+pleasures till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and
+the Severer of societies. And the glory be to Him who is eternal
+and in whose hand are annulling and confirming. And of the tales
+they tell is one of
+
+
+
+
+               THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN.
+
+
+
+A man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found
+no trace of the caravan. So he rose up and walked on, but lost
+his way and presently came to a tent, where he saw an old woman
+standing at the entrance and by her side a dog asleep. He went up
+to the tent and, saluting the old woman, sought of her food, when
+she replied, "Go to yonder Wady and catch thy sufficiency of
+serpents, that I may broil of them for thee and give thee to
+eat." Rejoined the pilgrim, "I dare not catch serpents nor did I
+ever eat them." Quoth the old woman, "I will go with thee and
+catch some; fear not." So she went with him, followed by the dog,
+to the valley and, catching a sufficient number of serpents,
+proceeded to broil them. He saw nothing for it (saith the story
+teller) but to eat, in fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate
+of the serpents.[FN#278] Then he was athirst and asked for water
+to drink; and she answered, "Go to the spring and drink."
+Accordingly, he went to the spring and found the water thereof
+bitter; yet needs must he drink of it despite its bitterness,
+because of the violence of his thirst. Presently he returned to
+the old woman and said to her, "I marvel, O ancient dame, at thy
+choosing to sojourn in this place"--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+palmer-man drank the bitter draught for stress of thirst, he
+returned and said "I marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to
+sojourn in this place and thy putting up with such meat and
+drink!" She asked, "And how is it then in thy country?"; whereto
+he answered, "In my country are houses wide and spacious and
+fruits ripe and delicious and waters sweet and viands savorous
+and of goodly use and meats fat and full of juice and flocks
+innumerous and all things pleasant and all the goods of life, the
+like whereof are not, save in the Paradise which Allah the
+Omnipotent hath promised to His servants pious." Replied she,
+"All this have I heard: but tell me, have ye a Sultan who ruleth
+over you and is tyrannical in his rule and under whose hand you
+are; one who, if any of you commit an offence, taketh his goods
+and ruineth him and who, whenas he will, turneth you out of house
+and home and uprooteth you, stock and branch?" Replied the man,
+"Indeed that may be;" and she rejoined, "If so, by Allah, these
+your delicious food and life of daintyhood and gifts however
+good, with tyranny and oppression, are but a searching poison,
+while our coarse meat which in freedom and safety we eat is a
+healthful medicine. Hast thou not heard that the best of boons,
+after Al-Islam, the true Faith, are sanity and security?"[FN#279]
+"Now such boons (quoth he who telleth the tale) may be by the
+just rule of the Sultan, Vice-regent of Allah on His earth, and
+the goodness of his polity. The Sultan of time past needed but
+little awfulness, for when the lieges saw him, they feared him;
+but the Sultan of these days hath need of the most accomplished
+polity and the utmost majesty, because men are not as men of
+by-gone time and this our age is one of folk opprobrious, and is
+greatly calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of heart and
+inclined to hate and enmity. If, therefore, the Sultan (which
+Almighty Allah forfend!) be weak or wanting in polity and
+majesty, this will be the assured cause of his country's ruin.
+Quoth the proverb, 'An hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny, but
+not one year of the people's tyranny one over other.' When the
+lieges oppress one another, Allah setteth over them a tyrannical
+Sultan and a terrible King. Thus it is told in history that one
+day there was sent to Al-Hajjáj bin Yúsuf a slip of paper,
+whereon was written, 'Fear Allah and oppress not His servants
+with all manner of oppression.' When he read this, he mounted the
+pulpit (for he was eloquent and ever ready of speech), and said,
+'O folk, Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you, by reason of
+your frowardness;'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hajjaj
+Yousuf-son read the paper he mounted the pulpit and said, "O
+folk, Allah Almighty hath made me ruler over you by reason of
+your frowardness; and indeed, though I die yet will ye not be
+delivered from oppression, with these your ill deeds; for the
+Almighty hath created like unto me many an one. If it be not I,
+'twill be one more mischievous than I and a mightier in
+oppression and a more merciless in his majesty; even as saith the
+poet:[FN#280]--
+
+          'For not a deed the hand can try
+          Save 'neath the hand of God on high,
+          Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny
+          Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'
+
+Tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We beg
+Allah to better our case!" And among tales is that of
+
+
+
+
+                 ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL
+                       TAWADDUD.[FN#281]
+
+
+
+There was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies
+and immoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and
+Allah had largely endowed him with worldly goods, but had not
+vouchsafed him what he longed for of offspring; and there passed
+over him a long space of time, without his being blessed with
+issue, male or female. His years waxed great; his bones became
+wasted and his back bent; weakness and weariness grew upon him,
+and he feared the loss of his wealth and possessions, seeing he
+had no child whom he might make his heir and by whom his name
+should be remembered. So he betook himself with supplication to
+Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the night.
+Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and
+visited the pious and was constant in supplication to the Most
+Highest, till He gave ear to him and accepted his prayer and took
+pity on his straining and complaining; so that, before many days
+were past, he knew carnally one of his women and she conceived by
+him the same night. In due time she finished her months and,
+casting her burden, bore a male child as he were a slice of the
+moon; whereupon the merchant fulfilled his vows in his gratitude
+to Allah, (to whom be honour and glory!) and gave alms and
+clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh night after the
+boy's birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[FN#282] and the wet-nurses
+suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants and
+the slaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew
+tall and throve greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the
+ordinances of Al-Islam and the Canons of the True Faith; and
+calligraphy and poetry and mathematics and archery. On this wise
+he became the union-pearl of his age and the goodliest of the
+folk of his time and his day; fair of face and of tongue fluent,
+carrying himself with a light and graceful gait and glorying in
+his stature proportionate and amorous graces which were to many a
+bait: and his cheeks were red and flower-white was his forehead
+and his side face waxed brown with tender down, even as saith
+one, describing him,
+
+"The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: * And how
+     when the Spring is gone shall last the rose?
+Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek * Is violet-
+     bloom that from its leaves outgrows."
+
+He abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who
+rejoiced and delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when
+the merchant one day made him sit down before him and said, "O my
+son, the appointed term draweth near; my hour of death is at hand
+and it remaineth but to meet Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
+Might!). I leave thee what shall suffice thee, even to thy son's
+son, of monies and mansions, farms and gardens; wherefore, fear
+thou Almighty Allah, O my son, in dealing with that which I
+bequeath to thee and follow none but those who will help thee to
+the Divine favour." Not long after, he sickened and died; so his
+son ordered his funeral,[FN#283] after the goodliest wise, and
+burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him many
+days and nights. But behold, certain of his friends came in to
+him and said to him, "Whoso leaveth a son like thee is not dead;
+indeed, what is past is past and fled and mourning beseemeth none
+but the young maid and the wife cloistered." And they ceased not
+from him till they wrought on him to enter the Hammam and break
+off his mourning.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu
+al-Husn was visited by his friends and taken to the Hamman and
+persuaded to break off his mourning, he presently forgot his
+father's charge, and his head was turned by his riches; he
+thought fortune would always wone with him as it was, and that
+wealth would ever wax and never wane. So he ate and drank and
+made merry and took his pleasure and gave gifts of gear and coin
+and was profuse with gold and addrest himself up to eating fowls
+and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and listening to the giggle
+of the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the flagon and
+enjoying the jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over
+this way of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case
+worsened and all his goods went from him and he bit his
+hands[FN#284] in bitter penitence. For of a truth he had nothing
+left, after that which he had squandered, but a concubine, a
+slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him with the rest of
+his estate: and she had no equal in beauty and loveliness and
+brightness and liveliness and symmetric stature and perfect
+grace. She was past mistress in every manner of arts and
+accomplishments and endowed with many excellences, surpassing all
+the folk of her age and time. She was grown more notorious than a
+way-mark,[FN#285] for her seductive genius, and outdid the fair
+both in theory and practice, and she was noted for her swimming
+gait, flexile and delicate, albeit she was full five feet in
+height and by all the boons of fortune deckt and dight, with
+strait arched brows twain, as they were the crescent moon of
+Sha'abán,[FN#286] and eyes like gazelles' eyne; and nose like the
+edge of scymitar fine and cheeks like anemones of blood-red
+shine; and mouth like Solomon's seal and sign and teeth like
+necklaces of pearls in line; and navel holding an ounce of oil of
+benzoin and waist more slender than his body whom love hath
+wasted and whom concealment hath made sick with pine and hind
+parts heavier than two hills of sand; briefly she was a volume of
+charms after his saying who saith,
+
+"Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, * And
+     if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.
+Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character *
+     Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.
+Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are * And the
+     full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings'
+     sphere."[FN#287]
+
+She seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of
+nine plus five[FN#288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of
+her the sayer eloquent and ingenious,
+
+"Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, * When five and five are
+     conjoined by four;
+'Tis not my sin if she made of me * Its like when it riseth
+     horizon o'er."[FN#289]
+
+Clean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of
+fire fashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of
+her and perfect the shape and form of her; even as one saith of
+her, describing her,
+
+"Scented with sandal[FN#290] and musk, right proudly doth she go,
+     * With gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow.
+A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold * Or an
+     image in chapel[FN#291] set for worship of high and low.
+Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, * But the
+     weight of her hips says, 'Sit, or softly and slowly go.'
+Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart's desire, * 'Be
+     gracious,' her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, 'No.'
+Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that * Of her lover
+     to be the prate of the censurers, heigho!"[FN#292]
+
+She captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty
+and the sweetness of her smile,[FN#293] and shot them down with
+the shafts she launched from her eyes; and withal she was
+eloquent of speech and excellently skilled in verse. Now when Abu
+al-Husn had squandered all his gold, and his ill-plight all could
+behold, and there remained to him naught save this slave-girl, he
+abode three days without tasting meat or taking rest in sleep,
+and the handmaid said to him, "O my lord, carry me to the
+Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid,"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+slave-girl to her master, "O my lord, carry me to Harun
+al-Rashid, fifth of the sons of Abbas, and seek of him to my
+price ten thousand dinars. If he deem me dear, say to him: 'O
+Prince of True Believers, my handmaid is worth more than this: do
+but prove her, and her value will be magnified in thine eyes; for
+this slave-girl hath not her equal, and she were unfit to any but
+thou.'" And she added, "Beware, O my lord, of selling me at less
+than the sum I have named; indeed 'tis but little for the like of
+me." Now her owner knew not her worth nor that she had no equal
+in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set her in the
+presence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph
+asked her, "What is thy name?"; to which she answered, "My name
+is Tawaddud."[FN#294] He then enquired, "O Tawaddud, in what
+branches of knowledge dost thou excel?"; and she replied, "O my
+lord, I am versed in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence and
+exegesis and philosophy; and I am skilled in music and the
+knowledge of the Divine ordinances and in arithmetic and geodesy
+and geometry and the fables of the ancients. I know the Sublime
+Koran by heart and have read it according to the seven, the ten
+and the fourteen modes. I know the number of its chapters and
+versets and sections and words; and its halves and fourths and
+eighths and tenths; the number of prostrations which occur in it
+and the sum total of its letters; and I know what there is in it
+of abrogating and abrogated[FN#295]; also what parts of it were
+revealed at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the cause of the
+different revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the
+Apostle's sayings, historical and legendary, the established and
+those whose ascription is doubtful; and I have studied the exact
+sciences, geometry and philosophy and medicine and logic and
+rhetoric and composition; and I have learnt many things by rote
+and am passionately fond of poetry. I can play the lute and know
+its gamut and notes and notation and the crescendo and
+diminuendo. If I sing and dance, I seduce, and if I dress and
+scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have reached a pitch of
+perfection such as can be estimated only by those of them who are
+firmly rooted in knowledge."[FN#296] Now when the Caliph heard
+these words spoken by one so young, he wondered at her eloquence,
+and turning to Abu al-Husn, said, "I will summon those who shall
+discuss with her all she claimeth to know; if she answer
+correctly, I will give thee the price thou askest for her and
+more; and if not, thou art fitter to have her than I." "With
+gladness and goodly gree, O Commander of the Faithful," replied
+Abu al-Husn. So the Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of Bassorah, to
+send him Ibrahim bin Siyyár the prosodist, who was the first man
+of his day in argument and eloquence and poetry and logic, and
+bade him bring with him readers of the Koran and learned doctors
+of the law and physicians and astrologers and scientists and
+mathematicians and philosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned
+than all. In a little while they arrived at the palace of the
+Caliphate, knowing not what was to do, and the Caliph sent for
+them to his sitting-chamber and ordered them to be seated. So
+they sat down and he bade bring the damsel Tawaddud who came and
+unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star.[FN#297]
+The Caliph set her a stool of gold; and she saluted, and speaking
+with an eloquent tongue, said, "O Commander of the Faithful, bid
+the Olema and the doctors of law and leaches and astrologers and
+scientists and mathematicians and all here present contend with
+me in argument." So he said to them, "I desire of you that ye
+dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith, and stultify
+her argument in all she advanceth;" and they answered, saying,
+"We hear and we obey Allah and thee, O Commander of the
+Faithful." Upon this Tawaddud bowed her head and said, "Which of
+you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the readings
+of the Koran and in the Traditions?" Quoth one of them, "I am the
+man thou seekest." Quoth she, "Then ask me of what thou wilt."
+Said the doctor, "Hast thou read the precious book of Allah and
+dost thou know its cancelling and cancelled parts and hast thou
+meditated its versets and its letters?" "Yes," answered she.
+"Then," said he, "I will proceed to question thee of the
+obligations and the immutable ordinances: so tell me of these, O
+damsel, and who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, who thy Guide, what
+is thy point of fronting in prayer, and who be thy brethren? Also
+what thy spiritual path and what thy highway?" Whereto she
+replied, "Allah is my Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save and
+assain!) my prophet, and the Koran is my guide and the Ka'abah my
+fronting; and the True-believers are my brethren. The practice of
+good is my path and the Sunnah my highway." The Caliph again
+marvelled at her words so eloquently spoken by one so young; and
+the doctor pursued, "O damsel, with what do we know Almighty
+Allah?" Said she, "With the understanding." Said he, "And what is
+the understanding?" Quoth she, "It is of two kinds, natural and
+acquired."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel
+continued, "The understanding is of two kinds, natural and
+acquired. The natural is that which Allah (to whom be honour and
+glory!) created for the right direction of His servants after His
+will; and the acquired is that which men accomplish by dint of
+study and fair knowledge." He rejoined, "Thou hast answered
+well." Q "Where is the seat of the understanding?"--"Allah
+casteth it in the heart whence its lustrous beams ascend to the
+brain and there become fixed." Q "How knowest thou the Prophet of
+Allah?" "By the reading of Allah's Holy Book and by signs and
+proofs and portents and miracles!" Q "What are the obligations
+and the immutable ordinances?" "The obligations are five. (1)
+Testification that there is no iláh[FN#298] but Allah, no god but
+the God alone and One, which for partner hath none, and that
+Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. (2) The standing in
+prayers.[FN#299] (3) The payment of the poor-rate. (4) Fasting
+Ramazan. (5) The Pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House for all to whom
+the journey is possible. The immutable ordinances are four; to
+wit, night and day and sun and moon, the which build up life and
+hope; nor any son of Adam wotteth if they will be destroyed on
+the Day of Judgment." Q "What are the obligatory observances of
+the Faith?" "They are five, prayer, almsgiving, fasting,
+pilgrimage, fighting for the Faith and abstinence from the
+forbidden." Q "Why dost thou stand up to pray?" "To express the
+devout intent of the slave acknowledging the Deity." Q "What are
+the obligatory conditions which precede standing in prayer?"
+"Purification, covering the shame, avoidance of soiled clothes,
+standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka'abah, an upright
+posture, the intent[FN#300] and the pronouncing 'Allaho Akbar' of
+prohibition."[FN#301] Q "With what shouldest thou go forth from
+thy house to pray?" "With the intent of worship mentally
+pronounced." Q "With what intent shouldest thou enter the
+mosque?" "With an intent of service." Q "Why do we front the
+Kiblah[FN#302]?" "In obedience to three Divine orders and one
+Traditional ordinance." Q "What are the beginning, the
+consecration and the end of prayer?" "Purification beginneth
+prayer, saying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth, and
+the salutation endeth prayer." Q "What deserveth he who
+neglecteth prayer?" "It is reported, among the authentic
+Traditions of the Prophet, that he said, 'Whoso neglecteth prayer
+wilfully and purposely hath no part in Al-Islam.'"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
+damsel had repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor
+cried, "Thou hast replied aright: now say me, what is prayer?"
+"Prayer is communion between the slave and his lord, and in it
+are ten virtues: (1) it illumineth the heart; (2) it maketh the
+face shine; (3) it pleaseth the Compassionate One; (4) it
+angereth Satan; (5) it conjureth calamity; (6) it wardeth off the
+mischief of enemies; (7) it multiplieth mercy; (8) it forfendeth
+vengeance and punishment; (9) it bringeth the slave nigh unto his
+lord; and (10) it restraineth from lewdness and frowardness.
+Hence it is one of the absolute requisites and obligatory
+ordinances and the pillar of the Faith." Q "What is the key of
+prayer?" "Wuzd or the lesser ablution."[FN#303] Q "What is the
+key to the lesser ablution?" "Intention and naming the Almighty."
+Q "What is the key of naming the Almighty?" "Assured faith." Q
+"What is the key of faith?" "Trust in the Lord." Q "What is the
+key of trust in the Lord?" "Hope." Q "What is the key of hope?"
+"Obedience." Q "What is the key of obedience?" "The confession of
+the Unity and the acknowledgment of the divinity of Allah." Q
+"What are the Divine ordinances of Wuzu, the minor ablution?"
+"They are six, according to the canon of the Imam al-Sháfi'í
+Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah accept!): (1) intent while
+washing the face; (2) washing the face; (3) washing the hands and
+forearms; (4) wiping part of the head; (5) washing the feet and
+heels; and (6) observing due order.[FN#304] And the traditional
+statutes are ten: (1) nomination; (2) and washing the hands
+before putting them into the water-pot; (3) and mouth-rinsing;
+(4) and snuffing;[FN#305] (5) and wiping the whole head; (6) and
+wetting the ears within and without with fresh water; (7) and
+separating a thick beard; (8) and separating the fingers and
+toes;[FN#306] (9) and washing the right foot before the left and
+(10) doing each of these thrice and all in unbroken order. When
+the minor ablution is ended, the worshipper should say, I testify
+that there is no god but the God, the One, which for partner hath
+none, and I testify that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle.
+O my Allah, make me of those who repent and in purity are
+permanent! Glory to Thee, O my God, and in Thy praise I bear
+witness, that there is no god save Thou! I crave pardon of Thee
+and I repent to Thee! For it is reported, in the Holy Traditions,
+that the Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) said of this
+prayer, 'Whoso endeth every ablution with this prayer, the eight
+gates of Paradise are open to him; he shall enter at which he
+pleaseth.'" Q "When a man purposeth ablution, what betideth him
+from the angels and the devils?" "When a man prepareth for
+ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils
+on his left hand.[FN#307] If he name Almighty Allah at the
+beginning of the ablution, the devils flee from him and the
+angels hover over him with a pavilion of light, having four
+ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah and craving pardon for
+him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth upon the name of
+Allah. But if he omit to begin washing with naming Allah (to whom
+belong might and majesty!), neither remain silent, the devils
+take command of him; and the angels depart from him and Satan
+whispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt and
+come short in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and
+peace!), 'A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth
+against the tyranny of the Sultan'; and again quoth he, 'If
+calamity befal one who is not pure by ablution; verily and
+assuredly let him blame none but himself.'" Q "What should a man
+do when he awaketh from sleep?" "He should wash his hands thrice,
+before putting them into the water vessel." Q "What are the
+Koranic and traditional orders anent Ghusl, the complete
+ablution[FN#308]?" "The divine ordinances are intent and
+'crowning'[FN#309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid
+shall come at every part of the hair and skin. Now the
+traditional ordinances are the minor ablution as preliminary;
+rubbing the body; separating the hair and deferring in
+words[FN#310] the washing of the feet till the end of the
+ablution."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had recounted to the doctor what were the divine and
+traditional orders anent Ghusl or total ablution, quoth he, "Thou
+hast replied aright: now tell me what are the occasions for
+Tayammum, or making the ablution with sand and dust; and what are
+the ordinances thereof, divine and human?" "The reasons are
+seven, viz.: want of water; fear lest water lack; need thereto;
+going astray on a march; sickness; having broken bones in splints
+and having open wounds.[FN#311] As for its ordinances, the divine
+number four, viz., intent, dust, clapping it to the face and
+clapping it upon the hands; and the human number two, nomination
+and preferring the right before the left hand." Q "What are the
+conditions, the pillars or essentials, and the traditional
+statutes of prayer?" "The conditions are five: (1) purification
+of the members; (2) covering of the privy parts; (3) observing
+the proper hours, either of certainty or to the best of one's
+belief; (4) fronting the Kiblah; and (5) standing on a clean
+place. The pillars or essentials number twelve: (1) intent; (2)
+the Takbír or magnification of prohibition; (3) standing when
+able to stand[FN#312]; (4) repeating the Fatihah or opening
+chapter of the Koran and saying, 'In the name of Allah, the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate!' with a verse thereof
+according to the canon of the Imam Al-Shafi'i; (5) bowing the
+body and keeping it bowed; (6) returning to the upright posture
+and so remaining for the time requisite; (7) prostration and
+permanence therein; (8) sitting between two prostrations and
+permanence therein; (9) repeating the latter profession of the
+Faith and sitting up therefor; (10) invoking benediction on the
+Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) (11) the first
+Salutation,[FN#313] and (12) the intent of making an end of
+prayer expressed in words. But the traditional statutes are the
+call to prayer; the standing posture; raising the hands (to
+either side of the face) whilst pronouncing the prohibition;
+uttering the magnification before reciting the Fatihah; seeking
+refuge with Allah[FN#314]; saying, 'Amen'; repeating the chapter
+of the Koran after the Fatihah, repeating the magnifications
+during change of posture; saying, 'May Allah hear him who
+praiseth Him! and O our Lord, to Thee be the praise!'; praying
+aloud in the proper place[FN#315] and praying under the breath
+prayers so prescribed; the first profession of unity and sitting
+up thereto; blessing the Prophet therein; blessing his family in
+the latter profession and the second Salutation." Q "On what is
+the Zakát or obligatory poor-rate taxable?" "On gold and silver
+and camels and oxen and sheep and wheat and barley and holcus and
+millet and beans and vetches and rice and raisins and dates." Q
+"What is the Zakát or poor-rate on gold?" "Below twenty miskals
+or dinars, nothing; but on that amount half a dinar for every
+score and so on proportionally.[FN#316]" Q "On silver?" "Under
+two hundred dirhams nothing, then five dirhams on every two
+hundred and so forth." Q "On camels?" "For every five, an ewe, or
+for every twenty-five a pregnant camel." Q "On sheep?" "An ewe
+for every forty head," Q "What are the ordinances of the Ramazan
+Fast?" "The Koranic are intent; abstinence from eating, drinking
+and carnal copulation, and the stoppage of vomiting. It is
+incumbent on all who submit to the Law, save women in their
+courses and forty days after childbirth; and it becomes
+obligatory on sight of the new moon or on news of its appearance,
+brought by a trustworthy person and commending itself as truth to
+the hearer's heart; and among its requisites is that the intent
+be pronounced at nightfall. The traditional ordinances of fasting
+are, hastening to break the fast at sundown; deferring the
+fore-dawn meal,[FN#317] and abstaining from speech, save for good
+works and for calling on the name of Allah and reciting the
+Koran." Q "What things vitiate not the fast?" "The use of
+unguents and eye-powders and the dust of the road and the
+undesigned swallowing of saliva and the emission of seed in
+nocturnal pollution or at the sight of a strange woman and
+blooding and cupping; none of these things vitiates the fast." Q
+"What are the prayers of the two great annual Festivals?" "Two
+one-bow prayers, which be a traditional ordinance, without call
+to prayer or standing up to pronounce the call;[FN#318] but let
+the Moslem say, 'Prayer is a collector of all folk!'[FN#319] and
+pronounce 'Allaho Akbar' seven times in the first prayer, besides
+the Takbir of prohibition; and, in the second, five times,
+besides the magnification of rising up (according to the doctrine
+of the Imam Al-Shafi'i, on whom Allah have mercy!) and make the
+profession of the Faith."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had answered the doctor anent the Festival-prayers, quoth
+he, "Thou hast replied aright: now tell me what are the prayers
+prescribed on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon?"
+"Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer or standing thereto
+by the worshipper, who shall make in each two-bow prayer double
+standing up and double inclinations and two-fold prostrations,
+then sit and testify and salute." Q "What is the ritual of prayer
+for rain?" "Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer or
+standing thereto; then shall the Moslem make the profession and
+salute. Moreover the Imam shall deliver an exhortation and ask
+pardon of Allah, in place of the magnification, as in the two
+sermons of the Festivals and turn his mantle upper edge downwards
+and pray and supplicate." Q "What are the Witr, the additional or
+occasional prayers?" "The least is a one-bow prayer and the most
+eleven." Q "What is the forenoon prayer?" "At least, two one-bow
+prayers and at most, twelve." Q "What hast thou to say of the
+I'itikáf or retreat[FN#320]?" "It is a matter of traditional
+ordinance." Q "What are its conditions?" "(1) intent; (2) not
+leaving the mosque save of necessity; (3) not having to do with a
+woman; (4) fasting; and (5) abstaining from speech." Q "Under
+what conditions is the Hajj or Pilgrimage[FN#321] obligatory?"
+"Manhood, and understanding and being a Moslem and
+practicability; in which case it is obligatory on all, once
+before death." Q "What are the Koranic statutes of the
+Pilgrimage?" "(1) The Ihrám or pilgrim's habit; (2) the standing
+at Arafat; (3) circumambulating the Ka'abah; (4) running between
+Safá and Marwah[FN#322]; and (5) shaving or clipping the hair." Q
+"What are the Koranic statutes of the 'Umrah[FN#323] or lesser
+pilgrimage?" "Assuming the pilgrim's habit and compassing and
+running." Q "What are the Koranic ordinances of the assumption of
+the pilgrim's habit?"[FN#324] "Doffing sewn garments, forswearing
+perfume and ceasing to shave the head or pare the nails, and
+avoiding the killing of game, and eschewing carnal copulation." Q
+"What are the traditional statutes of the pilgrimage?" "(1) The
+crying out 'Labbay'ka, Adsum, Here am I, O our Lord, here am
+I!'[FN#325]4 (2) the Ka'abah-circuitings[FN#326] of arrival and
+departure; (3) the passing the night at the Mosque of Muzdalifah
+and in the valley of Mina, and (4) the lapidation.[FN#327]" Q
+"What is the Jihád or Holy War and its essentials?" "Its
+essentials are: (1) the descent of the Infidels upon us; (2) the
+presence of the Imam; (3) a state of preparation; and (4)
+firmness in meeting the foe. Its traditional ordinance is incital
+to battle, in that the Most High hath said, 'O thou my Prophet,
+incite the faithful to fight!'[FN#328]" Q "What are the
+ordinances of buying and selling?" "The Koranic are: (1) offer
+and acceptance and (2) if the thing sold be a white slave, by
+whom one profiteth, all possible endeavour to convert him to
+Al-Islam; and (3) to abstain from usury; the traditional are:
+making void[FN#329] and option before not after separating,
+according to his saying (whom Allah bless and preserve!), 'The
+parties to a sale shall have the option of cancelling or altering
+terms whilst they are yet unseparated.'", Q "What is it forbidden
+to sell for what?" "On this point I mind me of an authentic
+tradition, reported by Náf'i[FN#330] of the Apostle of Allah,
+that he forbade the barter of dried dates for fresh and fresh
+figs for dry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for clarified
+butter; in fine, all eatables of one and the same kind, it is
+unlawful to buy or barter some for other some.[FN#331]" Now when
+the doctor of law heard her words and knew that she was wit-keen,
+penetrative, ingenious and learned in jurisprudence and the
+Traditions and the interpretation of the Koran and what not else,
+he said in his mind, "Needs must I manoeuvre with her, that I may
+overcome her in the assembly of the Commander of the Faithful."
+So he said to her, "O damsel, what is the lexicographical meaning
+of Wuzu?" And she answered, "Philologically it signifieth
+cleanliness and freedom from impurities." Q "And of Salát or
+prayer?" "An invocation of good" Q "And of Ghusl?"
+"Purification." Q "And of Saum or fasting?" "Abstention." Q "And
+of Zakát?" "Increase. Q "And of Hajj or pilgrimage?"
+"Visitation." Q "And of Jihád?" "Repelling." With this the
+doctor's arguments were cut off,--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+doctor's arguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said,
+"Bear witness against me, O Commander of the Faithful, that this
+damsel is more learned in the Law than I am." Quoth she, "I will
+ask thee somewhat, which do thou answer me speedily, an thou be
+indeed a learned man." Quoth he, "Say on;" and she said, "What
+are the arrows of the Faith?" Answered he, "They number ten: (1)
+Testification, that is, religion; (2) Prayer, that is, the
+covenant; (3) Alms, that is, purification; (4) Fasting, that is,
+defensive armour; (5) Pilgrimage, that is, the Law; (6) Fighting
+for the Faith, that is, a general duty; (7) Bidding to
+beneficence and (8) Forbidding from frowardness, both of which
+are a man's honour; (9) Commune,[FN#332] that is, sociableness of
+the Faithful; and (10) Seeking knowledge, that is, the
+praiseworthy path." She rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright and
+now remaineth but one question, 'What be the roots or
+fundamentals of Al-Islam?'" He said "They are four: sincerity of
+belief, truth of intent, observance of the lawful limit and
+keeping the covenant." Then said she, "I have one more question
+to ask thee, which if thou answer, it is well; else, I will take
+thy clothes." Quoth he, "Speak, O damsel;" and she said, "What
+are the branches or superstructure of Al-Islam?" But he was
+silent awhile and made no reply: so she cried "Doff thy clothes
+and I will expound them to thee." Quoth the Caliph "Expound them,
+and I will make him put off his clothes for thee." She said,
+"There are two-and-twenty branches: (1) holding fast to the Book
+of Allah the Most Highest; (2) taking example by His Apostle
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!); (3) abstaining from evil doing;
+(4) eating what is lawful and (5) avoiding what is unlawful; (6)
+restitution of things wrongfully taken; (7) repentance; (8)
+knowledge of the Law; (9) love of the Friend,[FN#333] (10) and of
+the followers of the true Revelation; (11) belief in the apostles
+of Al-Islam; (12) fear of apostacy; (13) preparation for
+departing this life; (14) force of conviction; (15) mercy on all
+possible occasions; (16) strength in time of weakness; (17)
+patience under trials; (18) knowledge of Allah Almighty and (19)
+of what His Prophet hath made known to us; (20) thwarting Iblis
+the accursed; (21) striving earnestly against the lusts of the
+soul and warring them down, and (22) devotion to the one God."
+Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard her words, he bade
+the professor put off his clothes and hooded turband; and so did
+that doctor and went forth, beaten and confounded, from the
+Caliph's presence. Thereupon another man stood up and said to
+her, "O damsel, hear a few questions from me." Quoth she, "Say
+on;' and he asked, "What are the conditions of purchase by
+advance?" whereto she answered, "That the price be fixed, the
+kind be fixed and the period of delivery be fixed and known." Q
+"What are the Koranic and the traditional canons of eating?" "The
+confession that Allah Almighty provideth the eater and giveth him
+meat and drink, with thanksgiving to Him therefor." Q "What is
+thanksgiving?" "The use by the creature of that which the Creator
+vouchsafeth to him, according as it was created for the
+creature." Q "What are the traditional canons of eating?" "The
+Bismillah[FN#334] and washing both hands; sitting on the left of
+the hind part; eating with three fingers, and eating of that
+which hath been duly masticated.[FN#335]" Q "What are good
+manners in eating?" "Taking small mouthfuls and looking little at
+one's table-companion."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had answered concerning good manners in eating, the doctor
+who was trying her, rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright. Now tell
+me what are the stays of the heart and their supports?"[FN#336]
+"The stays and supports both number three: (1) holding fast to
+the Faith, the support whereof is the shunning of infidelity; (2)
+holding fast to the Traditional Law, and its support the shunning
+of innovation; and (3) holding fast to obedience, and its support
+the shunning of disobedience." Q "What are the conditions of
+Wuzu?" "(1) being a Moslem; (2) discernment of good and evil; (3)
+purity of the water, and (4) absence of material or religious
+impediments." Q "What is belief?" "It is divided into nine parts:
+(1) belief in the One worshipped; (2) belief in the condition of
+slavery of the worshipper; (3) belief in the personality of the
+Deity; (4) belief in the Two Handfuls;[FN#337] (5) belief in
+Providence which allotteth to man his lot; (6) belief in the
+Abrogating and (7) in the Abrogated; (8) belief in Allah, His
+angels and apostles; and (9) in fore-ordained Fate, general and
+individual, its good and ill, its sweet and bitter." Q "What
+three things do away other three?" "It is told of Sufyán
+al-Saurí[FN#338] that he said, 'Three things do away with other
+three. Making light of the pious doth away the future life;
+making light of Kings doth away this life; and, making light of
+expenditure doth away wealth.'" Q "What are the keys of the
+heavens, and how many gates have they.?" "Quoth Almighty Allah,
+'And the heaven shall be opened and be full of portals;'[FN#339]
+and quoth he whom Allah bless and preserve!, 'None knoweth the
+number of the gates of heavens, save He who created the heavens,
+and there is no son of Adam but hath two gates allotted to him in
+the heavens, one whereby his daily bread descendeth and another
+wherethrough his works ascend. The first gate is not closed, save
+when his term of life cometh to an end, nor the gate of works,
+good and evil, till his soul ascend for judgment.'" Q "Tell me of
+a thing and a half thing and a no-thing." "The thing is the
+Moslem; the half thing the hypocrite,[FN#340] and the no-thing
+the miscreant." Q "Tell me of various kinds of hearts." "There is
+the whole heart, the sick heart, the contrite heart, the vowed
+heart and the enlightened heart. Now the whole heart is that of
+Abraham, the Friend of Allah; the sick heart is that of the
+Unbeliever in Al-Islam; the contrite heart is that of the pious
+who fear the Lord; the vowed heart is that of our Lord Mohammed
+(whom Allah bless and keep!) and the illuminated heart is that of
+his followers. Furthermore, the hearts of learned Olema are of
+three kinds, the heart which is in love with this world; the
+heart which loveth the next world, and the heart which loveth its
+Lord; and it is said that hearts are three, the suspended, that
+of the infidel; the non-existent, that of the hypocrite; and the
+constant, that of the True-believer. Moreover, it is said that
+the firm heart is of three kinds, viz., the heart dilated with
+light and faith, the heart wounded with fear of estrangement, and
+the heart which feareth to be forsaken of its Supreme
+Friend."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+second doctor declared. "Thou hast said well," quoth she to the
+Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me, till
+he is weary, and now I will ask of him two questions. If he
+answer them both, it is well; and if not, I will take his clothes
+and he shall wend in peace." Quoth the doctor, "Ask me what thou
+wilt," and she said, "What sayest thou religion is?" Answered he,
+"Religion is confession of Faith with the tongue and conviction
+with the heart and correspondent action with the members. He
+(upon whom be blessings and peace!) hath said, 'The believer is
+not perfect in belief, except he perfect himself in five
+qualities, namely: trust in Allah,[FN#341] committal of his
+affair to Allah, submission to the commands of Allah,
+acquiescence in the decrees of Allah; and that all he doth be
+done for sake of Allah; so is he of those who are acceptable to
+the Deity, and who give to Him and withhold for Him; and such man
+is perfect in belief.'" Then said she, "What is the Divine
+ordinance of ordinances and the ordinance which is the initiator
+of all ordinances and that of which all others stand in need and
+that which comprehendeth all others; and what is the traditional
+ordinance that entereth into the Koranic, and the prophetic
+practice whereby the Divine is completed?" But he was silent and
+made no reply; whereupon the Caliph bade her expound and ordered
+him to doff his clothes and give them to her. Said she, "O
+doctor, the Koranic ordinance of ordinances is the knowledge of
+Allah Almighty; that, which is the initiative of all others, is
+the testifying there is no god but the God and Mohammed is the
+Apostle of God; that, of which all others have need, is the
+Wuzu-ablution; that, which compriseth all others, is the
+Ghusl-ablution from defilement[FN#342]; the Traditional ordinance
+that entereth into the Koranic, is the separation of the fingers
+and the thick beard;[FN#343] and that, wherewith all Koranic
+ordinances are completed, is circumcision."[FN#344] Therewith was
+made manifest the defeat of the doctor, who rose to his feet and
+said, "I call Allah to witness, O Commander of the Faithful, that
+this damsel is more learned than I in theology and what
+pertaineth to the Law." So saying, he put off his clothes and
+went away ignominiously worsted. Then she turned to the rest of
+the learned men present and said, "O masters, which of you is the
+Koranist, the reader and reciter of the Koran, versed in the
+seven readings and in syntax and in lexicography?" Thereupon a
+professor arose and, seating himself before her, said "Hast thou
+read the Book of Almighty Allah and made thyself thoroughly
+acquainted with its signs, that is its verses, and its abrogating
+parts and abrogated portions, its unequivocal commands and its
+ambiguous; and the difference of its revelations, Meccan and
+Medinan? Dost thou understand its interpretation and hast thou
+studied it, according to the various traditions and origins?"
+"Yes," answered she; and he said, "What then is the number of its
+chapters, how many are the decades and versets, how many words
+and how many letters and how many acts of prostration and how
+many prophets and how many chapters are Medinan and how many are
+Meccan and how many birds are mentioned in it?" Replied she, "O
+my lord, its chapters are an hundred and fourteen, whereof
+seventy were revealed at Meccah and forty-four at Al-Medinah; and
+it containeth six hundred and twenty-one decades; six thousand
+three hundred and thirty-six versets;[FN#345] seventy-nine
+thousand four hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and
+twenty-three thousand and six hundred and seventy letters; and to
+the reader thereof, for every letter, are given ten benefits. The
+acts of prostration it compriseth are fourteen."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+professor of Koranic exegesis questioned the damsel, she
+continued, "As regards the Prophets named in the Book there be
+five-and-twenty, to wit, Adam, Noah,[FN#346] Abraham, Ishmael,
+Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Elisha, Jonah, Salih,[FN#347] or
+Heber, Húd,[FN#348] Shua'yb or Jethro,[FN#349] David, Solomon,
+Zú'l-kafl or Joshua, Idrís, Elias, Yahyá or John the Baptist,
+Zacharias, Job, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and Mohammed,[FN#350] the
+peace of Allah and His blessing be on them all! Moreover, nine
+flying things are mentioned in the Koran, namely, the gnat, the
+bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the crow, the locust, the
+swallow and the bird of Jesus[FN#351] (on whom be peace!), to
+wit, the bat." Q "Which is the most excellent chapter of the
+Koran?" "That of The Cow.[FN#352]" Q "Which is the most
+magnificent verse?" "That of the Throne; it hath fifty words,
+bearing in each fifty blessings." Q "What sign or verse hath in
+it nine signs or wonders?" "That in which quoth Allah Almighty,
+'Verily, in the creation of the Heaven and the Earth: and in the
+vicissitude of night, and day; and in the ship which saileth
+through the sea laden with what is profitable for mankind; and in
+the rain-water which God sendeth down from Heaven, quickening
+thereby the dead ground and replenishing the same with all sorts
+of cattle; and in the change of winds and in the clouds that are
+compelled to do service between the Heaven and the
+Earth;[FN#353]--are signs to people of understanding.'" Q "Which
+verse is the most just?" "That in which Allah saith, 'Verily,
+Allah enjoineth justice and the doing of good, and the giving
+unto kindred what shall be necessary; and He forbiddeth
+wickedness and iniquity and oppression'"[FN#354] Q "Which is the
+most greedy?" "That in which quoth Allah, 'Is it that every man
+of them greedeth to enter the Garden of Delight?'"[FN#355] Q
+"Which is the most hopeful?" "That in which quoth Almighty Allah,
+'Say: O my servants who have transgressed against your own souls,
+despair not of the mercy of Allah; seeing, that Allah forgiveth
+all sins; aye Gracious, Merciful is He.'"[FN#356] Q "By what
+school of intonation dost thou read?" "By that of the people of
+Paradise, to wit, the version of Náf'i." Q "In which verse doth
+Allah make prophets lie?"[FN#357] "In that wherein He saith,
+'They (the brothers of Joseph) brought his inner garment stained
+with false blood.'"[FN#358] Q "In which doth He make unbelievers
+speak the truth?" "In that wherein He saith, 'The Jews say, 'The
+Christians are grounded on nothing,' and the Christians say, 'The
+Jews are grounded on nothing'; and yet they both read the
+Scriptures;'[FN#359] and, so saying, all say sooth." Q "In which
+doth God speak in his own person?" "In that in which he saith, 'I
+have not created Genii and men for any other end than that they
+should serve me.'"[FN#360] Q "In which verse do the angels
+speak?" "In that which saith, 'But we celebrate Thy praise and
+extol Thy holiness.'"[FN#361] Q "What sayest thou of the
+formula:--I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned?" "It is
+obligatory by commandment of Allah on all before reading the
+Koran, as appeareth by His saying, 'When thou readest the Koran,
+seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.'"[FN#362] Q "What
+signify the words 'seeking refuge'[FN#363] and what are the
+variants of the formula?" "Some say, 'I take refuge with Allah
+the All-hearing and All-knowing,' and others, 'With Allah the
+Strong;' but the best is that whereof the Sublime Koran speaketh
+and the Traditions perpetuate. And he (whom Allah bless and
+keep!) was used to ejaculate, 'I seek refuge with Allah from
+Satan the Stoned.' And quoth a Tradition, reported by Naf'i on
+the authority of his adopted father, 'The apostle of Allah, was
+wont when he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud, 'Allaho
+Akbar'; God is Most Great, with all Majesty! Praise be to Allah
+abundantly! Glory to Allah morn and even be!' Then would he say,
+'I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned and from the
+delusions of the Devils and their evil suggestions.' And it is
+told of Ibn Abbas[FN#364] (of whom Allah accept!) that he said,
+'The first time Gabriel came down to the Prophet with revelation
+he taught him the 'seeking refuge,' saying, 'O Mohammed, say, I
+seek refuge with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing;' then
+say, 'In the name of Allah the Compassionating, the
+Compassionate!' Read, in the name of thy Lord who
+created;--created man of blood-clots."[FN#365] Now when the
+Koranist heard her words he marvelled at her expressions, her
+eloquence, her learning, her excellence, and said, "O damsel,
+what sayst thou of the verse 'In the name of Allah, the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate'? Is it one of the verses of
+the Koran?" "Yes; it is a verset of 'The Ant'[FN#366] occurring
+also at the head of the first and between every two following
+chapters; and there is much difference of opinion, respecting
+this, among the learned."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had told the professor concerning the difference of
+opinion among the learned touching the "Basmalah," he said, "Thou
+hast replied aright: now tell me why is not the formula written
+at the head of the chapter of Immunity[FN#367]?"; and she
+answered, "When this chapter was revealed from on high for the
+dissolution of the alliance between the Prophet and the
+idolaters, He (whom Allah bless and preserve!) sent Ali[FN#368]
+ibn Abí Tálib (whose face Allah honour!) therewith, and he read
+the chapter to them, but did not read the Basmalah."[FN#369] Q
+"What of the excellence of the formula and its blessing?" "It is
+told of the Prophet that he said, 'Never is the Basmalah
+pronounced over aught, but there is a blessing in it;' and it is
+reported, on authority of Him (whom Allah bless and preserve!)
+that the Lord of Glory swore by His glory that never should the
+Basmalah be pronounced over a sick person, but he should be
+healed of his sickness. Moreover, it is said that, when Allah
+created the empyrean, it was agitated with an exceeding
+agitation; but He wrote on it, 'Bismillah' and its agitation
+subsided. When the formula first descended from heaven to the
+Prophet, he said, 'I am safe from three things, earthquake and
+metamorphosis and drowning; and indeed its boons are great and
+its blessings too many to enumerate. It is told of Allah's
+Apostle that he said, 'There will be brought on the Judgment-day
+a man with whom He shall reckon and finding no good deed to his
+account, shall order him to the Fire; but the man will cry, 'O my
+God, Thou hast not dealt justly by me!' Then shall Allah (to whom
+be honour and glory!) say, 'How so?' and the man shall answer, O
+Lord, for that Thou callest Thyself the Compassionating, the
+Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me with the Fire!' And Allah
+(magnified be His Majesty!) shall reply, 'I did indeed name
+myself the Compassionating, the Compassionate. Carry My servant
+to Paradise, of My mercy, for I am the most Merciful of the
+mercifuls!'" Q "What was the origin of the use of the Basmalah?"
+"When Allah sent down from Heaven the Koran, they wrote, 'In Thy
+name, O my God!'; when Allah revealed the words, 'Say: Call upon
+Allah, or call upon the Compassionating, what days ye pray, for
+hath He the most excellent names,'[FN#370] they wrote, 'In the
+name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate; and, when
+He revealed the words, 'Your God is one God, there is no God but
+He, the Compassionating, the Compassionate,'[FN#371] they wrote,
+'In the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate!'"
+Now when the Koranist heard her reply, he hung down his head and
+said to himself, "This be a marvel of marvels! How hath this
+slave-girl expounded the origin of the Basmalah? But, by Allah,
+needs must I go a bout with her and haply defeat her." So he
+asked, "Did Allah reveal the Koran all at once or at times
+manifold?" She answered, "Gabriel the Faithful (on whom be
+peace!) descended with it from the Lord of the Worlds upon His
+Prophet Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles and Seal of the
+Prophets, by detached versets: bidding and forbidding,
+covenanting and comminating, and containing advices and instances
+in the course of twenty years as occasion called for it." Q
+"Which chapter was first revealed?" "According to Ibn Abbas, that
+entituled 'Congealed Blood':[FN#372] and, according to Jábir bin
+Abdillah,[FN#373] that called 'The Covered' which preceded all
+others.[FN#374]" Q "Which verset was the last revealed?" "That of
+'Usury',[FN#375] and it is also said, the verse, 'When there
+cometh Allah's succour and victory.'"[FN#376]--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel told the Koranist which was the last verse he said, "Thou
+hast replied aright; now tell me the names of the Companions who
+collected the Koran, in the lifetime of the Apostle of Allah."
+And she answered "They were four, Ubay ibn Ka'ab, Zayd ibn Sábit,
+Abú Obaydah 'Aamir bin Jarráh, and Othmán bin Affán[FN#377]
+(Allah accept of them one and all!)" Q "Who are the readers, from
+whom the accepted reading of the Koran is taken?" "They number
+four, Abdallah bin Mas'úd, Ubay bin Ka'ab, Ma'az bin Jabal and
+Sálim bin Abdillah." Q "What sayest thou of the words of the Most
+High, 'That which is sacrificed to stones'"?[FN#378] "The stones
+are idols, which are set up and worshipped, instead of Allah the
+Most High, and from this we seek refuge with Allah." Q "What
+sayest thou of the words of the Most High 'Thou knowest what is
+in my soul, and I know not what is in Thy soul'"?[FN#379] "They
+mean, 'Thou knowest the truth of me and what is in me, and I know
+not what is in Thee;' and the proof of this are His
+words,[FN#380] 'Thou art He who wottest the hidden things'; and
+it is said, also, 'Thou knowest my essence, but I know not Thine
+essence.'" Q "What sayst thou of the words of the Most High, 'O
+true believers, forbid not yourselves the good things which Allah
+hath allowed you?'"[FN#381] "My Shaykh (on whom Allah have
+mercy!) told me that the Companion Al-Zahhák related: 'There was
+a people of the True-believers who said, 'We will dock our
+members masculine and don sackcloth;' whereupon this verse was
+revealed. But Al-Kutádah declareth that it was revealed on
+account of sundry Companions of the Apostle of Allah, namely, Ali
+ibn Abí Tálib and Othmán bin Musa'ab and others, who said, 'We
+will geld ourselves and don hair cloth and make us monks.'" Q
+"What sayest thou of the words of the Most Highest, 'And Allah
+took Abraham for His friend'"?[FN#382] "The friend of Allah is
+the needy, the poor, and (according to another saying) he is the
+lover, he who is detached from the world in the love of Allah
+Almighty and in whose attachment there is no falling away." Now
+when the Koranist[FN#383] saw her pass on in speech with the
+passage of the clouds and that she stayed not in reply, he rose
+to his feet and said, "I take Allah to witness, O Commander of
+the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned than I in Koranic
+exegesis and what pertaineth thereto." Then said she, "I will ask
+thee one question, which if thou answer it is well; but if thou
+answer not, I will strip off thy clothes." Quoth the Commander of
+the Faithful, "Ask on," and she enquired, "Which verset of the
+Koran hath in it three-and-twenty Káfs, which sixteen Míms, which
+an hundred and forty 'Ayns[FN#384] and which section[FN#385]
+lacketh the formula, 'To Whom belong glory and glorification and
+majesty[FN#386]?'" The Koranist could not reply, and she said to
+him, "Put off thy clothes." So he doffed them, and she continued,
+"O Commander of the Faithful, the verset of the sixteen Mims is
+in the chapter Húd and is the saying of the Most High, 'It was
+said, O Noah, go down in peace from us, and blessing upon
+thee!'[FN#387] that of the three-and-twenty Kafs is the verse
+called of the Faith, in the chapter of The Cow; that of the
+hundred and forty Ayns is in the chapter of Al-A'aráf,[FN#388]
+where the Lord saith, 'And Moses chose seventy men of his tribe
+to attend our appointed time;[FN#389] to each man a pair of
+eyes.'[FN#390] And the lesson, which lacketh the formula, 'To
+Whom be glory and glorification,' is that which comprises the
+chapters, The Hour draweth nigh and the Moon shall be cloven in
+twain[FN#391]; The Compassionate and The Event."[FN#392]
+Thereupon the professor departed in confusion.--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel defeated the Koranist and took off his clothes and sent
+him away confused, then came forward the skilled physician and
+said to her, "We are free of theology and come now to physiology.
+Tell me, therefore, how is man made; how many veins, bones and
+vertebrae are there in his body; which is the first and chief
+vein and why Adam was named Adam?" She replied, "Adam was called
+Adam, because of his udmah, that is, the wheaten colour of his
+complexion and also (it is said) because he was created of the
+adim of the earth, that is to say, of the surface-soil. His
+breast was made of the earth of the Ka'abah, his head of earth
+from the East and his legs of earth from the West. There were
+created for him seven doors in his head, viz., the eyes, the
+ears, the nostrils and the mouth, and two passages, before and
+behind. The eyes were made the seat of the sight-sense, the ears
+the seat of the hearing-sense, the nostrils the seat of the
+smell-sense, the mouth the seat of the taste-sense and the tongue
+to utter what is in the heart of man.[FN#393] Now Adam was made
+of a compound of the four elements, which be water, earth, fire
+and air. The yellow bile is the humour of fire, being hot-dry;
+the black bile that of earth, being cold-dry; the phlegm that of
+water, being cold-moist, and the blood that of air, being
+hot-moist.[FN#394] There were made in man three hundred and sixty
+veins, two hundred and forty-nine bones, and three souls[FN#395]
+or spirits, the animal, the rational and the natural, to each of
+which is allotted its proper function. Moreover, Allah made him a
+heart and spleen and lungs and six intestines and a liver and two
+kidneys and buttocks and brain and bones and skin and five
+senses; hearing, seeing, smell, taste, touch. The heart He set on
+the left side of the breast and made the stomach the guide and
+governor thereof. He appointed the lungs for a fan to the heart
+and stablished the liver on the right side, opposite thereto.
+Moreover, He made, besides this, the diaphragm and the viscera
+and set up the bones of the breast and latticed them with the
+ribs." Q "How many ventricles are there in a man's head?" "Three,
+which contain five faculties, styled the intrinsic senses, to
+wit, common sense, imagination, the thinking faculty, perception
+and memory." Q "Describe to me the configuration of the
+bones."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Four Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+physicist said to her, "Describe to me the configuration of the
+bones," she replied, "Man's frame consists of two hundred and
+forty bones, which are divided into three parts, the head, the
+trunk and the extremities. The head is divided into calvarium and
+face. The skull is constructed of eight bones, and to it are
+attached the four osselets of the ear. The face is furnished with
+an upper jaw of eleven bones and a lower jaw of one; and to these
+are added the teeth two-and-thirty in number, and the os
+hyoides.[FN#396] The trunk is divided into spinal column, breast
+and basin. The spinal column is made up of four-and-twenty bones,
+called Fikár or vertebræ; the breast, of the breastbone and the
+ribs, which are four-and-twenty in number, twelve on each side;
+and the basin of the hips, the sacrum[FN#397] and os coccygis.
+The extremities divided into upper and lower, arms and legs. The
+arms are again divided: firstly into shoulder, comprising
+shoulder blades and collar bone; secondly into the upper arm
+which is one bone; thirdly into fore-arm, composed of two bones,
+the radius and the ulna; and fourthly into the hand, consisting
+of the wrist, the metacarpus of five and the fingers, which
+number five, of three bones each, called the phalanges, except
+the thumb, which hath but two. The lower extremities are divided:
+firstly into thigh, which is one bone; secondly into leg,
+composed of three bones, the tibia, the fibula and the patella;
+and thirdly into the foot, divided, like the hand, into tarsus,
+metatarsus and toes; and is composed of seven bones, ranged in
+two rows, two in one and five in the other; and the metatarsus is
+composed of five bones and the toes number five, each of three
+phalanges except the big toe which hath only two." Q "Which is
+the root of the veins?" "The aorta, from which they ramify, and
+they are many, none knoweth the tale of them save He who created
+them; but I repeat, it is said that they number three hundred and
+sixty.[FN#398] Moreover, Allah hath appointed the tongue as
+interpreter for the thought, the eyes to serve as lanterns, the
+nostrils to smell with, and the hands for prehensors. The liver
+is the seat of pity, the spleen of laughter[FN#399] and the
+kidneys of craft; the lungs are ventilators, the stomach the
+store-house, and the heart the prop and pillar of the body. When
+the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and when the heart
+is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt." Q "What are the outward
+signs and symptoms evidencing disease in the members of the body,
+both external and internal?" "A physician, who is a man of
+understanding, looketh into the state of the body and is guided
+by the feel of the hands,[FN#400] according as they are firm or
+flabby, hot or cool, moist or dry. Internal disorders are also
+indicated by external symptoms, such as yellowness of the white
+of the eyes, which denoteth jaundice, and bending of the back,
+which denoteth disease of the lungs." And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had described to the doctor the outer signs and symptoms
+quoth he, "Thou hast replied aright! now what are the internal
+symptoms of disease?" "The science of the diagnosis of disease by
+internal symptoms is founded upon six canons: (1) the patient's
+actions; (2) what is evacuated from his body; (3) the nature of
+the pain; and (4) the site thereof; (5) swelling; and (6) the
+effluvia given off his person." Q "How cometh hurt to the head?"
+"By the ingestion of food upon food, before the first be
+digested, and by fullness upon fullness; this it is that wasteth
+peoples. He who would live long, let him be early with the
+morning-meal and not late with the evening-meal; let him be
+sparing of commerce with women and chary of such depletory
+measures as cupping and blood-letting; and let him make of his
+belly three parts, one for food, one for drink and the third for
+air; for that a man's intestines are eighteen spans in length and
+it befitteth that he appoint six for meat, six for drink, and six
+for breath. If he walk, let him go gently; it will be wholesomer
+for him and better for his body and more in accordance with the
+saying of the Almighty, 'Walk not proudly on the earth.'"[FN#401]
+Q "What are the symptoms of yellow bile and what is to be feared
+therefrom?" "The symptoms are sallow complexion and bitter taste
+in the mouth with dryness; failure of the appetite, venereal and
+other, and rapid pulse; and the patient hath to fear high fever
+and delirium and eruptions and jaundice and tumour and ulcers of
+the bowels and excessive thirst." Q "What are the symptoms of
+black bile and what hath the patient to fear from it, an it get
+the mastery of the body?" "The symptoms are false appetite and
+great mental disquiet and cark and care; and it behoveth that it
+be evacuated, else it will generate melancholia[FN#402] and
+leprosy and cancer and disease of the spleen and ulceration of
+the bowels." Q "Into how many branches is the art of medicine
+divided?" "Into two: the art of diagnosing diseases, and that of
+restoring the diseased body to health." Q "When is the drinking
+of medicine more efficacious than otherwhen?" "When the sap runs
+in the wood and the grape thickens in the cluster and the two
+auspicious planets, Jupiter and Venus, are in the ascendant; then
+setteth in the proper season for drinking of drugs and doing away
+of disease." Q "What time is it, when, if a man drink water from
+a new vessel, the drink is sweeter and lighter or more digestible
+to him than at another time, and there ascendeth to him a
+pleasant fragrance and a penetrating?" "When he waiteth awhile
+after eating, as quoth the poet,
+
+'Drink not upon thy food in haste but wait awhile; * Else thou
+     with halter shalt thy frame to sickness lead:
+And patient bear a little thirst from food, then drink; * And
+     thus, O brother, haply thou shalt win thy need.[FN#403]'"
+
+Q "What food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?" "That which
+is not eaten but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are
+not filled with it, even as saith Jálínús or Galen the physician,
+'Whoso will take in food, let him go slowly and he shall not go
+wrongly.' And to conclude with His saying (on whom be blessing
+and peace!), 'The stomach is the house of disease, and diet is
+the head of healing; for the origin of all sickness is
+indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat'"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+the damsel said to the doctor, "'The stomach is the house of
+disease and diet is the head of healing; for the origin of all
+sickness is indigestion, that is to say, corruption of the meat
+in the stomach;'" he rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright! what
+sayest thou of the Hammam?" "Let not the full man enter it. Quoth
+the Prophet, 'The bath is the blessing of the house, for that it
+cleanseth the body and calleth to mind the Fire.'" Q "What
+Hammams are best for bathing in?" "Those whose waters are sweet
+and whose space is ample and which are kept well aired; their
+atmosphere representing the four seasons--autumn and summer and
+winter and spring." Q "What kind of food is the most profitable?"
+"That which women make and which hath not cost overmuch trouble
+and which is readily digested. The most excellent of food is
+brewis[FN#404] or bread sopped in broth; according to the saying
+of the Prophet, 'Brewis excelleth other food, even as Ayishah
+excelleth other women.'" Q "What kind of kitchen, or seasoning,
+is most profitable?" "'Flesh meat' (quoth the Prophet) 'is the
+most excellent of kitchen; for that it is the delight of this
+world and the next world.'" Q "What kind of meat is the most
+profitable?" "Mutton; but jerked meat is to be avoided, for there
+is no profit in it." Q "What of fruits?" "Eat them in their prime
+and quit them when their season is past." Q "What sayest thou of
+drinking water?" "Drink it not in large quantities nor swallow it
+by gulps, or it will give thee head-ache and cause divers kinds
+of harm; neither drink it immediately after leaving the Hammam
+nor after carnal copulation or eating (except it be after the
+lapse of fifteen minutes for a young man and forty for an old
+man), nor after waking from sleep." Q "What of drinking fermented
+liquors?" "Doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the Book of
+Almighty Allah, where He saith, 'Verily, wine and lots and
+images, and the divining arrows are an abomination, of Satan's
+work; therefore avoid them, that ye may prosper'?[FN#405] And
+again, 'They will ask thee concerning wine and lots': Answer, 'In
+both there is great sin and also some things of use unto men: but
+their sinfulness is greater than their use.'[FN#406] Hence quoth
+the poet,
+
+'O bibber of liquor, art not ashamed * To drink what Allah
+     forbade thee drain?
+Put it far from thee and approach it not; * It holds what Allah
+     forbade as bane.'
+
+And quoth another to the same purport,
+
+'I drank the sin till my reason fled: * Ill drink that reason to
+     loss misled!'
+
+As for the advantages that be therein, it disperseth stone and
+gravel from the kidneys and strengtheneth the viscera and
+banisheth care, and moveth to generosity and preserveth health
+and digestion; it conserveth the body, expelleth disease from the
+joints, purifieth the frame of corrupt humours, engendereth
+cheerfulness, gladdeneth the heart of man and keepeth up the
+natural heat: it contracteth the bladder, enforceth the liver and
+removeth obstructions, reddeneth the cheeks, cleareth away
+maggots from the brain and deferreth grey hairs. In short, had
+not Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) forbidden it,[FN#407]
+there were not on the face of the earth aught fit to stand in its
+stead. As for gambling by lots, it is a game of hazard such as
+diceing, not of skill." Q "What wine is best?" "That which is
+pressed from white grapes and kept eighty days or more after
+fermentation: it resembleth not water and indeed there is nothing
+on the surface of the earth like unto it." Q "What sayest thou of
+cupping?" "It is for him who is over full of blood and who hath
+no defect therein; and whoso would be cupped, let it be during
+the wane of the moon, on a day without cloud, wind or rain and on
+the seventeenth of the month. If it fall on a Tuesday, it will be
+the more efficacious, and nothing is more salutary for the brain
+and eyes and for clearing the intellect than cupping."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel enumerated the benefits of cupping, quoth the doctor,
+"What is the best time for cupping?" "One should be cupped 'on
+the spittle,' that is, in the morning before eating, for this
+fortifieth the wit and the memory. It is reported of the Prophet
+that, when anyone complained to him of a pain in the head or
+legs, he would bid him be cupped and after cupping not eat salt
+food, fasting, for it engendereth scurvy; neither eat sour things
+as curded milk[FN#408] immediately after cupping." Q "When is
+cupping to be avoided?" "On Sabbaths or Saturdays and Wednesdays;
+and let him who is cupped on these days blame none but himself.
+Moreover, one should not be cupped in very hot weather nor in
+very cold weather; and the best season for cupping is
+springtide." Quoth the doctor, "Now tell me of carnal
+copulation." Hereupon Tawaddud hung her head, for shame and
+confusion before the Caliph's majesty; then said, "By Allah, O
+Commander of the Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that
+I am ashamed; though, indeed, the answer is on the edge of my
+tongue." Said the Caliph; "Speak, O damsel," whereupon said she,
+"Copulation hath in it many and exceeding virtues and
+praiseworthy qualities, amongst which are, that it lighteneth a
+body full of black bile and calmeth the heat of love and induceth
+affection and dilateth the heart and dispelleth the sadness of
+solitude; and the excess of it is more harmful in summer and
+autumn than in spring and winter." Q "What are its good effects?"
+"It banisheth trouble and disquiet, calmeth love and wrath and is
+good for ulcers, especially in a cold and dry humour; on the
+other hand excess of it weakeneth the sight and engendereth pains
+in the legs and head and back: and beware, beware of carnal
+connection with old women, for they are deadly. Quoth the Iman
+Ali[FN#409] (whose face Allah honour!), 'Four things kill and
+ruin the body: entering the Hammam on a full stomach; eating salt
+food; copulation on a plethora of blood and lying with an ailing
+woman; for she will weaken thy strength and infect thy frame with
+sickness; and an old woman is deadly poison.' And quoth one of
+them, 'Beware of taking an old woman to wife, though she be
+richer in hoards than Kárún'"[FN#410] Q "What is the best
+copulation?" "If the woman be tender of years, comely of shape,
+fair of face, swelling of breast and of noble race, she will add
+to thee strength and health of body; and let her be even as saith
+a certain poet describing her,
+
+'Seeing thy looks wots she what thou desir'st, * By inspiration;
+     wants nor word nor sign;
+And, when thou dost behold her rarest grace, * The charms of
+     every garden canst decline.'
+
+Q "At what time is copulation good?" "If by night, after food
+digested and if by day, after the morning meal." Q "What are the
+most excellent fruits?" "Pomegranate and citron." Q "Which is the
+most excellent of vegetables?" "Endive.[FN#411]" Q "Which of
+sweet-scented flowers?" "Rose and Violet." Q "How is the seed of
+man secreted?" "There is in man a vein which feedeth all the
+other veins. Now water is collected from the three hundred and
+sixty veins and, in the form of red blood, entereth the left
+testicle, where it is decocted, by the heat of temperament
+inherent in the son of Adam, into a thick, white liquid, whose
+odour is as that of the palm-spathe." Q "What flying thing is it
+that emitteth seed and menstruateth?" "The flitter-mouse,[FN#412]
+that is the bat." Q "What is that which, when confined and shut
+out from the air liveth, and when let out to smell the air
+dieth?" "The fish." Q "What serpent layeth eggs?" "The Su'ban or
+dragon.[FN#413]" With this the physician waxed weary with much
+questioning, and held his peace, when Tawaddud said to the
+Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me till
+he is tired out and now I will ask him one question, which if he
+answer not, I will take his clothes as lawful prize."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+the damsel said to the Commander of the Faithful, "Verily he hath
+questioned me till he is tired out, and now I will ask him one
+question, which if he answer not I will take his clothes as
+lawful prize," the Caliph cried, "Ask on." So quoth she to the
+physician, "What is that thing which resembleth the earth in
+roundness, whose resting-place and whose spine are hidden from
+men's eyes; little of price and estimation; narrow of chest and
+shackled as to throat though it be nor runaway slave nor
+pestilent thief; thrust through and through, though not in fray,
+and wounded, though not in fight: time eateth its vigour and
+water wasteth it away; now it is beaten without blemish, and then
+made to serve without stint; united after separation; submissive,
+but not to him who caresseth it; pregnant without child in belly;
+drooping, yet not leaning on its side; becoming dirty yet
+purifying itself; cleaving to its fere, yet changing; copulating
+without a yard, wrestling without arms: resting and taking its
+ease; bitten, yet not crying out: now more complaisant than a
+cup-companion and then more troublesome than summer-heat; leaving
+its mate by night and embracing her by day and having its abode
+in the corners of the mansions of the noble?" The physician was
+silent awhile in perplexity and his colour changed and he bowed
+his head and made no reply; whereupon she said to him, "Ho, sir
+doctor, speak or doff thy dress." At this, he rose and said, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, bear witness against me that this
+damsel is more learned than I in medicine and what else, and that
+I cannot cope with her." And he put off his clothes and fled
+forth. Quoth the Caliph to Tawaddud, "Ree us thy riddle," and she
+replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is the button and the
+button-loop.[FN#414]"--Then she undertook the astronomers and
+said, "Let him of you who is an astronomer rise and come
+forward." So the astronomer advanced and sat down before her;
+and, when she saw him, she laughed and said, "Art thou the
+astronomer, the mathematician, the scribe?" "Yes," answered he.
+Quoth she, "Ask of what thou wilt; success resteth with Allah."
+So he said, "Tell me of the sun and its rising and setting." And
+she replied: "Know that the sun riseth from the shadows in the
+Eastern hemisphere and setteth in the shadows of the Western, and
+each hemisphere compriseth one hundred and eighty degrees. Quoth
+Allah Almighty, 'I swear by the Lord of the East and of the
+West.'[FN#415] And again, 'He it is who hath ordained the sun to
+shine by day, and the moon for a light by night; and hath
+appointed her station that ye might know the number of years and
+the computation of time.'[FN#416] The moon is Sultan of the night
+and the sun Sultan of the day, and they vie with each other in
+their courses and follow without overtaking each other. Quoth
+Almighty Allah, 'It is not expedient that the sun overtake the
+moon in her course; neither doth the night outstrip the day, but
+each of these luminaries moveth in a peculiar orbit.'"[FN#417] Q
+"When the day cometh, what becometh of the night; and what of the
+day, when the night cometh?" "He causeth the night to enter in
+upon the day, and He causeth the day to enter in upon the
+night."[FN#418] Q "Enumerate to me the mansions of the
+moon?"[FN#419] "They number eight-and-twenty, to wit, Sharatán,
+Butayn, Surayá, Dabarán, Hak'ah, Han'ah, Zirá'a, Nasrah, Tarf,
+Jabhah, Zubrah, Sarfah, 'Awwá, Simák, Ghafar, Zubání, Iklíl,
+Kalb, Shaulah, Na'am, Baldah, Sa'ad al-Zábih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a,
+Sa'ad al-Su'úd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah, Fargh the Former and Fargh the
+Latter; and Risháa. They are disposed in the order of the letters
+of the Abjad-hawwaz or older alphabet,[FN#420] according to their
+numerical power, and in them are secret virtues which none
+knoweth save Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and the
+stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve Signs of
+the Zodiac, two Mansions and a third of a Mansion to each Sign.
+Thus Sharatan, Butayn and one-third of Suráyá, belong to Aries,
+the other two-thirds of Suráyá, Dabaran and two-thirds of Hak'ah
+to Taurus, the other third of Hak'ah, Han'ah and Zira'a to
+Gemini; Nasrah, Tarf and a third of Jabhah to Cancer, the other
+two-thirds of Jabhah, Zubrah and two-thirds of Sarfah to Leo; the
+other third of Sarfah, 'Awwá and Simák to Virgo; Ghafar, Zubáni
+and one-third of Iklíl to Libra; the other two-thirds of Iklil,
+Kalb and two-thirds of Shaulah to Scorpio; the other third of
+Shaulah, Na'áim and Baldah to Sagittarius; Sa'ad al-Zábih, Sa'ad
+al-Bul'a and one-third of Sa'ad al-Su'ud to Capricorn, the other
+two-thirds of Sa'ad al-Su'dd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah and two-thirds of
+Fargh the Former to Aquarius, the other third of Fargh the
+Former, Fargh the Latter and Risháa to Pisces."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel enumerated the Mansions and distributed them into their
+Signs, the astronomer said, "Thou hast replied aright; now tell
+me of the planets and their natures, also of their sojourn in the
+Zodiacal Signs, their aspects, auspicious and sinister, their
+houses, ascendants and descendants. She answered, "The sitting is
+narrow for so large a matter, but I will say as much as I can.
+Now the planets number seven; which are, the Sun, the Moon,
+Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. The Sun, hot-dry, sinister
+in conjunction, favourable in opposition, abideth thirty days in
+each Sign. The Moon, cold-moist and favourable of aspect,
+tarrieth in each Sign two days and a third of another day.
+Mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable in conjunction with the
+favourable, and sinister in conjunction with the sinister
+aspects, and abideth in each sign seventeen days and a half day.
+Venus, temperate and favourable, abideth in each sign
+five-and-twenty days. Mars is sinister and woneth in each sign
+ten months. Jupiter is auspicious and abideth in each sign a
+year. Saturn, cold-dry and sinister, tarrieth in each sign thirty
+months. The house of the Sun is Leo, her ascendant is Aries, and
+her descendant Aquarius. The Moon's house is Cancer, his
+ascendant Taurus, his descendant Scorpio and his sinister aspect
+Capricorn. Saturn's house is Capricorn-Aquarius, his ascendant
+Libra, his descendant Aries and his sinister aspects Cancer and
+Leo. Jupiter's house is Pisces-Sagittarius, his ascendant Cancer,
+his descendant Capricorn and his sinister aspects Gemini and Leo.
+Venus's house is Taurus, her ascendant Pisces, her descendant
+Libra, and her sinister aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury's
+house is Gemini-Virgo, his ascendant Virgo, his descendant
+Pisces, and his sinister aspect Taurus. Mars' house is
+Aries-Scorpio, his ascendant Capricorn, his descendant Cancer and
+his sinister aspect Libra." Now when the astronomer saw her
+acuteness and comprehensive learning and heard her fair answers,
+he bethought him for a sleight to confound her before the
+Commander of the Faithful, and said to her, "O damsel, tell me,
+will rain fall this month?" At this she bowed her head and
+pondered so long, that the Caliph thought her at a loss for an
+answer and the astronomer said to her, "Why dost thou not speak?"
+Quoth she, "I will not speak except the Commander of the Faithful
+give me leave." So the Caliph laughed and said, "How so?" Cried
+she "I would have thee give me a sword, that I may strike off his
+head, for he is an Infidel, an Agnostic, an Atheist.[FN#421]" At
+this, loud laughed the Caliph and those about him laughed, and
+she continued "O astronomer, there are five things that none
+knoweth save Allah Almighty;" and she repeated the verset; "'Aye!
+Allah!--with Him is the knowledge of the hour and He causeth the
+rain to descend at His own appointed time --and He knoweth what
+is in the wombs of females--but no soul knoweth what it shall
+have gotten on the morrow; neither wotteth any soul in what land
+it shall die: Verily Allah is knowing, informed of all.'"[FN#422]
+Quoth the astronomer, "Thou hast said well, and I, by Allah,
+thought only to try thee." Rejoined she, "Know that the
+almanack-makers have certain signs and tokens, referring to the
+planets and constellations relative to the coming in of the year;
+and folk have learned something by experience." Q "What be that?"
+"Each day hath a planet that ruleth it: so if the first day in
+the year fall on First Day (Sunday) that day is the Sun's and
+this portendeth (though Allah alone is All-knowing!) oppression
+of kings and sultans and governors and much miasma and lack of
+rain; and that people will be in great tumult and the grain-crop
+will be good, except lentils, which will perish, and the vines
+will rot and flax will be dear and wheat cheap from the beginning
+of Túbah to the end of Barmahát.[FN#423] And, in this year there
+will be much fighting among kings, and there shall be great
+plenty of good in this year, but Allah is All-knowing!" Q "What
+if the first day fall on Second Day (Monday)?" "That day
+belongeth to the Moon and portendeth righteousness in
+administrators and officials and that it will be a year of much
+rain and grain-crops will be good, but linseed will decay and
+wheat will be cheap in the month Kiyáhk;[FN#424] also the plague
+will rage and the sheep and goats will die, grapes will be
+plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap; and Allah is
+omniscient!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel ended her notice of Second Day the astronomer said to her
+"Now tell me what will occur if New Year's day fall on Third Day
+(Tuesday)." She replied, "That is Mars' day and portendeth death
+of great men and much destruction and deluge of blood and
+dearness of grain; lack of rain and scarcity of fish, which will
+anon be in excess and anon fail. Lentils and honey in this year
+will be cheap and linseed dear and only barley will thrive, to
+the exception of all other cereals: great will be the fighting
+among kings and death will be in the blood and there will be much
+mortality among asses." Q "What if it fall on Fourth Day?" "That
+is Mercury's day and portendeth great tumult among the folk and
+much enmity and, though rains be moderate, rotting of some of the
+green crops; also that there will be sore mortality among cattle
+and young children and much fighting by sea; that wheat will be
+dear from Barmúdah to Misra[FN#425] and other grains cheap;
+thunder and lightning will abound and honey will be dear, palm-
+trees will thrive and bear abundantly and flax and cotton will be
+plentiful, while radishes and onions will be dear; but Allah is
+All-knowing!" Q "What if it fall on Fifth Day?" "That is
+Jupiter's day and portendeth equity in Wazirs and righteousness
+in Kazis and Fakirs and the Ministers of religion; and that good
+will be plentiful: rains and fruit and trees and grain will
+abound, and flax, cotton, honey, grapes and fish be cheap; and
+Allah is Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on Meeting Day or
+Friday?" "That day appertaineth to Venus and portendeth
+oppression in the chiefs of the Jinn and talk of forgery and
+back-biting; there will be much dew; the autumn crops will be
+good in the land and there will be cheapness in one town and not
+in another: ungraciousness will be rife by land and sea; linseed
+will be dear, also wheat, in Hátúr, but cheap in Amshír; honey
+will be dear and grapes and water-melons will rot; and Allah is
+Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on the Sabbath (Saturday)?" "That
+is Saturn's day and portendeth the preferment of slaves and
+Greeks and those in whom there is no good, neither in their
+neighbourhood; there will be great drought and dearth; clouds
+will abound and death will be rife among the sons of Adam and woe
+to the people of Egypt and Syria from the oppression of the
+Sultan and failure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting
+of grain; and Allah is All-knowing!"[FN#426] Now with this, the
+astronomer hung his head very low, and she said to him, "O
+astronomer, I will ask thee one question, which if thou answer
+not, I will take thy clothes." "Ask," replied he. Quoth she,
+"Where is Saturn's dwelling-place?"; and he answered, "In the
+seventh heaven." Q "And that of Jupiter?" "In the sixth heaven."
+Q "And that of Mars?" "In the fifth heaven." Q "And that of the
+Sun?" "In the fourth heaven." Q "And that of Venus?" "In the
+third heaven." Q "And that of Mercury?" "In the second heaven." Q
+"And that of the Moon?" "In the first heaven." Quoth she, "Well
+answered; but I have one more question to ask thee;" and quoth
+he, "Ask!" Accordingly she said, "Now tell me concerning the
+stars, into how many parts are they divided." But he was silent
+and answered nothing; and she cried to him, "Put off thy
+clothes." So he doffed them and she took them; after which the
+Caliph said to her, "Tell us the answer to thy question." She
+replied: "O Commander of the Faithful, the stars are divided into
+three parts, whereof one-third is hung in the sky of the
+earth,[FN#427] as it were lamps, to give light to the earth, and
+a part is used to shoot the demons withal, when they draw near by
+stealth to listen to the talk in heaven. Quoth Allah Almighty,
+'Verily, we have dight the sky of the earth with the adornment of
+the stars; and have appointed them for projectiles against every
+rebellious Satan.'[FN#428] And the third part is hung in air to
+illuminate the seas and give light to what is therein." Quoth the
+astronomer, "I have one more question to ask, which if she
+answer, I will avow myself beaten." "Say on," answered she.--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+astronomer said, "Now tell me what four contraries are based upon
+other four contraries?" Replied she, "The four qualities of
+Caloric and Frigoric, Humidity and Siccity; for of heat Allah
+created fire, whose nature is hot-dry; of dryness, earth, which
+is cold-dry; of cold, water which is cold-wet; of moisture, air,
+which is hot-wet. Moreover, He created twelve Signs of the
+Zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra,
+Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces; and
+appointed them of the four humours; three fiery, Aries, Leo, and
+Sagittarius; three earthly, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; three
+airy, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; and three watery, Cancer,
+Scorpio and Pisces." Hereupon the astronomer rose, and saying,
+"Bear witness against me that she is more learned than I," away
+he went beaten. Then quoth the Caliph, "Where is the
+philosopher[FN#429]?"; at which one rose hastily and came forward
+and said to Tawaddud, "What is Time and what be its limits, and
+its days, and what things bringeth it?" Replied she, "Time is a
+term applied to the hours of the night and day, which are but the
+measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their several
+heavens, even as Allah Almighty telleth us when he saith, 'A sign
+to them also is the Night, from which we strip off the day, and
+lo! they are plunged in darkness, and the Sun runneth to her
+place of rest; this is the ordinance of the Sublime, the
+All-knowing.'"[FN#430] Q "How cometh unbelief to the son of
+Adam?" "It is reported of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) that he said, 'Unbelief in a man runneth as the blood
+runneth in his veins, when he revileth the world and Time and
+night and the Hour.' And again, 'Let none of you revile Time, for
+Time is God; neither revile the world, for she saith, 'May Allah
+not aid him who revileth me!;' neither revile the hour, for, 'The
+Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt thereof';[FN#431]
+neither revile the earth, for it is a portent, according to the
+saying of the Most High, 'Out of the ground have we created you,
+and into the same will we cause you to return, and we will bring
+you forth yet thence another time.'"[FN#432] Q "What are the five
+that ate and drank, yet came not out of loins nor womb?" "Adam
+and Simeon[FN#433] and Salih's she-camel[FN#434] and Ishmael's
+ram and the bird that Abu Bakr the Truth-teller saw in the
+cave.[FN#435]" Q "Tell me of five that are in Paradise and are
+neither humans, Jinns nor angels?" "Jacob's wolf and the Seven
+Sleepers' dog and Esdras's ass and Salih's camel and Duldul the
+mule of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace!)." Q "What
+man prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?" "Solomon,
+when he prayed on his carpet, borne by the wind." Q "Ree me this
+riddle:--A man once looked at a handmaid during dawn-prayer, and
+she was unlawful to him; but, at noonday she became lawful to
+him: by mid-afternoon,, she was again unlawful, but at sundown,
+she was lawful to him: at supper time she was a third time
+unlawful, but by daybreak, she became once more lawful to him."
+"This was a man who looked at another's slave-girl in the
+morning, and she was then unlawful to him; but at midday he
+bought her, and she became lawful to him: at mid-afternoon he
+freed her, and she became unlawful to him; but at sundown he
+married her and she was again lawful to him. At nightfall he
+divorced her and she was then a third time unlawful to him; but,
+next morning at daybreak, he took her back, and she became once
+more lawful to him." Q "Tell me what tomb went about with him
+that lay buried therein?" "Jonah's whale, when it had swallowed
+him." Q "What spot of lowland is it, upon which the sun shone
+once, but will never again shine till Judgment-Day?" "The bottom
+of the Red Sea, when Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea
+clave asunder in twelve places, according to the number of the
+tribes;[FN#436] then the sun shone on the bottom and will do so
+nevermore until Judgment-Day." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+philosopher then addressed the damsel saying, "What was the first
+skirt that trailed over the face of the earth?" She replied,
+"That of Hagar, out of shame before Sarah; and it became a custom
+among the Arabs." Q "What is that which breatheth without life?"
+"Quoth Almighty Allah, 'By the morning when it
+breatheth!'"[FN#437] Q "Ree me this riddle:--A number of pigeons
+came to a high tree and lighted, some on the tree and others
+under it. Said those on the tree to those on the ground, 'If one
+of you come up to us, ye will be a third part of us all in
+number; and if one of us descend to you, we shall be like unto
+you in number,' How many pigeons were there in all?" "Twelve:
+seven alighted on the tree and five beneath; and, if one go up,
+those above would be eight to four; and, if one go down, both
+would be six and Allah is all-knowing."[FN#438] With this the
+philosopher put off his clothes and fled: whereupon the next
+contest took place, for she turned to the Olema present and said,
+"Which of you is the rhetorician that can discourse of all arts
+and sciences?" There came forward a sage hight Ibrahim bin Siyyár
+and said to her, "Think me not like the rest." Quoth she, "It is
+the more assured to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that thou
+art a boaster; and Allah will help me to victory over thee, that
+I may strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou sentest one to fetch
+thee wherewithal to cover thyself, 'twould be well for thee."
+Cried he, "By Allah, I will assuredly conquer thee and make thee
+a byword among the peoples, generation after generation!"
+Rejoined she, "Do penance in advance for thy broken oath." Then
+he asked, "What five things did Allah create before he made
+man?"; and she answered, "Water and earth and light and darkness
+and the fruits of the earth." Q "What did Allah create with the
+hand of omnipotence?" "The 'Arsh, throne of God or the empyreal
+heaven and the tree Túbá[FN#439] and Adam and the garden of Eden;
+these Allah created with the hand of His omnipotence; but to all
+other created things He said, 'Be,'--and they were." Q "Who is
+thy father in Al-Islam?" "Mohammed, whom Allah bless and
+preserve!" Q "Who was the father in Al-Islam of Mohammed?"
+"Abraham, the Friend of God." Q "What is the Faith of Al-Islam?"
+"The professing that there is no god but the God and that
+Mohammed is the apostle of God." Q "What is thy first and thy
+last?" "My first is man's seed in the shape of foul water and my
+last filthy carrion: the first of me is dust and the last of me
+is dust. Quoth the poet,
+
+'Of dust was I created, and man did I become, * In question ever
+     ready and aye fluent in reply,
+Then, I unto the dust return'd, became of it again, * For that,
+     in very deed, of dust at first create was I.'"
+
+He continued, "What thing was it, whose first state was wood and
+its last life?" "Moses' staff,[FN#440] when he cast it on the
+valley-ground and it became, by permission of Allah, a writhing
+serpent." Q "What is the meaning of the word of the Lord, 'And I
+have other occasion for it?'"[FN#441] "He, Moses, was wont to
+plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and
+shade him from the heat and from the cold. Moreover, it would
+carry him when he was weary, and whilst he slept, guard his sheep
+from lions and wild beasts." Q "What woman was born of a man
+alone and what man of a woman alone?" "Eve of Adam and Jesus of
+Mary.[FN#442]" Q "Tell me of the four fires, what fire eateth and
+drinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh
+but eateth not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?" "The
+fire of the world eateth but drinketh not; the fire which eateth
+and drinketh is Hell-fire; the fire of the sun drinketh but
+eateth not, and the fire of the moon neither eateth nor
+drinketh." Q "Which is the open door and which the shut?" "The
+Traditional Ordinances are the open door, the Koranic the shut
+door." Q "Of what doth the poet speak, when he saith,
+
+'And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, * When he
+     eateth of that meat, of words he waxeth fain:
+He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; * And
+     returneth to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.
+No living wight is he, yet, in honour he abides; * Nor dead yet
+     he deserveth that Allah him assain.'"
+
+She replied, "The reed-pen."[FN#443] Quoth he "What doth the poet
+refer to in these verses,
+
+'Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; * Rosy red ears
+     and mouth wide open lies;
+It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks * And, if you price it,
+     half a dirham buys.'"
+
+She replied, "The ink-case." Quoth he, "And in these,
+
+'Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore * To sapient, reverend,
+     clever counsellor:
+Tell me what was't you saw that bird bring forth * When wandering
+     Arab-land and Ajam o'er?
+No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, * Nor down nor any
+     feathers e'er it wore.
+'Tis eaten cooked and eke 'tis eaten cold; * 'Tis eaten buried
+     'neath the flames that roar:
+It showeth twofold colours, silver white * And yellow brighter
+     than pure golden ore:
+'Tis not seen living or we count it dead: * So ree my riddle rich
+     in marvel-store!'"
+
+She replied, "Thou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg
+worth a mite." Q "And this?,
+
+'I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, * With a motion so
+     pleasant, now fast and now slow;
+And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; * 'Your lover
+     friend?'"
+
+"No friend, my fan;"[FN#444] said she. Q "How many words did
+Allah speak to Moses?" "It is related of the Apostle that he
+said, 'God spoke to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.'" Q
+"Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the Lord of the
+Worlds?" "The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say,
+'We come obedient to Thy command.'"[FN#445]--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel made the answer, the philosopher continued, "Tell me of
+Adam and how he was first created?" and she said, "Allah created
+Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam and the foam of the sea,
+the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish
+of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water
+He created by His Omnipotence according to His saying (exalted be
+His name!), 'His commandment when He willeth aught, is but to
+say, BE,--and IT IS.'"[FN#446] Q "What is meant by the poet in
+these verses,
+
+'And eater lacking mouth and even maw; * Yet trees and beasts to
+     it are daily bread:
+Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, * But give it water
+     and you do it dead?'"
+
+"This," quoth she, "is Fire." "And in these;" he asked,
+
+"Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, * Who through the
+     livelong night embracing lie:
+They guard the folk from all calamities, * But with the rising
+     sun apart they fly?"
+
+She answered, "The leaves of a door." Quoth he, "Tell me of the
+gates of Gehenna?" Quoth she, "They are seven in number and their
+names are comprised in these two couplets,
+
+'Jahannam, next Lazá, and third Hatím; * Then count Sa'ír and
+     Sakar eke, five-fold,
+Sixth comes Jahím and Háwiyah the seventh; * Here are seven Hells
+     in four lines briefly told.'"
+
+Quoth he "To what doth the poet refer when he saith,
+
+'She wears a pair of ringlets long let down * Behind her, as she
+     comes and goes at speed,
+And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds * A tear, for ne'er
+     a drop it hath at need;
+That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; * Yet robes
+     mankind in every-mode of weed?'"
+
+Quoth she, "A needle." Q "What is the length and what the breadth
+of the bridge Al-Sirát?" "Its length is three thousand years'
+journey, a thousand in descent and a thousand in ascent and a
+thousand level: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a
+hair."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel had described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said,
+"Inform me how many intercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for
+each soul?"[FN#447] "Three." Q "Was Abu Bakr the first who
+embraced Al-Islam?" "Yes." Q "Yet Ali became a Moslem before
+him?" "Ali came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years
+old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the way of salvation
+in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to
+idols." Quoth he, "Tell me which is the more excellent, Ali or
+Abbás?" Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim
+was laying a trap for her; for if she said, "Ali is more
+excellent than Abbas," she would lack excuse with the Caliph for
+undervaluing his ancestor; so she bowed her head awhile, now
+reddening, then paling, and lastly said, "Thou askest me of two
+excellent men, each having his own excellence. Let us return to
+what we were about." When the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard her,
+he stood up and said, "Thou hast spoken well, by the Lord of the
+Ka'abah, O Tawaddud!" Then quoth Ibrahim the rhetorician, "What
+meaneth the poet when he saith,
+
+'Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, * Likest a lance
+     whereon no head we scan:
+And all the lieges find it work them weal, * Eaten of afternoon
+     in Ramazan.'"
+
+She answered, "The sugar-cane;" and he said, "Tell me of many
+things." Asked she, "What are they?" and he said, "What is
+sweeter than honey; what is sharper than the sword; what is
+swifter than poison; what is the delight of a moment and what the
+contentment of three days; what is the pleasantest of days; what
+is the joy of a week; what is that debt the worst debtor denieth
+not; what is the prison of the tomb; what is the joy of the
+heart; what is the snare of the soul; what is death-in-life; what
+is the disease that may not be healed; what is the shame that may
+not be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in cultivated
+fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam
+and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent
+beasts?" Quoth she, "Hear what I shall say in reply; then put off
+thy clothes, that I may explain to thee;" and the Caliph said,
+"Expound, and he shall doff his clothes." So she said, "Now that,
+which is sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to
+their two parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is the
+tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the Envier's eye;
+the delight of a moment is carnal copulation and the contentment
+of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of
+days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the
+bride; the debt, which the worst debtor denieth not, is death;
+the prison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of the heart is a
+woman obedient to her husband (and it is said also that, when
+fleshmeat descendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the
+snare of the soul is a disobedient slave; death-in-life is
+poverty; the disease that may not be healed is an ill-nature, and
+the shame that may not be wiped away is an ill daughter; lastly,
+the beast that woneth not in cultivated fields, but lodgeth in
+waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath in him somewhat
+of the make of seven strong and violent beasts, is the locust,
+whose head is as the head of a horse, its neck as the neck of the
+bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet
+of the camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its belly as
+the belly of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the
+gazelle." The Caliph was astounded at her quickness and
+understanding, and said to the rhetorician, "Doff thy clothes."
+So he rose up and cried, "I call all who are present in this
+assembly to witness that she is more learned than I and every
+other learned man." And he put off his clothes and gave them to
+her, saying, "Take them and may Allah not bless them to thee!" So
+the Caliph ordered him fresh clothes and said, "O Tawaddud, there
+is one thing left of that for which thou didst engage, namely,
+chess." And he sent for experts of chess and cards[FN#448] and
+trictrac. The chess-player sat down before her, and they set the
+pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she
+speedily countered,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+damsel was playing chess with the expert in presence of the
+Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made
+was speedily countered by her, till she beat him and he found
+himself checkmated. Quoth he, "I did but lead thee on, that thou
+mightest think thyself skilful: but set up again, and thou shalt
+see." So they placed the pieces a second time, when he said in
+himself, "Open thine eyes or she will beat thee." And he fell to
+moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play,
+till she said, "Thy King is dead!--Checkmate." When he saw this
+he was confounded at her quickness and understanding; but she
+laughed and said, "O professor, I will make a wager with thee on
+this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand
+castle and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my
+clothes, and if I beat thee, I will take thy clothes." Replied
+he, "I agree to this;" and they replaced the pieces, she removing
+queen, castle and knight.[FN#449] Then said she, "Move, O
+master." So he moved, saying to himself, "I cannot but beat her,
+with such odds," and planned a combination; but, behold, she
+moved on, little by little, till she made one of her
+pawns[FN#450] a queen and pushing up to him pawns and other
+pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted
+him to take it. Accordingly, he took it and she said to him, "The
+measure is meted and the loads equally balanced.[FN#451] Eat till
+thou are over-full; naught shall be thy ruin, O son of Adam, save
+thy greed. Knowest thou not that I did but tempt thee, that I
+might finesse thee? See: this is check-mate!" adding, "So doff
+off thy clothes." Quoth he, "Leave me my bag-trousers, so Allah
+repay thee;" and he swore by Allah that he would contend with
+none, so long as Tawaddud abode in the realm of Baghdad. Then he
+stripped off his clothes and gave them to her and went away.
+Thereupon came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, "If I
+beat thee, this day, what wilt thou give me?" Quoth he, "I will
+give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with
+gold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand gold pieces; and if
+I beat thee, I ask nothing but that thou write me an
+acknowledgment of my victory." Quoth she, "To it, then, and do
+thy best." So they played, and he lost and went away, chattering
+in Frankish jargon and saying, "By the bounty of the Commander of
+the Faithful, there is not her like in all the regions of the
+world!" Then the Caliph summoned players on instruments of music
+and asked her, "Dost thou know aught of music?"; when she
+answered, "Even so!" He bade bring a worn lute, polished by use,
+whose owner forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and of
+which quoth one, describing it
+
+"Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree * Struck root deep
+     down, and raised head a-sky:
+The birds o'ersang it when green its wood; * And the Fair
+     o'ersing now the wood is dry."
+
+So they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of
+saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out
+and behold on it was graven,
+
+"Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, * whose swift sweet
+     lays at feast men's hearts invade:
+She sings; it follows on her song, as though * The
+     Bulbuls[FN#452] taught her all the modes she played."
+
+She laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it,
+bent to it with the bending of a mother who suckleth her child;
+then she preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole
+assembly was agitated with delight, like a waving sea, and she
+sang the following,
+
+"Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; * My heart
+     shall love you aye, by youth of you!
+Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, * Pining and
+     yearning for the troth of you."
+
+The Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, "Allah bless thee and be
+merciful to him who taught thee!": whereupon she rose and kissed
+the ground before him. Then he sent for money and paid her master
+Abu al-Husn an hundred thousand gold pieces to her price; after
+which he said to her, "O Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!" Replied
+she, "I ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me."
+"'Tis well," answered the Caliph and restored her to her master
+and gave her five thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he
+appointed Abu al-Husn one of his cup-companions for a
+permanence,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph
+gave the damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her
+to her master whom he appointed one of his cup-companions for a
+permanence and assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand
+dinars so long as he should live; and he abode with the damsel
+Tawaddud in all solace and delight of life. Marvel then, O King,
+at the eloquence of this damsel and the hugeness of her learning
+and understanding and her perfect excellence in all branches of
+art and science; and consider the generosity of the Commander of
+the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that he gave her master this
+money and said to her, "Ask a boon of me;" and she besought him
+to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave
+her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his
+boon-companions. Where is such generosity to be found after the
+Abbaside Caliphs?--May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them, one
+and all! And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+             THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING
+                      AND THE DEVOUT MAN.
+
+
+
+It is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs
+was once minded to ride out in state with the Officers of his
+realm and the Grandees of his retinue and display to the folk the
+marvels of his magnificence. So he ordered his Lords and Emirs
+equip them therefor and commanded his keeper of the wardrobe to
+bring him of the richest of raiment, such as befitted the King in
+his state; and he bade them bring his steeds[FN#453] of the
+finest breeds and pedigrees every man heeds; which being done, he
+chose out of the raiment what rejoiced him most and of the horses
+that which he deemed best; and, donning the clothes, together
+with a collar set with margarites and rubies and all manner
+jewels, mounted and set forth in state, making his destrier
+prance and curvet among his troops and glorying in his pride and
+despotic power. And Iblis came to him and, laying his hand upon
+his nose, blew into his nostrils the breath of hauteur and
+conceit, so that he magnified and glorified himself and said in
+his heart, "Who among men is like unto me?" And he became so
+puffed up with arrogance and self-sufficiency, and so taken up
+with the thought of his own splendour and magnificence, that he
+would not vouchsafe a glance to any man. Presently, there stood
+before him one clad in tattered clothes and saluted him, but he
+returned not his salam; whereupon the stranger laid hold of his
+horse's bridle. "Lift thy hand," cried the King, "thou knowest
+not whose bridle-rein it is whereof thou takest hold." Quoth the
+other, I have a need of thee." Quoth the King, "Wait till I
+alight and then name thy need." Rejoined the stranger, "It is a
+secret and I will not tell it but in thine ear." So the King
+bowed his head to him and he said, "I am the Angel of Death and I
+purpose to take thy soul." Replied the King, "Have patience with
+me a little, whilst I return to my house and take leave of my
+people and children and neighbours and wife." "By no means so,"
+answered the Angel; "thou shalt never return nor look on them
+again, for the fated term of thy life is past." So saying, he
+took the soul of the King (who fell off his horse's back dead)
+and departed thence. Presently the Death Angel met a devout man,
+of whom Almighty Allah had accepted, and saluted him. He returned
+the salute, and the Angel said to him, "O pious man, I have a
+need of thee which must be kept secret." "Tell it in my ear,"
+quoth the devotee; and quoth the other, "I am the Angel of
+Death." Replied the man, "Welcome to thee! and praised be Allah
+for thy coming! I am aweary of awaiting thine arrival; for indeed
+long hath been thine absence from the lover which longeth for
+thee." Said the Angel, "If thou have any business, make an end of
+it;" but the other answered, saying, "There is nothing so urgent
+to me as the meeting with my Lord, to whom be honour and glory!"
+And the Angel said "How wouldst thou fain have me take thy soul?
+I am bidden to take it as thou willest and choosest." He replied,
+"Tarry till I make the Wuzu-ablution and pray; and, when I
+prostrate myself, then take my soul while my body is on the
+ground."[FN#454] Quoth the Angel, "Verily, my Lord (be He
+extolled and exalted!) commanded me not to take thy soul but with
+thy consent and as thou shouldst wish; so I will do thy will."
+Then the devout man made the minor ablution[FN#455] and prayed:
+and the Angel of Death took his soul in the act of prostration
+and Almighty Allah transported it to the place of mercy and
+acceptance and forgiveness. And they tell another tale of
+
+
+
+
+             THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING.
+
+
+
+A certain King had heaped up coin beyond count and gathered store
+of all precious things, which Allah the Most Highest hath
+created. So, in order that he might take his pleasure whenas he
+should find leisure to enjoy all this abounding wealth he had
+collected, he built him a palace wide and lofty such as befitteth
+and beseemeth Kings; and set thereto strong doors and appointed,
+for its service and its guard, servants and soldiers and
+doorkeepers to watch and ward. One day, he bade the cooks dress
+him somewhat of the goodliest of food and assembled his household
+and retainers and boon-companions and servants to eat with him,
+and partake of his bounty. Then he sat down upon the sofa of his
+kingship and dominion; and, propping his elbow upon the cushion,
+addressed himself, saying, "O soul, thou hast gathered together
+all the wealth of the world; so now take thy leisure therein and
+eat of this good at thine ease, in long life and prosperity ever
+rife!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had
+the King made an end of saying to himself, "Eat of this weal at
+thine ease, in long life and prosperity ever rife!" when a man
+clad in tattered raiment, with an asker's wallet hanging at his
+neck, as he were one who came to beg food, knocked with the
+door-ring a knock so loud and terrible that the whole palace
+shook as with quake of earth and the King's throne trembled. The
+servants were affrighted and rushed to the door, and when they
+saw the man who had knocked they cried out at him, saying, "Woe
+to thee! what manner of unmannerly fashion be this? Wait till the
+King eateth and we will then give thee of what is left." Quoth
+he, "Tell your lord to come out and speak with me, for I have of
+him a pressing need and a matter to heed." They cried, "Away,
+fool! who art thou that we should bid our lord come forth to
+thee?" But he said, "Tell him of this." So they went in and told
+the King, who said, "Did ye not rebuke him and draw upon him and
+threaten him!" Now as he spoke, behold, there came another knock
+at the gate, louder than the first knock, whereupon the servants
+sprang at the stranger with staves and weapons, to fall upon him
+and slay him; but he shouted at them, saying, "Bide in your
+steads, for I am the Angel of Death." Hereat their hearts quaked
+and their wits forsook them; their understandings were in
+confusion, their side-muscles quivered in perturbation and their
+limbs lost the power of motion. Then said the King to them, "Tell
+him to take a substitute[FN#456] in my place and one to relieve
+me in this case." But the Angel answered, saying, "I will take no
+substitute, and I come not but on thine account, to cause
+separation between thee and the goods thou hast gathered together
+and the riches thou hast heaped up and entreasured." When the
+King heard this, he wept and groaned, saying, "Allah curse the
+treasure which hath deluded and undone me and diverted me from
+the service of my Lord! I deemed it would profit me, but to-day
+it is a regret for me and a calamity to me, and behold, I go
+forth, empty-handed of it, and leave it to my foes." Thereupon
+Allah caused the Treasure to speak out and it said, "Wherefore
+cursest thou me?[FN#457] Curse thyself, for Allah created both me
+and eke thyself of the dust and appointed me to be in thine hand,
+that thou mightest provide thee with me a viaticum for the next
+world and give alms with me to the poor and the needy and the
+sick; and build mosques and hospices and bridges and aqueducts,
+so might I be an aidance unto thee in the world to come. But thou
+didst garner me and hoard me up and on thine own vanities
+bestowedst me, neither gavest thou thanks for me, as was due, but
+wast ungrateful to me; and now thou must leave me to thy foes and
+thou hast naught save thy regretting and thy repenting. But what
+is my sin, that thou shouldest revile me?" Then the Angel of
+Death took the King's soul as he sat on his throne before he ate
+of the food, and he fell down dead. Quoth Allah Almighty, "While
+they were rejoicing for that which had been given them, we
+suddenly laid hold on them; and, behold, they were seized with
+despair."[FN#458] And they tell another tale of
+
+
+
+
+             THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE
+                      CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
+
+
+
+There was a puissant despot among the Kings of the Banú Isráíl,
+who sat one day upon the throne of his kingship, when he saw come
+in to him, by the gate of the hall, a man of forbidding aspect
+and horrible presence. The King was affrighted at his sudden
+intrusion and his look terrified him; so he sprang up before him
+and said, "Who art thou, O man? Who gave thee leave to come in to
+me and who invited thee to enter my house?" Quoth the stranger,
+"Verily the Lord of the House sent me to thee, nor can any
+doorkeeper exclude me, nor need I leave to come in to Kings; for
+I reck not of a Sultan's majesty neither of the multitude of his
+guards. I am he from whom no tyrant is at rest, nor can any man
+escape from my grasp: I am the Destroyer of delights and the
+Sunderer of societies." Now when the King heard this a palsy
+crept over him[FN#459] and he fell on his face in a swoon; but
+presently coming to himself, he asked, "Art thou then the Angel
+of Death?"; and the stranger answered, "Yes." "I conjure thee, by
+Allah," quoth the King, "grant me one single day's respite, that
+I may pray pardon of my sins and ask absolution of my Lord and
+restore to their rightful owners the monies which are in my
+treasures, so I may not be burdened with the woe of a reckoning
+nor with the misery of punishment therefor." Replied the Angel,
+"Well-away! well-away! this may be in no way."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
+Death-messenger to the King, "Well-away, well-away! this may be
+in no way. How can I grant thee a reprieve when the days of thy
+life are counted and thy breaths numbered and thy moments fixed
+and written?" "Grant me an hour," asked the King; but the Angel
+answered saying, "The hour was in the account and hath sped, and
+thou unheeding aught; and hath fled, and thou taking no thought:
+and now thy breathings are accomplished, and there remaineth to
+thee but one breath." Quoth the King, "Who will be with me when I
+am transported to my tomb?" Quoth the Angel, "Naught will be with
+thee but thy works good or evil." "I have no works," said the
+King; and the Angel, "Doubtless thy long home will be in
+hell-fire and thy doom the wrath of the Almighty." Then he seized
+the soul of the King, and he fell off his throne and dropped on
+the earth dead. And there arose a mighty weeping and wailing and
+clamour of keening for him among the people of his court, and had
+they known that to which he went of the wrath of his Lord, their
+weeping for him had been sorer and their wailing louder and more
+abounding. And a story is told of
+
+
+
+
+              ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN[FN#460] AND A
+                  CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK.
+
+
+
+It is related that Iskandar Zu al-Karnayn[FN#461] once came, in
+his journeyings, upon a tribe of small folk, who owned naught of
+the weals of the world and who dug their graves over against the
+doors of their houses and were wont at all times to visit them
+and sweep the earth from them and keep them clean and pray at
+them and worship Almighty Allah at them; and they had no meat
+save grasses and the growth of the ground. So Iskandar sent a man
+to summon their King, but he refused to come, saying, "I have no
+need of him." Thereupon Iskandar went to him and said, "How is it
+with you and what manner of men are ye?; for I see with you
+forsooth naught of gold or silver, nor find I with you aught of
+the weals of the world." Answered the King, "None hath his fill
+of the weals of the world." Iskandar then asked "Why do you dig
+your graves before your house-doors?"; and the King answered,
+"That they may be the prospective of our eye-glances; so we may
+look on them and ever renew talk and thought of death, neither
+forget the world to come; and on this wise the love of the world
+be banished from our hearts and we be not thereby distracted from
+the service of our Lord, the Almighty." Quoth Iskandar, "Why do
+ye eat grasses?"; and the other replied, "Because we abhor to
+make our bellies the tombs of animals and because the pleasure of
+eating outstrippeth not the gullet." Then putting forth his hand
+he brought out a skull of a son of Adam and, laying it before
+Iskandar, said, "O Zu al-Karnayn, Lord of the Two Horns, knowest
+thou who owned this skull?" Quoth he, "Nay;" and quoth the other,
+"He who owned this skull was a King of the Kings of the world,
+who dealt tyrannously with his subjects, specially wronging the
+weak and wasting his time in heaping up the rubbish of this
+world, till Allah took his sprite and made the fire his
+abiding-site; and this is his head." He then put forth his hand
+and produced another skull and, laying it before Iskandar, said
+to him, "Knowest thou this?" "No," answered the conqueror; and
+the other rejoined, "This is the skull of another King, who dealt
+justly by his lieges and was kindly solicitous for the folk of
+his realm and his dominions, till Allah took his soul and lodged
+him in His Garden and made high his degree in Heaven." Then
+laying his hands on Iskandar's head he said, "Would I knew which
+of these two art thou." Whereupon Iskandar wept with sore weeping
+and straining the King to his bosom cried, "If thou be minded to
+company with me, I will commit to thee as Wazir the government of
+my affairs and share with thee my kingdom." Cried the other,
+"Well-away, well-away! I have no mind to this." "And why so?"
+asked Iskandar, and the King answered, "Because all men are thy
+foes by reason of the wealth and the worlds thou hast won: while
+all men are my true friends, because of my contentment and
+pauperdom, for that I possess nothing, neither covet aught of the
+goods of life; I have no desire to them nor wish for them,
+neither reck I aught save contentment." So Iskandar pressed him
+to his breast and kissed him between the eyes and went his
+way.[FN#462] And among the tales they tell is one concerning
+
+
+
+
+                   THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING
+                      ANUSHIRWAN.[FN#463]
+
+
+
+It is told of Anushirwan, the Just King, that once upon a time he
+feigned himself sick, and bade his stewards and intendants go
+round about the provinces of his empire and the quarters of his
+dominion and seek him out a mud-brick thrown away from some
+ruined village, that he might use it as medicine, informing his
+intimates that the leaches had prescribed this to him. So they
+went the round of the provinces of his reign and of all the lands
+under his sway and said to him on return, "In all the realm we
+have found nor ruined site nor castaway mud-brick." At this
+Anushirwan rejoiced and rendered thanks to the Lord, saying, "I
+was but minded to try my kingdom and prove mine empire, that I
+might know if any place therein remained ruined and deserted, so
+I might rebuild and repeople it; but, since there be no place in
+it but is inhabited, the affairs of the reign are
+best-conditioned and its ordinance is excellent; and its
+populousness[FN#464] hath reached the pitch of perfection."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+high officials returned and reported, "We have found in the
+empire nor ruined site nor rotten brick," the Just King thanked
+his God and said, "Verily the affairs of the realm are
+best-conditioned and its ordinance is excellent and its
+populousness hath reached the pink of perfection." And ken thou,
+O King, continued Shahrazad, that these olden Kings strave not
+and toiled not for the peopling of their possessions, but because
+they knew that the more populous a country is, the more abundant
+is that which is desired therein; and because they wist the
+saying of the wise and the learned to be true without other view,
+namely, "Religion dependeth on the King, the King on the troops,
+the troops on the treasury, the treasury on the populousness of
+the country and its prosperity on the justice done to the
+lieges." Wherefore they upheld no one in tyranny or oppression;
+neither suffered their dependants and suite to work injustice,
+knowing that kingdoms are not established upon tyranny, but that
+cities and places fall into ruin when oppressors are set as
+rulers over them, and their inhabitants disperse and flee to
+other governments; whereby ruin falleth upon the realm, the
+imports fail, the treasuries become empty and the pleasant lives
+of the subjects are perturbed; for that they love not a tyrant
+and cease not to offer up successive prayers against him; so that
+the King hath no ease of his kingdom, and the vicissitudes of
+fortune speedily bring him to destruction. And they tell a tale
+concerning
+
+
+
+
+              THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE.
+
+
+
+Among the Children of Israel one of the Kazis had a wife of
+surpassing beauty, constant in fasting and abounding in patience
+and long-suffering; and he, being minded to make the pilgrimage
+to Jerusalem, appointed his own brother Kazi in his stead, during
+his absence, and commended his wife to his charge. Now this
+brother had heard of her beauty and loveliness and had taken a
+fancy to her. So no sooner was his brother gone than he went to
+her and sought her love-favours; but she denied him and held fast
+to her chastity. The more she repelled him, the more he pressed
+his suit upon her; till, despairing of her and fearing lest she
+should acquaint his brother with his misconduct whenas he should
+return, he suborned false witnesses to testify against her of
+adultery; and cited her and carried her before the King of the
+time who adjudged her to be stoned. So they dug a pit, and
+seating her therein stoned her, till she was covered with stones,
+and the man said, "Be this hole her grave!" But when it was dark
+a passer-by, making for a neighbouring hamlet, heard her groaning
+in sore pain; and, pulling her out of the pit, carried her home
+to his wife, whom he bade dress her wounds. The peasant woman
+tended her till she recovered and presently gave her her child to
+be nursed; and she used to lodge with the child in another house
+by night. Now a certain thief saw her and lusted after her. So he
+sent to her seeking her love-favours, but she denied herself to
+him; wherefore he resolved to slay her and, making his way into
+her lodging by night (and she sleeping), thought to strike at her
+with a knife; but it smote the little one and killed it. Now when
+he knew his misdeed, fear overtook him and he went forth the
+house and Allah preserved from him her chastity. But as she awoke
+in the morning, she found the child by her side with throat cut;
+and presently the mother came and seeing her boy dead, said to
+the nurse, "Twas thou didst murther him." Therewith she beat her
+a grievous beating and purposed to put her to death; but her
+husband interposed and delivered the woman, saying, "By Allah,
+thou shalt not do on this wise." So the woman, who had somewhat
+of money with her, fled forth for her life, knowing not whither
+she should wend. Presently, she came to a village, where she saw
+a crowd of people about a man crucified to a tree-stump, but
+still in the chains of life. "What hath he done?" she asked, and
+they answered, "He hath committed a crime, which nothing can
+expiate but death or the payment of such a fine by way of alms."
+So she said to them, "Take the money and let him go;" and, when
+they did so, he repented at her hands and vowed to serve her, for
+the love of Almighty Allah till death should release him. Then he
+built her a cell and lodged her therein; after which he betook
+himself to woodcutting and brought her daily her bread. As for
+her, she was constant in worship, so that there came no sick man
+or demoniac to her, but she prayed for him and he was straightway
+healed.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+woman's cell was visited by folk (and she constant in worship),
+it befel by decree of the Almighty that He sent down upon her
+husband's brother (the same who had caused her to be stoned), a
+cancer in the face, and smote the villager's wife (the same who
+had beaten her) with leprosy, and afflicted the thief (the same
+who had murthered the child) with palsy. Now when the Kazi
+returned from his pilgrimage, he asked his brother of his wife,
+and he told him that she was dead, whereat he mourned sore and
+accounted her with her Maker. After awhile, very many folk heard
+of the pious recluse and flocked to her cell from all parts of
+the length and breadth of the earth; whereupon said the Kazi to
+his brother, "O my brother, wilt thou not seek out yonder pious
+woman? Haply Allah shall decree thee healing at her hands!" and
+he replied, "O my brother, carry me to her" Moreover, the husband
+of the leprous woman heard of the pious devotee and carried his
+wife to her, as did also the people of the paralytic thief; and
+they all met at the door of the hermitage. Now she had a place
+wherefrom she could look out upon those who came to her, without
+their seeing her; and they waited till her servant came, when
+they begged admittance and obtained permission. Presently she saw
+them all and recognized them; so she veiled and cloaked face and
+body and went out and stood in the door, looking at her husband
+and his brother and the thief and the peasant-woman; but they
+could not recognize her. Then said she to them, "Ho folk, ye
+shall not be relieved of what is with you till ye confess your
+sins; for, when the creature confesseth his sins the Creator
+relenteth towards him and granteth him that wherefore he
+resorteth to him." Quoth the Kazi to his brother, "O my brother,
+repent to Allah and persist not in thy frowardness, for it will
+be more helpful to thy relief." And the tongue of the case spake
+this speech,
+
+"This day oppressor and oppressed meet, * And Allah sheweth
+     secrets we secrete:
+This is a place where sinners low are brought; * And Allah
+     raiseth saint to highest seat.
+Our Lord and Master shows the truth right clear, * Though sinner
+     froward be or own defeat:
+Alas[FN#465] for those who rouse the Lord to wrath, * As though
+     of Allah's wrath they nothing weet!
+O whoso seekest honours, know they are * From Allah, and His fear
+     with love entreat."
+
+(Saith the relator), Then quoth the brother, "Now I will tell the
+truth: I did thus and thus with thy wife;" and he confessed the
+whole matter, adding, "And this is my offence." Quoth the leprous
+woman, "As for me, I had a woman with me and imputed to her that
+of which I knew her to be guiltless, and beat her grievously; and
+this is my offence." And quoth the paralytic, "And I went in to a
+woman to kill her, after I had tempted her to commit adultery and
+she had refused; and I slew a child that lay by her side; and
+this is my offence." Then said the pious woman, "O my God, even
+as Thou hast made them feel the misery of revolt, so show them
+now the excellence of submission, for Thou over all things art
+Omnipotent!" And Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) made
+them whole. Then the Kazi fell to looking on her and considering
+her straitly, till she asked him why he looked so hard and he
+said, "I had a wife and were she not dead, I had said thou art
+she." Hereupon, she made herself known to him and both began
+praising Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for that which
+He had vouchsafed them of the reunion of their loves; but the
+brother and the thief and the villager's wife joined in imploring
+her forgiveness. So she forgave them one and all, and they
+worshipped Allah in that place and rendered her due service, till
+Death parted them. And one of the Sayyids[FN#466] hath related
+this tale of
+
+
+
+
+              THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD.
+
+
+
+"I was circuiting the Ka'abah one dark night, when I heard a
+plaintive voice, speaking from a contrite heart and saying, 'O
+Bountiful One, Thy past boon! Indeed, by my heart shall Thy
+covenant never be undone.' Hearing this voice, my heart fluttered
+so that I was like to die; but I followed the sound and behold,
+it came from a woman, to whom I said, 'Peace be with thee, O
+handmaid of Allah;' whereto she replied, 'And with thee be peace,
+and the mercy of Allah and His blessings!' Quoth I, 'I conjure
+thee, by Allah the Most Great, tell me what is the covenant to
+which thy heart is constant.' Quoth she, 'But that thou adjurest
+me by the Omnipotent, I would not tell thee my secrets. See what
+is before me.' So I looked and lo! there was a child lying asleep
+before her and breathing heavily in his slumber. Said she, "Know,
+that I set forth, being big with this boy, to make the pilgrimage
+to this House and took passage in a ship; but the waves rose
+against us and the winds blew contrary and the vessel broke up. I
+saved myself on a plank; and, on that bit of wood, I gave birth
+to this child; and while he lay on my bosom and the waves beating
+upon me,'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman
+continued, "'Now while the boy lay on my bosom and the waves beat
+upon me, there swam up to me one of the sailors, who climbed on
+the plank and said, 'By Allah, I desired thee whilst thou wast
+yet in the ship, and now I have come at thee: so yield thy body
+to me, or I will throw thee into the sea.' Said I, 'Out on thee!
+hast thou no memory of that which thou hast seen and is it no
+warning to thee?' Quoth he, 'I have seen the like of this many a
+time and come off safe and care not.' Quoth I, 'O fellow, we are
+now in a calamity, whence we hope to be delivered by obedience to
+Allah and not by disobedience.' But he persisted with me, and I
+feared him and thought to put him off; so I said to him, 'Wait
+till this babe shall sleep'; but he took the child off my lap and
+threw him into the sea. Now when I saw this desperate deed, my
+heart sank and sorrow was sore upon me; so I raised my eyes
+heavenwards and said, 'O Thou that interposest between a man and
+his heart, intervene between me and this leonine brute; for Thou
+over all things art Omnipotent!' And by Allah, hardly had I
+spoken when a beast rose out of the sea and snatched him off the
+plank. When I saw myself alone my sorrows redoubled and my grief
+and longing for my child, and I recited,
+
+'My coolth of eyes, the darling child of me * Is lost, and racked
+     my heart with agony;
+My body wrecked, and red-hot coals of love * Burning my liver
+     with sore pangs, I see.
+In this my sorrow shows no gleam of joy; * Save Thy high grace
+     and my expectancy:
+Hast seen, O Lord, what unto me befel; * My son aye lost and
+     parting pangs I dree:
+Take ruth on us and make us meet again; * For now my stay and
+     only hope's in Thee!'
+
+I abode in this condition a day and a night; and, when morning
+dawned, I caught sight of the sails of a vessel shining afar off,
+nor did the waves cease to drive me and the winds to waft me on,
+till I reached the ship, whose sails I had sighted. The sailors
+took me up and I looked and behold, my babe was amongst them: so
+I threw myself upon him and said, 'O folk, this is my child: how
+and whence came ye by him?' Quoth they, 'Whilst we were sailing
+along the seas the ship suddenly stood still and lo! that which
+stayed us was a beast, as it were a great city, and this babe on
+its back, sucking his thumbs. So we took him up.' Now when I
+heard this, I told them my tale and all that had betided me and
+returned thanks to my Lord for His goodness, and vowed to Him
+that never, whilst I lived, would I stir from His House nor
+swerve from His service; and since then I have never asked of Him
+aught but He hath given it me.' Now when she had made an end of
+her story (quoth the Sayyid), I put my hand to my alms-pouch and
+would have given to her, but she exclaimed, "Away from me, thou
+idle man! Have I not told thee of His mercies and the
+graciousness of His dealings and shall I take an alms from other
+than His hand?" And I could not prevail with her to accept aught
+of me: so I left her and went away, reciting these couplets
+
+'How many boons conceals the Deity, * Eluding human sight in
+     mystery:
+How many graces come on heels of stresses, * And fill the burning
+     heart with jubilee:
+How many a sorrow in the morn appears, * And turns at night-tide
+     into gladdest gree:
+If things go hard with thee some day, yet trust * Th' Eterne, th'
+     Almighty God of Unity:
+And pray the Prophet that he intercede; * Through intercession
+     every wish shalt see.'
+
+And she left not the service of her Lord, cleaving unto His
+House, till death came to her." And a tale is also told by Málik
+bin Dínár[FN#467] (Allah have mercy on him!) of
+
+
+
+
+                    THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.
+
+
+
+"We were once afflicted with drought at Bassorah and went forth
+sundry times to pray for rain, but saw no sign of our prayers
+being accepted. So I went, I and 'Itaa al-Salamí and Sábit
+al-Banáni and Naja al-Bakáa and Mohammed bin Wási'a and Ayyúb
+al-Sukhtiyáni and Habíb al-Farsi and Hassán bin Abi Sinán and
+'Otbah al-Ghulám and Sálih al-Muzani,[FN#468] till we reached the
+oratory,[FN#469] when the boys came out of the schools and we
+prayed for rain, but saw no sign of acceptance. So about mid-day
+the people went away and I and Sabit al-Banani tarried in the
+place of prayer till nightfall, when we saw a black of comely
+face, slender of shank[FN#470] and big of belly, approach us,
+clad in a pair of woollen drawers; if all he wore had been
+priced, it would not have fetched a couple of dirhams. He brought
+water and made the minor ablution, then, going up to the
+prayer-niche, prayed two inclinations deftly, his standing and
+bowing and prostration being exactly similar in both. Then he
+raised his glance heavenwards, and said, 'O my God and my Lord
+and Master, how long wilt Thou reject Thy servants in that which
+offereth no hurt to Thy sovereignty? Is that which is with Thee
+wasted or are the treasuries of Thy Kingdom annihilated? I
+conjure Thee, by Thy love to me forthwith to pour out upon us Thy
+rain-clouds of grace!' He spake and hardly had he made an end of
+speaking, when the heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as
+if the mouths of waterskins had been opened; and when we left the
+oratory, we were knee-deep in water,"--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "hardly had
+he spoken when the heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as
+if the mouths of waterskins had been opened. And when we left the
+oratory we were knee-deep in water, and we were lost in wonder at
+the black. So I accosted him and said to him, 'Woe to thee, O
+black, art thou not ashamed of what thou saidst?' He turned to me
+and asked, 'What said I?'; and I, 'Thy saying to Allah, 'By Thy
+love of me;' and what giveth thee to know that He loveth thee?'
+Replied he, 'Away from me, O thou distracted by the world from
+the care of thine own soul. Where was I, when He gave me strength
+to profess the unity of the Godhead and vouchsafed unto me the
+knowledge of Him? How deemest thou that He aided me thus except
+of His love to me?' adding, 'Verily, His love to me is after the
+measure of my love to Him.' Quoth I, 'Tarry awhile with me, so
+may Allah have mercy on thee!' But he said, 'I am a chattel and
+the Book enjoineth me to obey my lesser master.' So we followed
+him afar off, till we saw him enter the house of a slave-broker.
+Now the first half of the night was past and the last half was
+longsome upon us, so we went away; but next morning, we repaired
+to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'Hast thou a lad to sell us
+for service?' He answered, 'Yes, I have an hundred lads or so and
+they are all for sale.' Then he showed us slave after slave; till
+he had shown us some seventy; but my friend was not amongst them,
+and the dealer said, 'These are all I have.' But, as we were
+going out from him we saw a ruinous hut behind his house and
+going in behold, we found the black standing there. I cried,
+''Tis he, by the Lord of the Ka'abah!' and turning to the dealer,
+said to him, 'Sell me yonder slave.' Replied he, 'O Abu Yahya,
+this is a pestilent unprofitable fellow, who hath no concern by
+night but weeping and by day but repentance.' I rejoined, 'It is
+for that I want him.' So the dealer called him, and he came out,
+showing drowsiness. Quoth his master, 'Take him at thine own
+price, so thou hold me free of all his faults.' I bought him for
+twenty dinars and asked 'What is his name?' and the dealer
+answered 'Maymun, the monkey;' and I took him by the hand and
+went out with him, intending to go home; but he turned to me and
+said, 'O my lesser lord, why and wherefore didst thou buy me? By
+Allah, I am not fit for the service of God's creatures!' Replied
+I, 'I bought thee that I might serve thee myself; and on my head
+be it.' Asked he, 'Why so?' and I answered, 'Wast thou not in
+company with us yesterday in the place of prayer?' Quoth he, 'And
+didst thou hear me?'; and quoth I, 'It was I accosted thee
+yesterday and spoke with thee.' Thereupon he advanced till we
+came to a mosque, where he entered and prayed a two-bow prayer;
+after which he said, 'O my God and my Lord and Master, the secret
+that was between me and Thee Thou hast discovered unto Thy
+creatures and hast brought me to shame before the worldling. How
+then shall life be sweet to me, now that other than Thou hath
+happened upon that which is between Thee and me? I conjure Thee
+to take my soul to Thee forthright.[FN#471] So saying, he
+prostrated himself, and I awaited awhile without seeing him raise
+his head; so I shook him and behold, he was indeed dead, the
+mercy of Almighty Allah be upon him! I laid him out stretching
+his arms and legs and looked at him, and lo! he was smiling.
+Moreover, whiteness had got the better of blackness on his brow,
+and his face was radiant with light like a young moon. As we
+wondered at his case, the door opened and a young man came in to
+us and said, 'Peace be with you! May Allah make great our reward
+and yours for our brother Maymun! Here is his shroud: wrap him in
+it.' So saying, he gave us two robes, never had we seen the like
+of them, and we shrouded him therein. And now his tomb is a place
+whither men resort to pray for rain and ask their requirements of
+Allah (be He extolled and exalted!); and how excellently well
+saith the poet on this theme,
+
+     'The heart of Gnostic[FN#472] homed in heavenly Garth *
+          Heaven decks, and Allah's porters aid afford.
+     Lo! here they drink old wine commingled with *
+          Tasním,[FN#473] the wine of union with the Lord.
+     Safe is the secret 'twixt the Friend and them; *
+          Safe from all hearts but from that Heart adored.'"
+
+And they recount another anecdote of
+
+
+
+
+              THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE.
+
+
+
+There was once, among the Children of Israel, a man of the
+worthiest, who was strenuous in the service of his Lord and
+abstained from things worldly and drave them away from his heart.
+He had a wife who was a helpmate meet for him and who was at all
+times obedient to him. They earned their living by making
+trays[FN#474] and fans, whereat they wrought all through the
+light hours; and, at nightfall, the man went out into the streets
+and highways seeking a buyer for what they had made. They were
+wont to fast continually by day[FN#475] and one morning they
+arose, fasting, and worked at their craft till the light failed
+them, when the man went forth, according to custom, to find
+purchasers for his wares, and fared on till he came to the door
+of the house of a certain man of wealth, one of the sons of this
+world, high in rank and dignity. Now the tray-maker was fair of
+face and comely of form, and the wife of the master of the house
+saw him and fell in love with him and her heart inclined to him
+with exceeding inclination; so, her husband being absent, she
+called her handmaid and said to her, "Contrive to bring yonder
+man to us." Accordingly the maid went out to him and and called
+him and stopped him as though she would buy what he held in
+hand.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+maid-servant went out to the man and asked him, "Come in; my lady
+hath a mind to buy some of thy wares, after she hath tried them
+and looked at them." The man thought she spoke truly and, seeing
+no harm in this, entered and sat down as she bade him; and she
+shut the door upon him. Whereupon her mistress came out of her
+room and, taking him by the gaberdine,[FN#476] drew him within
+and said, "How long shall I seek union of thee? Verily my
+patience is at an end on thine account. See now, the place is
+perfumed and provision prepared and the householder is absent
+this night, and I give to thee my person without reserve, I whose
+favours kings and captains and men of fortune have sought this
+long while, but I have regarded none of them." And she went on
+talking thus to him, whilst he raised not his eyes from the
+ground, for shame before Allah Almighty and fear of the pains and
+penalties of His punishment; even as saith the poet,
+
+"'Twixt me and riding many a noble dame, * Was naught but shame
+     which kept me chaste and pure:
+My shame was cure to her; but haply were * Shame to depart, she
+     ne'er had known a cure."
+
+The man strove to free himself from her, but could not; so he
+said to her, "I want one thing of thee." She asked, "What is
+that?": and he answered, "I wish for pure water that I may carry
+it to the highest place of thy house and do somewhat therewith
+and cleanse myself of an impurity, which I may not disclose to
+thee." Quoth she, "The house is large and hath closets and
+corners and privies at command." But he replied, "I want nothing
+but to be at a height." So she said to her slave-girl, "Carry him
+up to the belvedere on the house-terrace." Accordingly the maid
+took him up to the very top and, giving him a vessel of water,
+went down and left him. Then he made the ablution and prayed a
+two-bow prayer; after which he looked at the ground, thinking to
+throw himself down, but seeing it afar off, feared to be dashed
+to pieces by the fall.[FN#477] Then he bethought him of his
+disobedience to Allah, and the consequences of his sin; so it
+became a light matter to him to offer up his life and shed his
+blood; and he said, "O my God and my Lord, Thou seest that which
+is fallen on me; neither is my case hidden from Thee. Thou indeed
+over all things art Omnipotent and the tongue of my case reciteth
+and saith,
+
+'I show my heart and thoughts to Thee, and Thou * Alone my
+     secret's secrecy canst know.
+If I address Thee fain I cry aloud; * Or, if I'm mute, my signs
+     for speech I show.
+O Thou to whom no second be conjoined! * A wretched lover seeks
+     Thee in his woe.
+I have a hope my thoughts as true confirm; * And heart that
+     fainteth as right well canst trow.
+To lavish life is hardest thing that be, * Yet easy an Thou bid
+     me life forego;
+But, an it be Thy will to save from stowre, * Thou, O my Hope, to
+     work this work hast power!'"
+
+Then the man cast himself down from the belvedere; but Allah sent
+an angel who bore him up on his wings and brought him down to the
+ground, whole and without hurt or harm. Now when he found himself
+safe on the ground, he thanked and praised Allah (to whom belong
+Majesty and Might!) for His merciful protection of his person and
+his chastity; and he went straight to his wife who had long
+expected him, and he empty-handed. Then seeing him, she asked him
+why he had tarried and what was come of that he had taken with
+him and why he returned empty-handed; whereupon he told her of
+the temptation which had befallen him, and she said,
+"Alhamdolillah--praised be God-for delivering thee from seduction
+and intervening between thee and such calamity!" Then she added,
+"O man, the neighbours use to see us light our oven every night;
+and, if they see us fireless this night, they will know that we
+are destitute. Now it behoveth in gratitude  to Allah, that we
+hide our destitution and conjoin the fast of this night to that
+of the past and continue it for the sake of Allah Almighty." So
+she rose and, filling the oven with wood, lighted it, to baffle
+the curiosity of her woman-neighbours, reciting these couplets,
+
+"Now I indeed will hide desire and all repine; * And light up
+     this my fire that neighbours see no sign:
+Accept I what befals by order of my Lord; * Haply He too accept
+     this humble act of mine."
+
+--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the
+goodwife had lit the fire to baffle the curiosity of her
+women-neighbours, she and her husband made the Wuzu-ablution and
+stood up to pray, when behold, one of the neighbours' wives came
+and asked leave to take a fire-brand from the oven. "Do what thou
+wilt with the oven," answered they; but, when she came to the
+fire, she cried out, saying, "Ho, such an one (to the
+tray-maker's wife) take up thy bread ere it burn!" Quoth the wife
+to her husband, "Hearest thou what she saith?" Quoth he, "Go and
+look." So she went up to the oven, and behold, it was full of
+fine bread and white. She took up the scones and carried them to
+her husband, thanking Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!)
+for His abounding good and great bounty; and they ate of the
+bread and drank water and praised the Almighty. Then said the
+woman to her husband, "Come let us pray to Allah the Most
+Highest, so haply He may vouchsafe us what shall enable us to
+dispense with the weariness of working for daily bread and devote
+ourselves wholly to worshipping and obeying Him." The man rose in
+assent and prayed, whilst his wife said, "Amen," to his prayer,
+when the roof clove in sunder and down fell a ruby, which lit the
+house with its light. Hereat, they redoubled in praise and
+thanksgiving to Allah praying what the Almighty willed,[FN#478]
+and rejoiced at the ruby with great joy. And the night being far
+spent, they lay down to sleep and the woman dreamt that she
+entered Paradise and saw therein many chairs ranged and stools
+set in rows. She asked what the seats were and it was answered
+her, "These are the chairs of the prophets and those are the
+stools of the righteous and the pious." Quoth she, "Which is the
+stool of my husband such an one?"; and it was said to her, "It is
+this." So she looked and seeing a hole in its side asked, "What
+may be this hole?"; and the reply came, "It is the place of the
+ruby that dropped upon you from your house-roof." Thereupon she
+awoke, weeping and bemoaning the defect in her husband's stool
+among the seats of the Righteous; so she told him the dream and
+said to him, "Pray Allah, O man, that this ruby return to its
+place; for endurance of hunger and poverty during our few days
+here were easier than a hole in thy chair among the just in
+Paradise."[FN#479] Accordingly, he prayed to his Lord, and lo!
+the ruby flew up to the roof and away whilst they looked at it.
+And they ceased not from their poverty and their piety, till they
+went to the presence of Allah, to whom be Honour and Glory! And
+they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+                 AL-HAJJAJ AND THE PIOUS MAN.
+
+
+
+Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi had been long in pursuit of a
+certain man of the notables, and when at last he was brought
+before him, he said, "O enemy of Allah, He hath delivered thee
+over to me;" and cried, "Hale him to prison and lay him by the
+heels in heavy fetters and build a closet over him, that he may
+not come forth of it nor any go into him." So they bore him to
+jail and summoned the blacksmith with the irons; and every time
+the smith gave a stroke with his hammer, the prisoner raised his
+eyes to heaven and said, "Is not the whole Creation and the
+Empire thereof His?"[FN#480] Then the gaolers built the
+cage[FN#481] over him and left him therein, lorn and lone,
+whereupon longing and consternation entered into him and the
+tongue of his case recited in extempore verse,
+
+"O, Wish of wistful men, for Thee I yearn; * My heart seeks grace
+     of one no heart shall spurn.
+Unhidden from thy sight is this my case; * And for one glance of
+     thee I pine and burn.
+They jailed and tortured me with sorest pains: * Alas for lone
+     one can no aid discern!
+But, albe lone, I find Thy name befriends * And cheers, though
+     sleep to eyes shall ne'er return:
+An thou accept of me, I care for naught; * And only Thou what's
+     in my heart canst learn!"
+
+Now when night fell dark, the gaoler left his watchmen to guard
+him and went to his house; and on the morrow, when he came to the
+prison, he found the fetters lying on the ground and the prisoner
+gone; whereat he was affrighted and made sure of death. So he
+returned to his place and bade his family farewell, after which
+he took in his sleeve his shroud and the sweet herbs for his
+corpse, and went in to Al-Hajjaj. And as he stood before the
+presence, the Governor smelt the perfumes and asked, "What is
+that?" when the gaoler answered, "O my lord, it is I who have
+brought it." "And what moved thee to that?" enquired the
+Governor; whereupon he told him his case,--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+gaoler told his case to Al-Hajjaj, the Governor cried, "Woe to
+thee! Didst thou hear him say aught?" Answered the gaoler, "Yes!
+whilst the blacksmith was hammering his irons, he ceased not to
+look up heavenwards and say, 'Is not the whole Creation and the
+Empire thereof His?'" Rejoined Al-Hajjaj, "Dost thou not know
+that He, on whom he called in thy presence, delivered him in
+thine absence?" And the tongue of the case recited on this theme,
+
+"O Lord, how many a grief from me hast driven * Nor can I sit or
+     stand without Thy hold:
+How many many things I cannot count, * Thou sav'st from many many
+     and manifold!"
+
+And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+              THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE
+                         WITHOUT HURT.
+
+
+
+It reached the ears of a certain pious man that there abode in
+such a town a blacksmith, who could put his hand into the fire
+and pull out the iron red-hot, without the flames doing him aught
+of hurt.[FN#482] So he set out for the town in question and asked
+for the blacksmith; and, when the man was shown to him, he
+watched him at work and saw him do as had been reported to him.
+He waited till he had made and end of his day's work; then, going
+up to him, saluted him with the salam and said, "I would be thy
+guest this night." Replied the smith, "With gladness and goodly
+gree!" and carried him to his place, where they supped together
+and lay down to sleep. The guest watched, but saw no sign in his
+host of praying through the night or of special devoutness and
+said in his mind, "Haply he hideth himself from me." So he lodged
+with him a second and a third night, but found that he did not
+exceed the devotions prescribed by the law and custom of the
+Prophet and rose but little in the dark hours to pray. At last he
+said to him, "O my brother, I have heard of the gift with which
+Allah hath favoured thee and have seen the truth of it with mine
+eyes. Moreover, I have taken note of thine assiduity in religious
+exercises, but find in thee no such piety as distinguisheth those
+who work saintly miracles: whence, then, cometh this to thee?" "I
+will tell thee," answered the smith, "Know that I was once
+passionately enamoured of a slave-girl and ofttimes sued her for
+love-liesse, but could not prevail upon her, because she still
+held fast by her chastity. Presently there came a year of drought
+and hunger and hardship; food failed and there befel a sore
+famine. As I was sitting one day at home, somebody knocked at the
+door; so I went out and behold, she was standing there; and she
+said to me, 'O my brother, I am sorely an-hungered and I lift
+mine eyes to thee, beseeching thee to feed me for Allah's sake!'
+Quoth I, 'Wottest thou not how I love thee and what I have
+suffered for thy sake? Now I will not give thee one bittock of
+bread except thou yield thy person to me.' Quoth she, 'Death, but
+not disobedience to the Lord!' Then she went away and returned
+after two days with the same prayer for food as before. I made
+her a like answer, and she entered and sat down in my house being
+nigh upon death. I set food before her, whereupon her eyes
+brimmed with tears and she cried, 'Give me meat for the love of
+Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!' But I answered, 'Not so,
+by Allah, except thou yield thyself to me.' Quoth she, 'Better is
+death to me than the wrath and wreak of Allah the Most Highest;'
+and she rose and left the food untouched"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+man set food before her, the woman said, "Give me meat for the
+love of Allah to whom be Honour and Glory!' But I answered, 'Not
+so, by Allah, except thou yield to me thy person.' Quoth she,
+'Better is death than the wrath and wreak of Allah;' and she rose
+and left the food untouched and went away repeating these
+couplets,
+
+'O Thou, the One, whose grace doth all the world embrace; * Thine
+     ears have heard, Thine eyes have seen my case!
+Privation and distress have dealt me heavy blows; * The woes that
+     weary me no utterance can trace.
+I am like one athirst who eyes the landscape's eye, * Yet may not
+     drink a draught of streams that rail and race.
+My flesh would tempt me by the sight of savoury food * Whose joys
+     shall pass away and pangs maintain their place.'
+
+She then disappeared for two days, when she again came and
+knocked at the door; so I went out to her, and lo! hunger had
+taken away her voice; but, after a rest she said, 'O my brother,
+I am worn out with want and know not what to do, for I cannot
+show my face to any man but to thee. Say, wilt thou feed me for
+the love of Allah Almighty?' But I answered, 'Not so, except thou
+yield to me thy person.' And she entered my house and sat down.
+Now I had no food ready; but, when the meat was dressed and I
+laid it in a saucer, behold, the grace of Almighty Allah entered
+into me and I said to myself, 'Out on thee! This woman, weak of
+wit and faith, hath refrained from food till she can no longer,
+for stress of hunger; and, while she refuseth time after time,
+thou canst not forbear from disobedience to the Lord!' And I
+said, 'O my God, I repent to Thee of that which my flesh
+purposed!' Then I took the food and carrying it to her, said,
+'Eat, for no harm shall betide thee: this is for the love of
+Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!' Then she raised her eyes
+to heaven and said, 'O my God, if this man say sooth, I pray Thee
+forbid fire to harm him in this world and the next, for Thou over
+all things art Omnipotent and Prevalent in answering the prayer
+of the penitent!' Then I left her and went to put out the fire in
+the brasier.[FN#483] Now the season was winter and the weather
+cold, and a live coal fell on my body: but by the decree of Allah
+(to whom be Honour and Glory!) I felt no pain and it became my
+conviction that her prayer had been answered. So I took the coal
+in my hand, and it burnt me not; and going in to her, I said, 'Be
+of good cheer, for Allah hath granted thy prayer!'"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+blacksmith continued: "So I went in to her and said, 'Be of good
+cheer, for Allah hath granted thy prayer!' Then she dropped the
+morsel from her hand and said, 'O my God, now that Thou hast
+shown me my desire of him and hast granted me my prayer for him,
+take Thou my soul, for Thou over all things art Almighty!' And
+straightway He took her soul to Him, the mercy of Allah be upon
+her!" And the tongue of the case extemporised and spake on this
+theme,
+
+"She prayed: the Lord of grace her prayer obeyed; * And spared
+     the sinner, who for sin had prayed:
+He showed her all she prayed Him to grant; * And Death (as prayed
+     she) her portion made:
+Unto his door she came and prayed for food, * And sued his ruth
+     for what her misery made:
+He leant to error following his lusts, * And hoped to enjoy her
+     as her wants persuade;
+But he knew little of what Allah willed; * Nor was Repentance,
+     though unsought, denayed.
+Fate comes to him who flies from Fate, O Lord, * And lot and
+     daily bread by Thee are weighed."
+
+And they also tell of
+
+
+
+             THE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD
+               FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT KING.
+
+
+
+There was once, among the children of Israel, a man of the
+devout, for piety acclaimed and for continence and asceticism
+enfamed, whose prayers were ever granted and who by supplication
+obtained whatso he wanted; and he was a wanderer in the mountains
+and was used to pass the night in worship. Now Almighty Allah had
+subjected to him a cloud which travelled with him wherever he
+went, and poured on him its water-treasures in abundance that he
+might make his ablutions and drink. After a long time when things
+were thus, his fervour somewhat abated, whereupon Allah took the
+cloud away from him and ceased to answer his prayers. On this
+account, great was his grief and long was his woe, and he ceased
+not to regret the time of grace and the miracle vouchsafed to him
+and to lament and bewail and bemoan himself, till he saw in a
+dream one who said to him, "An thou wouldest have Allah restore
+to thee thy cloud, seek out a certain King, in such a town, and
+beg him to pray for thee: so will Allah (be He extolled and
+exalted!) give thee back thy cloud and bespread it over thee by
+virtue of his pious prayers." And he began repeating these
+couplets,
+
+"Wend to that pious prayerful Emir, * Who can with gladness thy
+     condition cheer;
+An he pray Allah, thou shalt win thy wish; * And heavy rain shall
+     drop from welkin clear.
+He stands all Kings above in potent worth; * Nor to compare with
+     him doth aught appear:
+Near him thou soon shalt hap upon thy want, * And see all joy and
+     gladness draw thee near:
+Then cut the wolds and wilds unfounted till * The goal thou goest
+     for anigh shalt speer!"
+
+So the hermit set out for the town named to him in the dream;
+and, coming thither after long travel, enquired for the King's
+palace which was duly shown to him. And behold, at the gate he
+found a slave-officer sitting on a great chair and clad in
+gorgeous gear; so he stood to him and saluted him; and he
+returned his salam and asked him, "What is thy business?"
+Answered the devotee, "I am a wronged man, and come to submit my
+case to the King." Quoth the officer, "Thou hast no access to him
+this day; for he hath appointed unto petitioners and enquirers
+one day in every seven" (naming the day), "on which they may go
+in to him; so wend thy ways in welfare till then." The hermit was
+vexed with the King for thus veiling himself from the folk and
+said in thought, "How shall this man be a saint of the saints of
+Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) and he on this wise?"
+Then he went away and awaited the appointed day. "Now" (quoth
+he)"when it came, I repaired to the palace, where I found a great
+number of folk at the gate, expecting admission; and I stood with
+them, till there came out a Wazir robed in gorgeous raiment and
+attended by guards and slaves, who said, 'Let those, who have
+petitions to present, enter.' So I entered with the rest and
+found the King seated facing his officers and grandees who were
+ranged according to their several ranks and degrees. The Wazir
+took up his post and brought forward the petitioners, one by one,
+till it came to my turn, when the King looked on me and said,
+'Welcome to the 'Lord of the Cloud'! Sit thee down till I make
+leisure for thee.' I was confounded at his words and confessed
+his dignity and superiority; and, when the King had answered the
+petitioners and had made an end with them, he rose and dismissed
+his Wazirs and Grandees; then, taking my hand he led me to the
+door of the private palace, where we found a black slave,
+splendidly arrayed, with helm on head, and on his right hand and
+his left, bows and coats of mail. He rose to the King; and,
+hastening to obey his orders and forestall his wishes, opened the
+door. We went in, hand in hand, till we came to a low wicket,
+which the King himself opened and led me into a ruinous place of
+frightful desolation and thence passed into a chamber, wherein
+was naught but a prayer-carpet, an ewer for ablution and some
+mats of palm-leaves. Here the King doffed his royal robes and
+donned a coarse gown of white wool and a conical bonnet of felt.
+Then he sat down and making me sit, called out to his wife, 'Ho,
+such an one!' and she answered from within saying, 'Here am I.'
+Quoth he, 'Knowest thou who is our guest to-day?' Replied she,
+'Yes, it is the Lord of the Cloud.' The King said, 'Come forth:
+it mattereth not for him.' And behold, there entered a woman, as
+she were a vision, with a face that beamed like the new moon; and
+she wore a gown and veil of wool."-And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that 'when the
+King called to his wife, she came forth from the inner room; and
+her face beamed like the new moon; and she wore a gown and a veil
+of wool. Then said the King, 'O my brother, dost thou desire to
+hear our story or that we should pray for thee and dismiss thee?'
+Answered the hermit; 'Nay, I wish to hear the tale of you twain,
+for that to me were preferable.' Said the King, 'My forefathers
+handed down the throne, one to the other, and it descended from
+great one to great one, in unbroken succession, till the last
+died and it came to me. Now Allah had made this hateful to me,
+for I would fain have gone awandering over earth and left the
+folk to their own affairs; but I feared lest they should fall
+into confusion and anarchy and misgovernment so as to swerve from
+divine law, and the union of the Faith be broken up. Wherefore,
+abandoning my own plans, I took the kingship and appointed to
+every head of them a regular stipend; and donned the royal robes;
+and posted slave-officers at the doors, as a terror to the
+dishonest and for the defence of honest folk and the maintenance
+of law and limitations. Now when free of this, I entered this
+place and, doffing my royal habit, donned these clothes thou
+seest; and this my cousin, the daughter of my father's brother,
+hath agreed with me to renounce the world and helpeth me to serve
+the Lord. So we are wont to weave these palm-leaves and earn,
+during the day, a wherewithal to break our fast at nightfall; and
+we have lived on this wise nigh upon forty years. Abide thou with
+us (so Allah have mercy on thee!) till we sell our mats; and thou
+shalt sup and sleep with us this night and on the morrow wend thy
+ways with that thou wishest, Inshallah!' So he tarried with them
+till the end of the day, when there came a boy five years old who
+took the mats they had made and carrying them to the market, sold
+them for a carat;[FN#484] and with this bought bread and beans
+and returned with them to the King. The hermit broke his fast and
+lay down to sleep with them; but in the middle of the night they
+both arose and fell to praying and weeping. When daybreak was
+near, the King said, "O my God, this Thy servant beseecheth Thee
+to return him his cloud; and to do this Thou art able; so, O my
+God, let him see his prayer granted and restore him his cloud."
+The Queen amen'd to his orisons and behold, the cloud grew up in
+the sky; whereupon the King gave the hermit joy and the man took
+leave of them and went away, the cloud companying him as of old.
+And whatsoever he required of Allah after this, in the names of
+the pious King and Queen, He granted it without fail and the man
+made thereon these couplets,
+
+"My Lord hath servants fain of piety; * Hearts in the Wisdom-
+    garden ranging free:
+Their bodies' lusts at peace, and motionless * For breasts that
+     bide in purest secresy.
+Thou seest all silent, awesome of their Lord, * For hidden things
+     unseen and seen they see."
+
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+             THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN
+                            DAMSEL.
+
+The Commander of the Faithful, Omar bin al-Khattáb (whom Allah
+accept!), once levied for holy war an army of Moslems, to
+encounter the foe before Damascus, and they laid close siege to
+one of the Christians' strongholds. Now there were amongst the
+Moslems two men, brothers, whom Allah had gifted with fire and
+bold daring against the enemy; so that the commander of the
+besieged fortress said to his chiefs and braves, "Were but yonder
+two Moslems ta'en or slain, I would warrant you against the rest
+of their strain." Wherefore they left not to set for them all
+manner of toils and snares and ceased not to manoeuvre and lie in
+wait and ambush for them, till they took one of them prisoner and
+slew the other, who died a martyr. They carried the captive to
+the Captain of the fort, who looked at him and said, "Verily, to
+kill this man were indeed a pity; but his return to the Moslem
+would be a calamity."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+enemy carried their Moslem captive before the Captain of the
+fort, the Christian looked at him and said, "Verily to kill this
+man were a pity indeed; but his return to the Moslem would be a
+calamity. Oh that he might be brought to embrace the Nazarene
+Faith and be to us an aid and an arm!" Quoth one of his Patrician
+Knights, "O Emir, I will tempt him to abjure his faith, and on
+this wise: we know that the Arabs are much addicted to women, and
+I have a daughter, a perfect beauty, whom when he sees, he will
+be seduced by her." Quoth the Captain, "I give him into thy
+charge." So he carried him to his place and clad his daughter in
+raiment, such as added to her beauty and loveliness. Then he
+brought the Moslem into the room and set before him food and made
+the fair girl stand in his presence, as she were a handmaid
+obedient to her lord and awaiting his orders that she might do
+his bidding. When the Moslem saw the evil sent down upon him, he
+commended himself to Allah Almighty and closing his eyes, applied
+himself to worship and to reciting the Koran. Now he had a
+pleasant voice and a piercing wit; and the Nazarene damsel
+presently loved him with passionate love and pined for him with
+extreme repine. This lasted seven days, at the end of which she
+said to herself, "Would to Heaven he would admit me into the
+Faith of Al-Islam!" And the tongue of her case recited these
+couplets,
+
+"Wilt turn thy face from heart that's all thine own, * This heart
+     thy ransom and this soul thy wone?
+I'm ready home and kin to quit for aye, * And every Faith for
+     that of sword[FN#485] disown:
+I testify that Allah hath no mate: * This proof is stablished and
+     this truth is known.
+Haply shall deign He union grant with one * Averse, and hearten
+     heart love-overthrown;
+For ofttimes door erst shut, is opened wide, * And after evil
+     case all good is shown."
+
+At last her patience failed her and her breast was straitened and
+she threw herself on the ground before him, saying, "I conjure
+thee by thy Faith, that thou give ear to my words!" Asked he,
+"What are they?" and she answered, "Expound unto me Al-Islam." So
+he expounded to her the tenets of the Faith, and she became a
+Moslemah, after which she was circumcised[FN#486] and he taught
+her to pray. Then said she to him, "O my brother, I did but
+embrace Al-Islam for thy sake and to win thy favours." Quoth he,
+"The law of Al-Islam forbiddeth sexual commerce save after a
+marriage before two legal witnesses, and a dowry and a guardian
+are also requisite. Now I know not where to find witnesses or
+friend or parapherne; but, an thou can contrive to bring us out
+of this place, I may hope to make the land of Al-Islam, and
+pledge myself to thee that none other than thou in all Al-Islam
+shall be wife to me." Answered she, "I will manage that"; and,
+calling her father and mother, said to them, "Indeed this
+Moslem's heart is softened and he longeth to enter the faith, so
+I will grant him that which he desireth of my person; but he
+saith: 'It befitteth me not to do this in a town where my brother
+was slain. Could I but get outside it my heart would be solaced
+and I would do that which is wanted of me.' Now there is no harm
+in letting me go forth with him to another town, and I will be a
+surety to you both and to the Emir for that which ye wish of
+him." Therefore her father went to their Captain and told him
+this, whereat he joyed with exceeding joy and bade him carry them
+forth to a village that she named. So they went out and made the
+village where they abode the rest of their day, and when night
+fell, they got ready for the march and went their way, even as
+saith the poet,
+
+"'The time of parting,' cry they, 'draweth nigh': * 'How oft this
+     parting-threat?' I but reply:
+I've naught to do but cross the wild and wold * And, mile by
+     mile, o'er fountless wastes to fly,
+If the beloved seek another land * Sons of the road, whereso they
+     wend, wend I.
+I make desire direct me to their side, * The guide to show me
+     where the way doth lie."
+
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+prisoner and the lady abode in the village the rest of their day
+and, when night fell, made ready for the march and went upon
+their way; and travelled all night without stay or delay. The
+young Moslem, mounting a swift blood-horse and taking up the
+maiden behind him, ceased not devouring the ground till it was
+bright morning, when he turned aside with her from the highway
+and, alighting, they made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the
+dawn-prayer. Now as they were thus engaged behold, they heard the
+clank of swords and clink of bridles and men's voices and tramp
+of horse; whereupon he said to her, "Ho, such an one, the
+Nazarenes are after us! What shall we do?: the horse is so jaded
+and broken down that he cannot stir another step." Exclaimed she,
+"Woe to thee! art thou then afraid and affrighted?" "Yes,"
+answered he; and she said, "What didst thou tell me of the power
+of thy Lord and His readiness to succour those who succour seek?
+Come, let us humble ourselves before Him and beseech Him: haply
+He shall grant us His succour and endue us with His grace,
+extolled and exalted be He!" Quoth he, "By Allah, thou sayest
+well!" So they began humbling themselves and supplicating
+Almighty Allah and he recited these couplets,
+
+"Indeed I hourly need thy choicest aid, * And should, though
+     crown were placed upon my head:
+Thou art my chiefest want, and if my hand * Won what it wisheth,
+     all my wants were sped.
+Thou hast not anything withholdest Thou; * Like pouring rain Thy
+     grace is showered:
+I'm shut therefrom by sins of me, yet Thou, * O Clement, deignest
+     pardon-light to shed.
+O Care-Dispeller, deign dispel my grief! * None can, save Thou,
+     dispel a grief so dread."
+
+Whilst he was praying and she was saying, "Amen," and the thunder
+of horse-tramp nearing them, lo! the brave heard the voice of his
+dead brother, the martyr, speaking and saying, "O my brother,
+fear not, nor grieve! for the host whose approach thou hearest is
+the host of Allah and His Angels, whom He hath sent to serve as
+witnesses to your marriage. Of a truth Allah hath made His Angels
+glorify you and He bestoweth on you the meed of the meritorious
+and the martyrs; and He hath rolled up the earth for you as it
+were a rug so that, by morning, you will be in the mountains of
+Al-Medinah. And thou, when thou foregatherest with Omar bin
+al-Khattab (of whom Allah accept!) give him my salutation and say
+to him: 'Allah abundantly requite thee for Al-Islam, because thou
+hast counselled faithfully and hast striven diligently.'"
+Thereupon the Angels lifted up their voices in salutation to him
+and his bride, saying, "Verily, Almighty Allah appointed her in
+marriage to thee two thousand years before the creation of your
+father Adam (with whom be peace evermore!)." Then joy and
+gladness and peace and happiness came upon the twain; confidence
+was confirmed and established was the guidance of the pious pair.
+So when dawn appeared, they prayed the accustomed prayer and
+fared forward. Now it was the wont of Omar, son of Al-Khattab
+(Allah accept him!),  to rise for morning-prayer in the darkness
+before dawn and at times he would stand in the prayer-niche with
+two men behind him, and begin reciting the Chapter entitled
+"Cattle"[FN#487] or that entitled "Women,"[FN#488] whereupon the
+sleeper awoke and he who was making his Wuzu-ablution
+accomplished it and he who was afar came to prayer; nor had he
+made an end of the first bow, ere the mosque was full of folk;
+then he would pray his second bow quickly, repeating a short
+chapter. But, on that morning he hurried over both first and
+second inclinations, repeating in each a short chapter; then,
+after the concluding salutation, turning to his companions, he
+said to them, "Come, let us fare forth to meet the bride and
+bridegroom"; at which they wondered, not understanding his words.
+But he went out and they followed him, till they came to the gate
+of the city, where they met the young Moslem who, when the day
+broke and the standards of Al-Medinah appeared to him, had pushed
+forward for the gate closely followed by his bride. There he was
+met by Omar who bade make a marriage feast; and the Moslems came
+and ate. Then the young Moslem went in unto his bride and
+Almighty Allah vouchsafed him children,--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Omar (on
+whom be peace!) bade make a marriage-feast; and the Moslems came
+and ate. Then the young Moslem went in unto his bride and
+Almighty Allah vouchsafed him children, who fought in the Lord's
+way and preserved genealogies, for they gloried therein. And how
+excellent is what is said on such theme,
+
+"I saw thee weep before the gates and 'plain, * Whilst only
+     curious wight reply would deign:
+Hath eye bewitcht thee, or hath evil lot * 'Twixt thee and door
+     of friend set bar of bane?
+Wake up this day, O wretch, persist in prayer, * Repent as wont
+     repent departed men.
+Haply shall wash thy sins Forgiveness-showers; * And on thine
+     erring head some ruth shall rain:
+And prisoner shall escape despite his bonds; * And slave from
+     thraldom freedom shall attain."
+
+And they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till
+there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of
+societies. And a tale is told by Sídi Ibrahim bin
+Al-Khawwás[FN#489](on whom be the mercy of Allah!) concerning
+himself and
+
+
+
+
+             THE CHRISTIAN KING'S DAUGHTER AND THE
+                            MOSLEM.
+
+
+
+"My spirit urged me, once upon a time, to go forth into the
+country of the Infidels; and I strove with it and struggled to
+put away from me this inclination; but it would not be rejected.
+So I fared forth and journeyed about the land of the Unbelievers
+and traversed it in all its parts; for divine grace enveloped me
+and heavenly protection encompassed me, so that I met not a
+single Nazarene but he turned away his eyes and drew off from me,
+till I came to a certain great city at whose gate I found a
+gathering of black slaves, clad in armour and bearing iron maces
+in their hands. When they saw me, they rose to their feet and
+asked me, 'Art thou a leach?'; and I answered, 'Yes.' Quoth they,
+'Come speak to our King,' and carried me before their ruler, who
+was a handsome personage of majestic presence. When I stood
+before him, he looked at me and said, 'Art a physician, thou?'
+'Yes,' quoth I; and quoth he to his officers, 'Carry him to her,
+and acquaint him with the condition before he enter.' So they
+took me out and said to me, 'Know that the King hath a daughter,
+and she is stricken with a sore disease, which no doctor hath
+been able to cure: and no leach goeth in to her and treateth,
+without healing her, but the King putteth him to death. So
+bethink thee what thou seest fitting to do.' I replied, 'The King
+drove me to her; so carry me to her.' Thereupon they brought me
+to her door and knocked; and behold, I heard her cry out from
+within, saying, 'Admit to me the physician, lord of the wondrous
+secret!' And she began reciting,
+
+'Open the door! the leach now draweth near; * And in my soul a
+     wondrous secret speer:
+How many of the near far distant are![FN#490] * How many distant
+     far are nearest near!
+I was in strangerhood amidst you all: * But willed the
+     Truth[FN#491] my solace should appear.
+Joined us the potent bonds of Faith and Creed; * We met as
+     dearest fere greets dearest fere:
+He sued for interview whenas pursued * The spy, and blamed us
+     envy's jibe and jeer:
+Then leave your chiding and from blame desist, * For fie upon
+     you! not a word I'll hear.
+I care for naught that disappears and fleets; * My care's for
+     Things nor fleet nor disappear.'
+
+And lo! a Shaykh, a very old man, opened the door in haste and
+said to me, 'Enter.' So I entered and found myself in a chamber
+strewn with sweet-scented herbs and with a curtain drawn across
+one corner, from behind which came a sound of groaning and grame,
+weak as from an emaciated frame. I sat down before the curtain
+and was about to offer my salam when I bethought me of his words
+(whom Allah save and assain!), 'Accost not a Jew nor a Christian
+with the salam salutation;[FN#492] and, when ye meet them in the
+way, constrain them to the straitest part thereof.' So I withheld
+my salutation, but she cried out from behind the curtain, saying,
+'Where is the salutation of Unity and Indivisibility, O Khawwas?'
+I was astonished at her speech and asked, 'How knowest thou me?';
+whereto she answered, 'When the heart and thoughts are whole, the
+tongue speaketh eloquently from the secret recesses of the soul.
+I begged Him yesterday to send me one of His saints, at whose
+hands I might have deliverance, and behold, it was cried to me
+from the dark places of my house, 'Grieve not; for we soon will
+send thee Ibrahim the Basket-maker.' Then I asked her, 'What of
+thee?' and she answered, 'It is now four years since there
+appeared to me the Manifest Truth, and He is the Relator and the
+Ally, and the Uniter and the Sitter-by; whereupon my folk looked
+askance upon me with an evil eye and taxed me with insanity and
+suspected me of depravity, and there came not in to me doctor but
+terrified me, nor visitor but confounded me.' Quoth I, 'And who
+led thee to the knowledge of what thou wottest?' Quoth she, 'The
+manifest signs and visible portents of Allah; and, when the path
+is patent to thee, thou espiest with thine own eyes both proof
+and prover.' Now whilst we were talking, behold, in came the old
+man appointed to guard her and said, 'What doth thy doctor?'; and
+she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the
+healing.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+    When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the
+Shaykh, her guardian, went in to her he said, 'What doth thy
+doctor?'; and she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon
+the healing.' Hereupon he manifested joy and gladness and
+accosted me with a cheerful countenance, then went and told the
+King, who enjoined to treat me with all honour and regard. So I
+visited her daily for seven days, at the end of which time she
+said to me, 'O Abu Ishak, when shall be our flight to the land of
+Al-Islam?' 'How canst thou go forth,' replied I, 'and who would
+dare to aid thee?' Rejoined she, 'He who sent thee to me, driving
+thee as it were;' and I observed, 'Thou sayest sooth.' So when
+the morrow dawned, we fared forth by the city-gate and all eyes
+were veiled from us, by commandment of Him who when He desireth
+aught, saith to it, 'Be,' and it becometh;[FN#493] so that I
+journeyed with her in safety to Meccah, where she made a home
+hard by the Holy House of Allah and lived seven years; till the
+appointed day of her death. The earth of Meccah was her tomb, and
+never saw I any more steadfast in prayer and fasting than she;
+Allah send down upon her His mercies and have compassion on him
+who saith,
+
+'When they to me had brought the leach (and surely showed *
+     The signs of flowing tears and pining malady),
+The face-veil he withdrew from me, and 'neath it naught *
+     Save breath of one unsouled, unbodied, could he see.
+Quoth he, 'This be a sickness Love alone shall cure; *
+     Love hath a secret from all guess of man wide free.'
+Quoth they, 'An folk ignore what here there be with him *
+     Nature of ill and eke its symptomology,
+How then shall medicine work a cure?' At this quoth I *
+     'Leave me alone; I have no guessing specialty.'"
+
+And they tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+           THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE.
+
+
+
+A certain Prophet[FN#494] made his home for worship on a lofty
+mountain, at whose foot was a spring of running water, and he was
+wont to sit by day on the summit, that no man might see him,
+calling upon the name of Allah the Most Highest and watching
+those who frequented the spring. One day, as he sat looking upon
+the fountain, behold, he espied a horseman who came up and
+dismounted thereby and taking a bag from his neck, set it down
+beside him, after which he drank of the water and rested awhile,
+then he rode away, leaving behind him the bag which contained
+gold pieces. Presently up came another man to drink of the
+spring, who saw the bag and finding it full of money took it up;
+then, after satisfying his thirst, he made off with it in safety.
+A little after came a woodcutter wight with a heavy load of fuel
+on his back, and sat down by the spring to drink, when lo! back
+came the first horseman in great trouble and asked him, "Where is
+the bag which was here?" and when he answered, "I know nothing of
+it," the rider drew his sword and smote him and slew him. Then he
+searched his clothes, but found naught; so he left him and wended
+his ways. Now when the Prophet saw this, he said, "O Lord, one
+man hath taken a thousand dinars and another man hath been slain
+unjustly." But Allah answered him, saying, "Busy thyself with thy
+devotions, for the ordinance of the universe is none of thine
+affair. The father of this horseman had violently despoiled of a
+thousand dinars the father of the second horseman; so I gave the
+son possession of his sire's money. As for the woodcutter, he had
+slain the horseman's father, wherefore I enabled the son to
+obtain retribution for himself." Then cried the Prophet, "There
+is none other god than Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou
+art the Knower of Secrets."[FN#495]--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Prophet was bidden by inspiration of Allah to busy himself with
+his devotions and learned the truth of the case, he cried, "There
+is none other god but Thou! Glory be to Thee only! Verily, Thou
+and Thou alone wottest hidden things." Furthermore, one of the
+poets hath made these verses on the matter,
+
+"The Prophet saw whatever eyes could see, * And fain of other
+     things enquired he;
+And, when his eyes saw things misunderstood, * Quoth he, 'O Lord,
+     this slain from sin was free.
+This one hath won him wealth withouten work; * Albe appeared he
+     garbed in penury.
+And that in joy of life was slain, although * O man's Creator
+     free of sin he be.'
+God answered ''Twas his father's good thou saw'st * Him take; by
+     heirship not by roguery;
+Yon woodman too that horseman's sire had slain; * Whose son
+     avenged him with just victory:
+Put off, O slave of Me, this thought for I * In men have set
+     mysterious secrecy!
+Bow to Our Law and humble thee, and learn * For good and evil
+     issues Our decree.'"[FN#496]
+
+And a certain pious man hath told us the tale of
+
+
+
+
+            THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT.
+
+
+
+"I was once a ferryman on the Nile and used to ply between the
+eastern and the western banks. Now one day, as I sat in my boat,
+there came up to me an old man of a bright and beaming
+countenance, who saluted me and I returned his greeting; and he
+said to me, 'Wilt thou ferry me over for the love of Allah
+Almighty?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he continued, 'Wilt thou
+moreover give me food for Allah's sake?'; to which again I
+answered, 'With all my heart.' So he entered the boat and I rowed
+him over to the eastern side, remarking that he was clad in a
+patched gown and carried a gourd-bottle and a staff. When he was
+about to land, he said to me, 'I desire to lay on thee a heavy
+trust.' Quoth I, 'What is it?' Quoth he, 'It hath been revealed
+to me that my end is nearhand and that to-morrow about noon thou
+wilt come and find me dead under yonder tree. Wash me and wrap me
+in the shroud thou wilt see under my head and after thou hast
+prayed over me, bury me in this sandy ground and take my gown and
+gourd and staff, which do thou deliver to one who shall come and
+demand them of thee.' I marvelled at his words, and I slept
+there. On the morrow I awaited till noon the event he had
+announced, and then I forgot what he had said till near the hour
+of afternoon-prayer, when I remembered it and hastening to the
+appointed place, found him under the tree, dead, with a new
+shroud under his head, exhaling a fragrance of musk. So I washed
+him and shrouded him and prayed over him, then dug a hole in the
+sand and buried him, after I had taken his ragged gown and bottle
+and staff, with which I crossed the Nile to the western side and
+there nighted. As soon as morning dawned and the city gate
+opened, I sighted a young man known to me as a loose fellow, clad
+in fine clothes and his hands stained with Henna, who said to me,
+'Art thou not such an one?' 'Yes,' answered I; and he said, 'Give
+me the trust.' Quoth I, 'What is that?' Quoth he, 'The gown, the
+gourd and the staff.' I asked him, 'Who told thee of them?' and
+he answered, 'I know nothing save that I spent yesternight at the
+wedding of one of my friends singing and carousing till daylight,
+when I lay me down to sleep and take my rest; and behold, there
+stood by me a personage who said, 'Verily Allah Almighty hath
+taken such a saint to Himself and hath appointed thee to fill his
+place; so go thou to a certain person (naming the ferryman), and
+take of him the dead man's gown and bottle and staff, for he left
+them with him for thee.' So I brought them out and gave them to
+him; whereupon he doffed his clothes and, donning the gown, went
+his way and left me.[FN#497] And when the glooms closed around
+me, I fell a-weeping; but, that night, while sleeping I saw the
+Lord of Holiness (glorified and exalted be He!) in a dream
+saying, 'O my servant, is it grievous to thee that I have granted
+to one of My servants to return to Me? Indeed, this is of My
+bounty, that I vouchsafe to whom I will, for I over all things am
+Almighty.' So I repeated these couplets,
+
+'Lover with loved[FN#498] loseth will and aim! * All choice (an
+     couldst thou know) were sinful shame.
+Or grant He favour and with union grace, * Or from thee turn
+     away, He hath no blame.
+An from such turning thou no joy enjoy * Depart! the place for
+     thee no place became.
+Or canst His near discern not from His far? * Then Love's in vain
+     and thou'rt a-rear and lame.
+If pine for Thee afflict my sprite, or men * Hale me to death,
+     the rein Thy hand shall claim!
+So turn Thee to or fro, to me 'tis one; * What Thou ordainest
+     none shall dare defame:
+My love hath naught of aim but Thine approof * And if Thou say we
+     part I say the same.'"
+
+And of the tales they tell is one concerning
+
+
+
+
+            THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE.
+
+
+
+There was once a notable of the Children of Israel, a man of
+wealth who had a pious and blessed son. When his last hour drew
+nigh, his son sat down at his head and said to him, "O my lord,
+give me an injunction." Quoth the father, "O dear son, I charge
+thee, swear not by Allah or truly or falsely." Then he died and
+certain lewd fellows of the Children of Israel heard of the
+charge he had laid on his son and began coming to the latter and
+saying, "Thy father had such and such monies of mine, and thou
+knowest it; so give me what was entrusted to him or else make
+oath that there was no trust." The good son would not disobey his
+sire's injunction, so gave them all they claimed; and they ceased
+not to deal thus with him, till his wealth was spent and he fell
+into straitest predicament. Now the young man had a pious and
+blessed wife, who had borne him two little sons; so he said to
+her, "The folk have multiplied their demands on me and, while I
+had the wherewithal to free myself of debt, I rendered it freely;
+but naught is now left us, and if others make demands upon me, we
+shall be in absolute distress, I and thou; our best way were to
+save ourselves by fleeing to some place, where none knoweth us,
+and earn our bread among the lower of the folk." Accordingly, he
+took ship with her and his two children, knowing not whither he
+should wend; but, "When Allah judgeth, there is none to reverse
+His judgment;"[FN#499] and quoth the tongue of the case,
+
+"O flier from thy home when foes affright! * Whom led to weal and
+     happiness such flight,
+Grudge not this exile when he flees abroad * Where he on wealth
+     and welfare may alight.
+An pearls for ever did abide in shell, * The kingly crown they
+     ne'er had deckt and dight."
+
+The ship was wrecked, yet the man saved himself on a plank and
+his wife and children also saved themselves, but on other planks.
+The waves separated them and the wife was cast up in one country
+and one of the boys in another. The second son was picked up by a
+ship, and the surges threw the father on a desert island, where
+he landed and made the Wuzu-ablution. Then he called the
+prayer-call,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+man landed upon the island, he made the Wuzu-ablution to free
+himself from the impurities of the sea and called the call to
+prayer and stood up to his devotions, when, behold, there came
+forth of the sea, creatures of various kinds and prayed with him.
+When he had finished, he went up to a tree and stayed his hunger
+with its fruits; after which he found a spring of water and drank
+thereof and praised Allah, to whom be honour and glory! He abode
+thus three days and whenever he stood up to pray, the
+sea-creatures came out and prayed in the same manner as he
+prayed. Now after the third day, he heard a voice crying aloud
+and saying, "O thou just man, and pious, who didst so honour thy
+father and revere the decrees of thy Lord, grieve not, for Allah
+(be He extolled and exalted!) shall restore to thee all which
+left thy hand. In this isle are hoards and monies and things of
+price which the Almighty willeth thou shalt inherit, and they are
+in such a part of this place. So bring thou them to light; and
+verily, we will send ships unto thee; and do thou bestow charity
+on the folk and bid them to thee." So he sought out that place,
+and the Lord discovered to him the treasures in question. Then
+ships began resorting to him, and he gave abundant largesse to
+the crews, saying to them, "Be sure ye direct the folk unto me
+and I will give them such and such a thing and appoint to them
+this and that." Accordingly, there came folk from all parts and
+places, nor had ten years passed over him ere the island was
+peopled and the man became its King.[FN#500] No one came to him
+but he entreated him with munificence, and his name was noised
+abroad, through the length and breadth of the earth. Now his
+elder son had fallen into the hands of a man who reared him and
+taught him polite accomplishments; and, in like manner, the
+younger was adopted by one who gave him a good education and
+brought him up in the ways of merchants. The wife also happened
+upon a trader who entrusted to her his property and made a
+covenant with her that he would not deal dishonestly by her, but
+would aid her to obey Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!);
+and he used to make her the companion of his voyages and his
+travels. Now the elder son heard the report of the King and
+resolved to visit him, without knowing who he was; so he went to
+him and was well received by the King, who made him his
+secretary. Presently the other son heard of the King's piety and
+justice and was also taken into his service as a steward. Then
+the brothers abode awhile, neither knowing the other, till it
+chanced that the merchant, in whose home was their mother, also
+hearing of the King's righteous and generous dealing with the
+lieges, freighted a ship with rich stuffs and other excellent
+produce of the land, and taking the woman with him, set sail for
+the island. He made it in due course and landing, presented
+himself with his gift before the King; who rejoiced therein with
+exceeding joy and ordered him a splendid return-present. Now,
+there were, among the gifts, certain aromatic roots of which he
+would have the merchant acquaint him with the names and uses; so
+he said to him, "Abide with us this night."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+King said, "Abide with us this night," the merchant replied, "We
+have in the ship one to whom I have promised to entrust the care
+of her to none save myself; and the same is a holy woman whose
+prayers have brought me weal and I have felt the blessing of her
+counsels." Rejoined the King, "I will send her some trusty men,
+who shall pass the night in the ship and guard her and all that
+is with her." The merchant agreed to this and abode with the
+King, who called his secretary and steward and said to them, "Go
+and pass the night in this man's ship and keep it safe,
+Inshallah!" So they went up into the ship and seating themselves,
+this on the poop and that on the bow, passed a part of the night
+in repeating the names of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and
+Might!). Then quoth one to the other, "Ho, such an one! The King
+bade us keep watch and I fear lest sleep overtake us; so, come,
+let us discourse of stories of fortune and of the good we have
+seen and the trials of life." Quoth the other, "O my brother, as
+for my trials Fate parted me from my mother and a brother of
+mine, whose name was even as thine; and the cause of our parting
+was this. My father took ship with us from such a place, and the
+winds rose against us and were contrary, so that the ship was
+wrecked and Allah broke our fair companionship." Hearing this the
+first asked, "What was the name of thy mother, O my brother?";
+and the second answered, "So and so." Thereat brother threw
+himself upon brother saying, "By Allah, thou art my very
+brother!" And each fell to telling the other what had befallen
+him in his youth, whilst the mother heard all they said, but held
+her peace and in patience possessed her soul. Now when it was
+morning, one said to the other, "Come, brother, let us go to my
+lodging and talk there;" and the other said, "'Tis well." So they
+went away and presently, the merchant came back and finding the
+woman in great trouble, said to her, "What hath befallen thee and
+why this concern?" Quoth she, "Thou sentest to me yesternight men
+who tempted me to evil, and I have been in sore annoy with them."
+At this, he was wroth and, repairing to the King, reported the
+conduct of his two trusty wights. The King summoned the twain
+forthwith, as he loved them for their fidelity and piety; and,
+sending for the woman, that he might hear from her own lips what
+she had to say against them, thus bespake her, "O woman, what
+hath betided thee from these two men in whom I trust?" She
+replied, "O King, I conjure thee by the Almighty, the Bountiful
+One, the Lord of the Empyrean, bid them repeat the words they
+spoke yesternight." So he said to them, "Say what ye said and
+conceal naught thereof." Accordingly, they repeated their talk,
+and lo! the King rising from his throne, gave a great cry and
+threw himself upon them, embracing them and saying, "By Allah, ye
+are my very sons!" Therewith the woman unveiled her face and
+said, "And by Allah, I am their very mother." So they were united
+and abode in all solace of life and its delight till death parted
+them; and so glory be to Him who delivereth His servant when he
+restoreth to Him, and disappointeth not his hope in Him and his
+trust! And how well saith the poet on the subject,
+
+"Each thing of things hath his appointed tide * When 'tis, O
+     brother, granted or denied.
+Repine not an affliction hit thee hard; * For woe and welfare aye
+     conjoint abide:
+How oft shall woman see all griefs surround * Yet feel a joyance
+     thrill what lies inside!
+How many a wretch, on whom the eyes of folk * Look down, shall
+     grace exalt to pomp and pride!
+This man is one long suffering grief and woe; * Whom change and
+     chance of Time hath sorely tried:
+The World divided from what held he dearest, * After long union
+     scattered far and wide;
+But deigned his Lord unite them all again, * And in the Lord is
+     every good descried.
+Glory to Him whose Providence rules all * Living, as surest
+     proofs for us decide.
+Near is the Near One; but no wisdom clearer * Shows him, nor
+     distant wayfare brings Him nearer."
+
+And this tale is told of
+
+
+
+
+                ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA'AFAR THE
+                         LEPER.[FN#501]
+
+
+
+"I had been many times to Meccah (Allah increase its honour!) and
+the folk used to follow me for my knowledge of the road and
+remembrance of the water-stations. It happened one year that I
+was minded to make the pilgrimage to the Holy House and
+visitation of the Tomb of His Prophet (on whom be blessing and
+peace!) and I said in myself, 'I well know the way and will fare
+alone.' So I set out and journeyed till I came to
+Al-Kadisíyah[FN#502] and, entering the mosque there, saw a man
+suffering from black leprosy seated in the prayer-niche. Quoth he
+on seeing me, 'O Abu al-Hasan, I crave thy company to Meccah.'
+Quoth I to myself, 'I fled from all my companions, and how shall
+I company with lepers?' So I said to him, 'I will bear no man
+company'; and he was silent at my words. Next day I walked on
+alone, till I came to Al-Akabah,[FN#503] where I entered the
+mosque and found the leper seated in the prayer-niche. So I said
+to myself, 'Glory be to Allah! how hath this fellow preceded me
+hither?' But he raised his head to me and said with a smile, 'O
+Abu al-Hasan, He doth for the weak that which surpriseth the
+strong!' I passed that night confounded at what I had seen; and,
+as soon as morning dawned, set out again by myself; but when I
+came to Arafat[FN#504] and entered the mosque, behold, there was
+the leper seated in the niche! So I threw myself upon him and
+kissing his feet said, 'O my lord, I crave thy company.' But he
+answered, 'This may in no way be.' Then I began weeping and
+wailing at the loss of his converse, when he said, 'Spare thy
+tears which will avail thee naught!'"-And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu
+al-Hasan continued: "Now when I saw the leper-man seated in the
+prayer-niche, I threw myself upon him and said, 'O my lord, I
+crave thy company;' and fell to kissing his feet. But he
+answered, 'This may in no way be!' Then I began weeping and
+wailing at the loss of his company when he said, 'Spare thy tears
+which will avail thee naught!'; and he recited these couplets,
+
+'Why dost thou weep when I depart and thou didst parting claim; *
+     And cravest union when we ne'er shall reunite the same?
+Thou lookedest on nothing save my weakness and disease; * And
+     saidst 'Nor goes nor comes, or night or day, this sickly
+     frame.
+Seest not how Allah (glorified His glory ever be!) * Deigneth to
+     grant His slave's petition wherewithal he came.
+If I, to eyes of men be that and only that they see, * And this
+     my body show itself so full of grief and grame,
+And have I naught of food that shall supply me to the place *
+     Where crowds unto my Lord resort impelled by single aim,
+I have a high Creating Lord whose mercies aye are hid; * A Lord
+     who hath none equal and no fear is known to Him.
+So fare thee safe and leave me lone in strangerhood to wone * For
+     He, the only One, consoles my loneliness so lone.'
+
+Accordingly, I left him; but every station I came to, I found he
+had foregone me, till I reached Al-Medinah, where I lost sight of
+him and could hear no tidings of him. Here I met Abu Yazíd
+al-Bustámi and Abu Bakr al-Shibli and a number of other Shaykhs
+and learned men, to whom with many complaints, I told my case and
+they said, 'Heaven forbid that thou shouldst gain his company
+after this! He was Abu Ja'afar the leper, in whose name folk at
+all times pray for rain and by whose blessing-prayers their end
+attain.' When I heard their words, my desire for his company
+redoubled and I implored the Almighty to reunite me with him.
+Whilst I was standing on Arafat,[FN#505] one pulled me from
+behind, so I turned and behold, it was my man. At this sight I
+cried out with a loud cry and fell down in a fainting fit; but,
+when I came to myself he had disappeared from my sight. This
+increased my yearning for him and the ceremonies were tedious to
+me and I prayed Almighty Allah to give me sight of him; nor was
+it but a few days after, when lo! one pulled me from behind, and
+I turned and it was he again. Thereupon he said, 'Come, I conjure
+thee and ask thy want of me.' So I begged him to pray for me
+three prayers; first, that Allah would make me love poverty;
+secondly, that I might never lie down at night upon provision
+assured to me; and thirdly, that He would vouchsafe me to look
+upon His bountiful Face. So he prayed for me as I wished, and
+departed from me. And indeed Allah hath granted me what the
+devotee asked in prayer: to begin with He hath made me so love
+poverty that, by the Almighty! there is naught in the world
+dearer to me than it, and secondly since such a year, I have
+never lain down to sleep upon assured provision; withal hath He
+never let me lack aught. As for the third prayer, I trust that He
+will vouchsafe me that also, even as He hath granted the two
+precedent, for right Bountiful and Beneficent is His Godhead, and
+Allah have mercy on him who said:[FN#506]-
+
+Garb of Fakir, renouncement, lowliness;
+His robe of tatters and of rags his dress;
+
+And pallor ornamenting brow as though
+'Twere wanness such as waning crescents show.
+
+Wasted him prayer a-through the long-lived night,
+And flooding tears ne'er cease to dim his sight.
+
+Memory of Him shall cheer his lonely room:
+Th' Almighty nearest is in nightly gloom.
+
+The Refuge helpeth such Fakir in need;
+Help e'en the cattle and the winged breed:
+
+Allah for sake of him of wrath is fain,
+And for the grace of him shall fall the rain;
+
+And if he pray one day for plague to stay,
+'Twill stay, and 'bate man's wrong and tyrants slay.
+
+While folk are sad, afflicted one and each,
+He in his mercy's rich, the generous leach:
+
+Bright shines his brow; an thou regard his face
+Thy heart illumined shines by light of grace.
+
+O thou who shunnest souls of worth innate
+Departs thee (woe to thee!) of sins the weight.
+
+Thou thinkest to overtake them, while thou bearest
+Follies, which slay thee whatso way thou farest.
+
+Didst wot their worth thou hadst all honour showed,
+And tears in streamlets from thine eyes had flowed.
+
+To catarrh-troubled men flowers lack their smell;
+And brokers ken for how much clothes can sell;
+
+So haste and with thy Lord reunion sue,
+And haply Fate shall lend thee aidance due,
+
+Rest from rejection and estrangement-stress,
+And Joy thy wish and will shall choicely bless.
+
+His court wide open for the suer is dight:--
+One, very God, the Lord, th' Almighty might.'"
+
+And they also tell a tale of
+
+
+
+
+               THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS.[FN#507]
+
+
+
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone
+before, a Grecian sage called Daniel, who had disciples and
+scholars and the wise men of Greece were obedient to his bidding
+and relied upon his learning. Withal had Allah denied him a man
+child. One night, as he lay musing and weeping over the lack of a
+son who might inherit his lore, he bethought him that Allah
+(extolled and exalted be He!) heareth the prayer of those who
+resort to Him and that there is no doorkeeper at the door of His
+bounties and that He favoureth whom He will without compt and
+sendeth no supplicant empty away; nay He filleth their hands with
+favours and benefits. So he besought the Almighty, the Bountiful,
+to vouchsafe him a son to succeed him, and to endow him
+abundantly with His beneficence. Then he returned home and
+carnally knew his wife who conceived by him the same night.--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Grecian
+sage returned home and knew his wife who conceived by him the
+same night. A few days after this he took ship for a certain
+place, but the ship was wrecked and he saved himself on one of
+her planks, while only five leaves remained to him of all the
+books he had. When he returned home, he laid the five leaves in a
+box and locking it, gave the key to his wife (who then showed big
+with child), and said to her, "Know that my decease is at hand
+and that the time draweth nigh for my translation from this abode
+temporal to the home which is eternal. Now thou art with child
+and after my death wilt haply bear a son: if this be so, name him
+Hásib Karím al-Dín[FN#508] and rear him with the best of rearing.
+When the boy shall grow up and shall say to thee, 'What
+inheritance did my father leave me?'' give him these five leaves,
+which when he shall have read and understood, he will be the most
+learned man of his time." Then he farewelled her and heaving one
+sigh, departed the world and all that is therein--the mercy of
+Allah the Most Highest be upon Him! His family and friends wept
+over him and washed him and bore him forth in great state and
+buried him; after which they wended their ways home. But few days
+passed ere his widow bare a handsome boy and named him Hasib
+Karim al-Din, as her husband charged her; and immediately after
+his birth she summoned the astrologers, who calculated his
+ascendants and drawing his horoscope, said to her, "Know, O
+woman! that this birth will live many a year; but that will be
+after a great peril in the early part of his life, wherefrom can
+he escape, he will be given the knowledge of all the exact
+sciences." So saying they went their ways. She suckled him two
+years,[FN#509] then weaned him, and when he was five years old,
+she placed him in a school to learn his book, but he would read
+nothing. So she took him from school and set him to learn a
+trade; but he would not master any craft and there came no work
+from his hands. The mother wept over this and the folk said to
+her, "Marry him: haply he will take heart for his wife and learn
+him a trade." So she sought out a girl and married him to her;
+but, despite marriage and the lapse of time, he remained idle as
+before, and would do nothing. One day, some neighbours of hers,
+who were woodcutters, came to her and said, "Buy thy son an ass
+and cords and an axe and let him go with us to the mountain and
+we will all of us cut wood for fuel. The price of the wood shall
+be his and ours, and he shall provide thee and his wife with his
+share." When she heard this, she joyed with exceeding joy and
+bought her son an ass and cords and hatchet; then, carrying him
+to the woodcutters, delivered him into their hands and solemnly
+committed him to their care. Said they, "Have no concern for the
+boy, our Lord will provide for him: he is the son of our Shaykh."
+So they carried him to the mountain, where they cut firewood and
+loaded their asses therewith; then returned to the city and,
+selling what they had cut, spent the monies on their families.
+This they did on the next day and the third and ceased not for
+some time, till it chanced one day, a violent storm of rain broke
+over them, and they took refuge in a great cave till the downfall
+should pass away. Now Hasib Karim al-Din went apart from the rest
+into a corner of the cavern and sitting down, fell to smiting the
+floor with his axe. Presently he noted that the ground sounded
+hollow under the hatchet; so he dug there awhile and came to a
+round flagstone with a ring in it. When he saw this, he was glad
+and called his comrades the woodcutters,--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib
+Karim al-Din saw the flagstone with the ring, he was glad and
+called his comrades the woodcutters, who came to him and, finding
+it was fact, soon pulled up the stone and discovered under it a
+trap-door, which, being opened, showed a cistern full of bees'
+honey.[FN#510] Then said they to one another, "This is a large
+store and we have nothing for it but to return to the city and
+fetch vessels wherein to carry away the honey, and sell it and
+divide the price, whilst one of us stands by the cistern, to
+guard it from outsiders." Quoth Hasib, "I will stay and keep
+watch over it till you bring your pots and pans." So they left
+him on guard there and, repairing to the city, fetched vessels,
+which they filled with honey and loading their asses therewith,
+carried them to the streets and sold the contents. They returned
+on the morrow and thus they did several days in succession,
+sleeping in the town by night and drawing off the stuff by day,
+whilst Hasib abode on guard by it till but little remained, when
+they said one to other, "It was Hasib Karim al-Din found the
+honey, and tomorrow he will come down to the city and complain
+against us and claim the price of it, saying, Twas I found it;'
+nor is there escape for us but that we let him down into the
+cistern, to bale out the rest of the honey, and leave him there;
+so will he die of hunger, and none shall know of him." They all
+fell in with this plot as they were making for the place; and,
+when they reached it, one said to him, "O Hasib, go down into the
+pit and bale out for us the rest of the honey." So he went down
+and passed up to them what remained of the honey, after which he
+said to them, "Draw me up, for there is nothing left." They made
+him no answer; but, loading their asses, went off to the city and
+left him alone in the cistern. Thereupon he fell to weeping and
+crying, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
+the Glorious, the Great!" Such was his case; but as regards his
+comrades, when they reached the city and sold the honey, they
+repaired to Hasib's mother, weeping, and said to her, "May thy
+head outlive thy son Hasib!" She asked, "What brought about his
+death?" and they answered, "We were cutting wood on the mountain-
+top, when there fell on us a heavy downfall of rain and we took
+shelter from it in a cavern; and suddenly thy son's ass broke
+loose and fled into the valley, and he ran after it, to turn it
+back, when there came out upon them a great wolf, who tore thy
+son in pieces and ravined the ass." When the mother heard this,
+she beat her face and strewed dust on her head and fell to
+mourning for her son; and she kept life and soul together only by
+the meat and drink which they brought her every day. As for the
+woodcutters they opened them shops and became merchants and spent
+their lives in eating and drinking and laughing and frolicking.
+Meanwhile Hasib Karim al-Din, who ceased not to weep and call for
+help, sat down upon the cistern edge when behold, a great
+scorpion fell down on him; so he rose and killed it. Then he took
+thought and said, "The cistern was full of honey; how came this
+scorpion here?" Accordingly he got up and examined the well right
+and left, till he found a crevice from which the scorpion had
+fallen and saw the light of day shining through it. So he took
+out his woodman's knife and enlarged the hole, till it was big as
+a window, then he crept through it and, after walking for some
+time, came to a vast gallery, which led him to a huge door of
+black iron bearing a padlock of silver wherein was a key of gold.
+He stole up to the door and, looking through the chink, saw a
+great light shining within; so he took the key and, opening the
+door, went on for some time, till he came to a large artificial
+lake, wherein he caught sight of something that shimmered like
+silver. He walked up to it and at last he saw, hard by a hillock
+of green jasper and on the hill top, a golden throne studded with
+all manner gems,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib
+reached the hillock he found it of green jasper surmounted by a
+golden throne studded with all manner gems, round which were set
+many stools, some of gold, some of silver and others of leek
+green emerald. He clomb the hillock and, counting the stools,
+found them twelve thousand in number; then he mounted the throne
+which was set on the centre and, seating himself thereon, fell to
+wondering at the lake and the stools, and he marvelled till
+drowsiness overcame him and he drops asleep. Presently, he was
+aroused by a loud snorting and hissing and rustling, so he opened
+his eyes; and, sitting up, saw each stool occupied by a huge
+serpent, an hundred cubits in length. At this sight, great fear
+get hold of him; his spittle dried up for the excess of his dread
+and he despaired of life, as all their eyes were blazing like
+live coals. Then he turned towards the lake and saw that what he
+had taken for shimmering water was a multitude of small snakes,
+none knoweth their compt save Allah the Most High. After awhile,
+there came up to him a serpent as big as a mule, bearing on its
+back a tray of gold, wherein lay another serpent which shone like
+crystal and whose face was as that of a woman[FN#511] and who
+spake with human speech. And as soon as she was brought up to
+Hasib, she saluted him and he returned the salutation. There
+upon, one of the serpents seated on the stools came up and,
+lifting her off the tray, set her on one of the seats and she
+cried out to the other serpents in their language, whereupon they
+all fell down from their stools and did her homage. But she
+signed to them to sit and they did so. Then she addressed Hasib,
+saying, "Have no fear of us, O youth; for I am the Queen of the
+Serpents and their Sultánah." When he heard her speak on this
+wise, he took heart and she bade the serpents bring him somewhat
+of food.[FN#512] So they brought apples and grapes and
+pomegranates and pistachio-nuts and filberts and walnuts and
+almonds and bananas and set them before him, and the
+Queen-serpent said, "Welcome, O youth! What is thy name?"
+Answered he, "Hasib Karim al-Din;" and she rejoined, "O Hasib,
+eat of these fruits, for we have no other meat and fear thou have
+nothing from us at all." Hearing this, he ate his fill and
+praised Allah Almighty; and presently they took away the trays
+from before him, and the Queen said, "Tell me, O Hasib, whence
+thou art and how camest thou hither and what hath befallen thee."
+So he told her his story from first to last, the death of his
+father; his birth; his being sent to school where he learnt
+nothing; his becoming a wood cutter; his finding the honey-
+cistern; his being abandoned therein; his killing the scorpion;
+his widening the crevice; his finding the iron door and his
+coming upon the Queen, and he ended his long tale with saying,
+"These be my adventures from beginning to end and only Allah
+wotteth what will betide me after all this!" Quoth the Queen,
+after listening to his words, "Nothing save good shall betide
+thee:"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Serpent-queen had heard his story she said, "Nothing save good
+shall betide thee: but I would have thee, O Hasib, abide with me
+some time, that I may tell thee my history and acquaint thee with
+the wondrous adventures which have happened to me." "I hear and
+obey thy hest," answered he; and she began to tell in these
+words,
+
+
+
+
+The Adventures of Bulukiya.
+
+
+
+"Know thou, O Hasib, there was once in the city of Cairo a King
+of the Banu Isra'íl, a wise and a pious, who was bent double by
+poring over books of learning, and he had a son named Bulúkiyá.
+When he grew old and weak and was nigh upon death, his Grandees
+and Officers of state came up to salute him, and he said to them,
+'O folk, know that at hand is the hour of my march from this
+world to the next, and I have no charge to lay on you, save to
+commend to your care my son Bulukiya.' Then said he, 'I testify
+that there is no god save the God;' and, heaving one sigh,
+departed the world the mercy of Allah be upon him! They laid him
+out and washed him and buried him with a procession of great
+state. Then they made his son Bulukiya Sultan in his stead; and
+he ruled the kingdom justly and the people had peace in his time.
+Now it befell one day that he entered his father's treasuries, to
+look about him, and coming upon an inner compartment and finding
+the semblance of a door, opened it and passed in. And lo! he
+found himself in a little closet, wherein stood a column of white
+marble, on the top of which was a casket of ebony; he opened this
+also and saw therein another casket of gold, containing a book.
+He read the book and found in it an account of our lord Mohammed
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!) and how he should be sent in the
+latter days[FN#513] and be the lord of the first Prophets and the
+last. On seeing the personal description Bulukiya's heart was
+taken with love of him, so he at once assembled all the notables
+of the Children of Israel, the Cohens or diviners, the scribes
+and the priests, and acquainted them with the book, reading
+portions of it to them and, adding, 'O folk, needs must I bring
+my father out of his grave and burn him.' The lieges asked, 'Why
+wilt thou burn him?'; and he answered, 'Because he hid this book
+from me and imparted it not to me.' Now the old King had
+excerpted it from the Torah or Pentateuch and the Books of
+Abraham; and had set it in one of his treasuries and concealed it
+from all living. Rejoined they, 'O King, thy father is dead; his
+body is in the dust and his affair is in the hands of his Lord;
+thou shalt not take him forth of his tomb.' So he knew that they
+would not suffer him to do this thing by his sire and leaving
+them he repaired to his mother, to whom said he, 'O my mother, I
+have found, in one of my father's treasuries, a book containing a
+description of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!), a prophet
+who shall be sent in the latter days; and my heart is captivated
+with love of him. Wherefore am I resolved to wander over the
+earth, till I foregather with him; else I shall die of longing
+for his love.' Then he doffed his clothes and donned an Aba gown
+of goat's hair and coarse sandals, saying, 'O my mother, forget
+me not in thy prayers.' She wept over him and said, 'What will
+become of us after thee?'; but Bulukiya answered, 'I can endure
+no longer, and I commit my affair and thine to Allah who is
+Almighty.' Then he set out on foot Syria wards without the
+knowledge of any of his folk, and coming to the sea board found a
+vessel whereon he shipped as one of the crew. They sailed till he
+made an island, where Bulukiya landed with the crew, but straying
+away from the rest he sat down under a tree and sleep got the
+better of him. When he awoke, he sought the ship but found that
+she had set sail without him, and in that island he saw serpents
+as big as camels and palm trees, which repeated the names of
+Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) and blessed Mohammed (whom
+the Lord assain and save!), proclaiming the Unity and glorifying
+the Glorious; whereat he wondered."--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Bulukiya saw the serpents glorifying God and proclaiming the
+Unity, he wondered with extreme wonder. When they saw him, they
+flocked to him and one of them said to him, 'Who and whence art
+thou and whither goest thou. and what is thy name?' Quoth he, 'My
+name is Bulukiya; I am of the Children of Israel and, being
+distracted for love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!), I
+come in quest of him. But who are ye, O noble creatures?'
+Answered they, 'We are of the dwellers in the Jahannam-hell; and
+Almighty Allah created us for the punishment of Kafirs.' 'And how
+came ye hither?' asked he, and the Serpents answered, 'Know, O
+Bulukiya, that Hell[FN#514] of the greatness of her boiling,
+breatheth twice a year, expiring in the summer and inspiring in
+the winter, and hence the summer heat and winter cold. When she
+exhaleth, she casteth us forth of her maw, and we are drawn in
+again with her inhaled breath.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'Say me, are
+there greater serpents than you in Hell?'; and they said, 'Of a
+truth we are cast out with the expired breath but by reason of
+our smallness; for in Hell every serpent is so great, that were
+the biggest of us to pass over its nose it would not feel
+us.[FN#515]' Asked Bulukiya, 'Ye sing the praises of Allah and
+invoke blessings on Mohammed, whom the Almighty assain and save!
+Whence wot ye of Mohammed?'; and they answered, 'O Bulukiya,
+verily his name is written on the gates of Paradise; and, but for
+him, Allah had not created the worlds[FN#516] nor Paradise, nor
+heaven nor hell nor earth, for He made all things that be, solely
+on his account, and hath conjoined his name with His own in every
+place; wherefore we love Mohammed, whom Allah bless and
+preserve!' Now hearing the serpents' converse did but inflame
+Bulukiya's love for Mohammed and yearning for his sight; so he
+took leave of them; and, making his way to the sea-shore, found
+there a ship made fast to the beach; he embarked therein as a
+seaman and sailed nor ceased sailing till he came to another
+island. Here he landed and walking about awhile found serpents
+great and small, none knoweth their number save Almighty Allah,
+and amongst them a white Serpent, clearer than crystal, seated in
+a golden tray borne on the back of another serpent as big as an
+elephant. Now this, O Hasib, was the Serpent-queen, none other
+than myself." Quoth Hasib, "And what answer didst thou make him?"
+Quoth she, "Know, O Hasib, that when I saw Bulukiya, I saluted
+him with the salam, and he returned my salutation, and I said to
+him, 'Who and what art thou and what is thine errand and whence
+comest thou and whither goest thou?' Answered he, 'I am of the
+Children of Israel; my name is Bulukiya, and I am a wanderer for
+the love of Mohammed, whose description I have read in the
+revealed scriptures, and of whom I go in search. But what art
+thou and what are these serpents about thee?' Quoth I, 'O
+Bulukiya, I am the Queen of the Serpents; and when thou shalt
+foregather with Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) bear him
+my salutation.' Then Bulukiya took leave of me and journeyed till
+he came to the Holy City which is Jerusalem. Now there was in
+that stead a man who was deeply versed in all sciences, more
+especially in geometry and astronomy and mathematics, as well as
+in white magic[FN#517] and Spiritualism; and he had studied the
+Pentateuch and the Evangel and the Psalms and the Books of
+Abraham. His name was Affan; and he had found in certain of his
+books, that whoso should wear the seal ring of our lord Solomon,
+men and Jinn and birds and beasts and all created things would be
+bound to obey him. Moreover, he had discovered that our lord
+Solomon had been buried in a coffin which was miraculously
+transported beyond the Seven Seas to the place of burial;"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Affan had
+found in certain books that none, mortal or spirit, could pluck
+the seal ring from the lord Solomon's finger; and that no
+navigator could sail his ship upon the Seven Seas over which the
+coffin had been carried. Moreover, he had found out by reading
+that there was a herb of herbs and that if one express its juice
+and anoint therewith his feet, he should walk upon the surface of
+any sea that Allah Almighty had created without wetting his
+soles, but none could obtain this herb, without he had with him
+the Serpent-queen. When Bulukiya arrived at the Holy City, he at
+once sat down to do his devotions and worship the Lord; and,
+whilst he was so doing, Affan came up and saluted him as a True
+Believer. Then seeing him reading the Pentateuch and adoring the
+Almighty, he accosted him saying, 'What is thy name, O man; and
+whence comest thou and whither goest thou?' He answered, 'My name
+is Bulukiya; I am from the city of Cairo and am come forth
+wandering in quest of Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!'
+Quoth Affan, 'Come with me to my lodging that I may entertain
+thee.' 'To hear is to obey,' replied Bulukiya So the devotee took
+him by the hand and carried him to his house where he entreated
+him with the utmost honour and presentry said to him, 'Tell me
+thy history, O my brother, and how thou camest by the knowledge
+of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) that thy heart hath
+been taken with love of him and compelled thee to fare forth and
+seek him; and lastly tell me who it was directed thee in this
+road.' So he related to him his tale in its entirety; whereupon
+Affan, who well nigh lost his wits for wonder, said to him, 'Make
+tryst for me with the Queen of the Serpents and I will bring thee
+in company with Mohammed, albeit the date of his mission is yet
+far distant. We have only to prevail upon the Queen and carry her
+in a cage to a certain mountain where the herbs grow; and, as
+long as she is with us, the plants as we pass them will parley
+with human speech and discover their virtues by the ordinance of
+Allah the Most High. For I have found in my books that there is a
+certain herb and all who express its juice and anoint therewith
+their feet shall walk upon whatsoever sea Almighty Allah hath
+made, without wetting sole. When we have found the magical herb,
+we will let her go her way; and then will we anoint our feet with
+the juice and cross the Seven Seas, till we come to the burial
+place of our lord Solomon. Then we will take the ring off his
+finger and rule even as he ruled and win all our wishes; we will
+enter the Main of Murks[FN#518] and drink of the Water of Life,
+and so the Almighty will let us tarry till the End of Time and we
+shall foregather with Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!'
+Hearing these words Bulukiya replied, 'O Affan, I will make tryst
+for thee with the Serpent-queen and at once show thee her abiding
+place.' So Affan made him a cage of iron; and, providing himself
+with two bowls, one full of wine and the other of milk, took ship
+with Bulukiya and sailed till they came to the island, where they
+landed and walked upon it. Then Affan set up the cage, in which
+he laid a noose and withdrew after placing in it the two bowls;
+when he and Bulukiya concealed themselves afar off. Presently, up
+came the Queen of the Serpents (that is, myself) and examined the
+cage. When she (that is I) smelt the savour of the milk, she came
+down from the back of the snake which bore her tray and, entering
+the cage, drank up the milk. Then she went to the bowl of wine
+and drank of it, whereupon her head became giddy and she slept.
+When Affan saw this, he ran up and locking the cage upon her, set
+it on his head and made for the ship, he and Bulukiya. After
+awhile she awoke and finding herself in a cage of iron on a man's
+head and seeing Bulukiya walking beside the bearer, said to him,
+'This is the reward of those who do no hurt to the sons of Adam.'
+Answered he, 'O Queen, have no fear of us, for we will do thee no
+hurt at all. We wish thee only to show us the herb which, when
+pounded and squeezed yieldeth a juice, and this rubbed upon the
+feet conferreth the power of walking dryshod upon what sea soever
+Almighty Allah hath created; and when we have found that, we will
+return thee to thy place and let thee wend thy way.' Then Affan
+and Bulukiya fared on for the hills where grew the herbs; and, as
+they went about with the Queen, each plant they passed began to
+speak and avouch its virtues by permission of Allah the Most
+High. As they were thus doing and the herbs speaking right and
+left, behold, a plant spoke out and said, 'I am the herb ye seek,
+and all who gather and crush me and anoint their feet with my
+juice, shall fare over what sea soever Allah Almighty hath
+created and yet ne'er wet sole.' When Affan heard this, he set
+down the cage from his head and, gathering what might suffice
+them of the herb, crushed it and filling two vials with the juice
+kept them for future use; and with what was left they anointed
+their feet. Then they took up the Serpent-queen's cage and
+journeyed days and nights, till they reached the island, where
+they opened the cage and let out her that is me. When I found
+myself at liberty, I asked them what use they would make of the
+juice; and they answered, 'We design to anoint our feet and to
+cross the Seven Seas to the burial place of our lord
+Solomon[FN#519] and take the seal ring from his finger.' Quoth I,
+'Far, far is it from your power to possess yourselves of the
+ring!' They enquired, 'Wherefore?' and I replied, 'Because
+Almighty Allah vouchsafed unto our lord Solomon the gift of this
+ring and distinguished him thereby, for that he said to him, 'O
+Lord, give me a kingdom which may not be obtained after me; for
+Thou verily art the Giver of kingdoms.[FN#520]' 'So that ring is
+not for you.' And I added, 'Had ye twain taken the herb, whereof
+all who eat shall not die until the First Blast,[FN#521] it had
+better availed you than this ye have gotten; for ye shall nowise
+come at your desire thereby.' Now when they heard this, they
+repented them with exceeding penitence and went their ways."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Bulukiya and Affan heard these words, they repented them with
+exceeding penitence and went their ways. Such was their case; but
+as regards myself" (continued the Serpent-queen) "I went in quest
+of my host and found it fallen in piteous case, the stronger of
+them having grown weak in my absence and the weaker having died.
+When they saw me, they rejoiced and flocking about me, asked,
+'What hath befallen thee, and where hast thou been?' So I told
+them what had passed, after which I gathered my forces to "ether
+and repaired with them to the mountain Kaf, where I was wont to
+winter, summer-freshing in the place where thou now seest me, O
+Hasib Karim al-Din. This, then, is my story and what befell me."
+Thereupon Hasib marvelled at her words and said to her, "I
+beseech thee, of thy favour, bid one of thy guards bear me forth
+to the surface of the earth, that I may go to my people." She
+replied, "O Hasib, thou shalt not have leave to depart from us
+till winter come, and needs must thou go with us to the Mountain
+Kaf and solace thyself with the sight of the hills and sands and
+trees and birds magnifying the One God, the Victorious; and look
+upon Marids and Ifrits and Jinn, whose number none knoweth save
+Almighty Allah." When Hasib heard this, he was sore chafed and
+chagrined: then he said to her, "Tell me of Affan and Bulukiya;
+when they departed from thee and went their way, did they cross
+the Seven Seas and reach the burial-place of our lord Solomon or
+not; and if they did had they power to take the ring or not?"
+Answered she, "Know, that when they left me, they anointed their
+feet with the juice; and, walking over the water, fared on from
+sea to sea, diverting themselves with the wonders of the deep,
+nor ceased they faring till they had traversed the Seven Seas and
+came in sight of a mountain, soaring high in air, whose stones
+were emeralds and whose dust was musk; and in it was a stream of
+running water. When they made it they rejoiced, saying each to
+the other, 'Verily we have won our wish'; and they entered the
+passes of the mountain and walked on, till they saw from afar a
+cavern surmounted by a great dome, shining with light. So they
+made for the cavern, and entering it beheld therein a throne of
+gold studded with all manner jewels, and about it stools whose
+number none knoweth save Allah Almighty. And they saw lying at
+full length upon the throne our lord Solomon, clad in robes of
+green silk inwoven with gold and broidered with jewels and
+precious minerals: his right hand was passed over his breast and
+on the middle finger was the seal ring whose lustre outshone that
+of all other gems in the place. Then Affan taught Bulukiya
+adjurations and conjurations galore and said to him, 'Repeat
+these conjurations and cease not repeating until I take the
+ring.' Then he went up to the throne; but, as he drew near unto
+it lo' c mighty serpent came forth from beneath it and cried out
+at him with so terrible a cry that the whole place trembled and
+sparks flew from its mouth, saying, 'Begone, or thou art a dead
+man' But Affan busied himself with his incantations and suffered
+himself not to be startled thereby. Then the serpent blew such a
+fiery blast at him, that the place was like to be set on fire,
+and said to him, Woe to thee! Except thou turn back, I will
+consume thee' Hearing these words Bulukiya left the cave, but
+Affan, who suffered himself not to be troubled, went up to the
+Prophet: then he put out his hand to the ring and touched it and
+strove to draw it off the lord Solomon's finger; and behold, the
+serpent blew on him once more and he became a heap of ashes. Such
+was his case; but as regards Bulukiya he fell down in a swoon."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Four Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya saw Affan burnt up by the fire and
+become a heap of ashes, he fell down in a swoon. Thereupon the
+Lord (magnified be His Majesty!) bade Gabriel descend earthwards
+and save him ere the serpent should blow on him. So Gabriel
+descended without delay and, finding Affan reduced to ashes and
+Bulukiya in a fit, aroused him from his trance and saluting him
+asked, 'How camest thou hither?' Bulukiya related to him his
+history from first to last, adding, 'Know that I came not hither
+but for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!), of
+whom Affan informed me that his mission would take place at the
+End of Time; moreover that none should foregather with him but
+those who endured to the latter days by drinking of the Water of
+Life through means of Solomon's seal. So I companied him hither
+and there befell him what befell; but I escaped the fire and now
+it is my desire that thou inform me where Mohammed is to be
+found.' Quoth Gabriel, 'O Bulukiya, go thy ways, for the time of
+Mohammed's coming is yet far distant.' Then he ascended up to
+heaven forthright, and Bulukiya wept with sore weeping and
+repented of that which he had done, calling to mind my words,
+whenas I said to them, 'Far is it from man's power to possess
+himself of the ring.' Then he descended from the mountain and
+returned in exceeding confusion to the sea shore and passed the
+night there, marvelling at the mountains and seas and islands
+around him. When morning dawned, he anointed his feet with the
+herb-juice and descending to the water, set out and fared on over
+the surface of the seas days and nights, astonied at the terrors
+of the main and the marvels and wonders of the deep, till he came
+to an island as it were the Garden of Eden. So he landed and,
+finding himself in a great and pleasant island, paced about it
+and saw with admiration that its dust was saffron and its gravel
+carnelian and precious minerals; its hedges were of jessamine,
+its vegetation was of the goodliest of trees and of the brightest
+of odoriferous shrubs; its brushwood was of Comorin and Sumatran
+aloes-wood and its reeds were sugar-canes. Round about it were
+roses and narcissus and amaranths and gilly-flowers and
+chamomiles and white lilies and violets, and other flowers of all
+kinds and colours. Of a truth the island was the goodliest place,
+abounding in space, rich in grace, a compendium of beauty
+material and spiritual. The birds warbled on the boughs with
+tones far sweeter than chaunt of Koran and their notes would
+console a lover whom longings unman. And therein the gazelle
+frisked free and fain and wild cattle roamed about the plain. Its
+trees were of tallest height; its streams flowed bright; its
+springs welled with waters sweet and light; and all therein was a
+delight to sight and sprite. Bulukiya marvelled at the charms of
+the island but knew that he had strayed from the way he had first
+taken in company with Affan. He wandered about the place and
+solaced him with various spectacles until nightfall, when he
+climbed into a tree to sleep; but as he sat there, musing over
+the beauty of the site, behold, the sea became troubled and there
+rose up to the surface a great beast, which cried out with a cry
+so terrible that every living thing upon the isle trembled. As
+Bulukiya gazed upon him from the tree and marvelled at the
+bigness of his bulk, he was presently followed unexpectedly by a
+multitude of other sea beasts in kind manifolds, each holding in
+his fore-paw a jewel which shone like a lamp, so that the whole
+island became as light as day for the lustre of the gems. After
+awhile, there appeared, from the heart of the island, wild beasts
+of the land, none knoweth their number save Allah the Most High;
+amongst which Bulukiya noted lions and panthers and lynxes and
+other ferals; and these land beasts flocked down to the shore;
+and, foregathering with the sea beasts, conversed with them till
+daybreak, when they separated and each went his own way.
+Thereupon Bulukiya, terrified by what he had seen, came down from
+the tree and, making the sea shore, anointed his feet with the
+magical juice, and set out once more upon the surface of the
+water. He fared on days and nights over the Second Sea, till he
+came to a great mountain skirting which ran a Wady without end,
+the stones whereof were magnetic iron and its beasts, lions and
+hares and panthers. He landed on the mountain foot and wandered
+from place to place till nightfall, when he sat down sheltered by
+one of the base hills on the sea side, to eat of the dried fish
+thrown up by the sea. Presently, he turned from his meal and
+behold, a huge panther was creeping up to rend and ravin him; so
+he anointed his feet in haste with the juice and, descending to
+the surface of the water, fled walking over the Third Sea, in the
+darkness, for the night was black and the wind blew stark. Nor
+did he stay his course till he reached another island, whereon he
+landed and found there trees bearing fruits both fresh and
+dry.[FN#522] So he took of these fruits and ate and praised Allah
+Almighty; after which he walked for solace; about the island till
+eventide."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya
+(continued the Queen) walked for solace about the island till
+eventide, when he lay down to sleep. As soon as day brake, he
+began to explore the place and ceased not for ten days, after
+which he again made the shore and anointed his feet and, setting
+out over the Fourth Sea, walked upon it many nights and days,
+till he came to a third island of fine white sand without sign of
+trees or grass. He walked about it awhile but, finding its only
+inhabitants sakers which nested in the sand, he again anointed
+his feet and trudged over the Fifth Sea, walking night and day
+till he came to a little island, whose soil and hills were like
+crystal. Therein were the veins wherefrom gold is worked; and
+therein also were marvellous trees whose like he had never seen
+in his wanderings, for their blossoms were in hue as gold. He
+landed and walked about for diversion till it was nightfall, when
+the flowers began to shine through the gloom like stars. Seeing
+this sight, he marvelled and said, 'Assuredly, the flowers of
+this island are of those which wither under the sun and fall to
+the earth, where the winds smite them and they gather under the
+rocks and become the Elixir[FN#523] which the folk collect and
+thereof make gold.' He slept there all that night and at sunrise
+he again anointed his feet and, descending to the shore, fared on
+over the Sixth Sea nights and days, till he came to a fifth
+island. Here he landed and found, after walking an hour or so,
+two mountains covered with a multitude of trees, whose fruits
+were as men's heads hanging by the hair, and others whose fruits
+were green birds hanging by the feet; also a third kind, whose
+fruits were like aloes, if a drop of the juice fell on a man it
+burnt like fire; and others, whose fruits wept and laughed,
+besides many other marvels which he saw there. Then he returned
+to the sea shore and, finding there a tall tree, sat down beneath
+it till supper time when he climbed up into the branches to
+sleep. As he sat considering the wonderful works of Allah behold,
+the waters became troubled, and there rose therefrom the
+daughters of the sea, each mermaid holding in her hand a jewel
+which shone like the morning. They came ashore and, foregathering
+under the trees, sat down and danced and sported and made merry
+whilst Bulukiya amused himself with watching and wondering at
+their gambols, which were prolonged till the morning, when they
+returned to the sea and disappeared. Then he came down and,
+anointing his feet, set out on the surface of the Seventh Sea,
+over which he journeyed two whole months, without getting sight
+of highland or island or broadland or lowland or shoreland, till
+he came to the end thereof. And so doing he suffered exceeding
+hunger, so that he was forced to snatch up fishes from the
+surface of the sea and devour them raw, for stress of famine. In
+such case he pushed on till in early forenoon he came to the
+sixth island, with trees a-growing and rills a flowing, where he
+landed and walked about, looking right and left, till he came to
+an apple tree and put forth his hand to pluck of the fruit, when
+lo! one cried out to him from the tree, saying, 'An thou draw
+near to this tree and cut of it aught, I will cut thee in twain.'
+So he looked and saw a giant forty cubits high, being the cubit
+of the people of that day; whereat he feared with sore fear and
+refrained from that tree. Then said he to the giant, 'Why cost
+thou forbid me to eat of this tree?' Replied the other, 'Because
+thou art a son of Adam and thy father Adam forgot the covenant of
+Allah and sinned against Him and ate of the tree.' Quoth
+Bulukiya, 'What thing art thou and to whom belongeth this island,
+with its trees, and how art thou named?' Quoth the tall one, 'My
+name is Sharáhiyá and trees and island belong to King
+Sakhr;[FN#524] I am one of his guards and in charge of his
+dominion,' presently adding, 'But who art thou and whence comest
+thou hither?' Bulukiya told him his story from beginning to end
+and Sharahiya said, 'Be of good cheer,' and brought him to eat.
+So he ate his fill and, taking leave of the giant, set out again
+and ceased not faring on over the mountains and sandy deserts for
+ten days; at the end of which time he saw, in the distance, a
+dust cloud hanging like a canopy in air; and, making towards it,
+he heard a mighty clamour, cries and blows and sounds of mellay.
+Presently he reached a great Wady, two months' journey long; and,
+looking whence the shouts came, he saw a multitude of horse men
+engaged in fierce fight and the blood running from them till it
+railed like a river. Their voices were thunderous and they were
+armed with lance and sword and iron mace and bow and arrow, and
+all fought with the utmost fury. At this sight he felt sore
+affright"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya saw the host in fight, he felt sore
+affright and was perplexed about his case; but whilst he
+hesitated, behold, they caught sight of him and held their hands
+one from other and left fighting. Then a troop of them came up to
+him, wondering at his make, and one of the horsemen said to him,
+'What art thou and whence camest thou hither and whither art
+wending; and who showed thee the way that thou hast come to our
+country?' Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of Adam and am come out,
+distracted for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!); but I have wandered from my way.' Quoth the horseman,
+'Never saw we a son of Adam till now, nor did any ever come to
+this land.' And all marvelled at him and at his speech. 'But what
+are ye, O creatures?' asked Bulukiya; and the rider replied, 'We
+are of the Jánn.' So he said, 'O Knight, what is the cause of the
+fighting amongst you and where is your abiding place and what is
+the name of this valley and this land?' He replied, 'Our abiding-
+place is the White Country; and, every year, Allah Almighty
+commandeth us to come hither and wage war upon the unbelieving
+Jann.' Asked Bulukiya, 'And where is the White Country?' and the
+horseman answered, 'It is behind the mountain Kaf, and distant
+seventy-five years journey from this place which is termed the
+Land of Shaddád son of 'Ád: we are here for Holy War; and we have
+no other business, when we are not doing battle, than to glorify
+God and hallow him. More over, we have a ruler, King Sakhr highs,
+and needs must thou go with us to him, that he may look upon thee
+for his especial delight.' Then they fared on (and he with them)
+till they came to their abiding place; where he saw a multitude
+of magnificent tents of green silk, none knoweth their number
+save Allah the Most High, and in their midst a pavilion of red
+satin, some thousand cubits in compass, with cords of blue silk
+and pegs of gold and silver. Bulukiya marvelled at the sight and
+accompanied them as they fared on and behold, this was the royal
+pavilion. So they carried him into the presence of King Sakhr,
+whom he found seated upon a splendid throne of red gold, set with
+pearls and studded with gems; the Kings and Princes of the Jann
+being on his right hand, and on his left his Councillors and
+Emirs and Officers of state, and a multitude of others. The King
+seeing him bade introduce him, which they did; and Bulukiya went
+up to him and saluted him after kissing the ground before him.
+The King returned his salute and said, 'Draw near me, O mortal!'
+and Bulukiya went close up to him. Hereupon the King, commanding
+a chair to be set for him by his royal side, bade him sit down
+and asked him 'Who art thou?'; and Bulukiya answered, 'I am a
+man, and one of the Children of Israel.' 'Tell me thy story,'
+cried King Sakhr, 'and acquaint me with all that hath befallen
+thee and how thou camest to this my land.' So Bulukiya related to
+him all that had occurred in his wanderings from beginning to
+end."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya related to Sakhr what befell him in his
+wanderings, he marvelled thereat. Then he bade the servants bring
+food and they spread the tables and set on one thousand and five
+hundred platters of red gold and silver and copper, some
+containing twenty and some fifty boiled camels, and others some
+fifty head of sheep; at which Bulukiya marvelled with exceeding
+marvel. Then they ate and he ate with them, till he was satisfied
+and returned thanks to Allah Almighty; after which they cleared
+the tables and set on fruits, and they ate thereof, glorifying
+the name of God and invoking blessings on His prophet Mohammed
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!) When Bulukiya heard them make
+mention of Mohammed, he wondered and said to King Sakhr, 'I am
+minded to ask thee some questions.' Rejoined the King, 'Ask what
+thou wilt,' and Bulukiya said, 'O King, what are ye and what is
+your origin and how came ye to know of Mohammed (whom Allah
+assain and save!) that ye draw near to him and love him?' King
+Sakhr answered, 'O Bulukiya, of very sooth Allah created the fire
+in seven stages, one above the other, and each distant a thousand
+years journey from its neighbour. The first stage he named
+Jahannam[FN#525] and appointed the same for the punishment of the
+transgressors of the True-believers, who die unrepentant; the
+second he named Lazá and appointed for Unbelievers: the name of
+the third is Jahím and is appointed for Gog and Magog.[FN#526]
+The fourth is called Sa'ír and is appointed for the host of
+Iblis. The fifth is called Sakar and is prepared for those who
+neglect prayer. The sixth is called Hatamah and is appointed for
+Jews and Christians. The seventh is named Háwiyah and is prepared
+for hypocrites. Such be the seven stages.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'Haply
+Jahannam hath least of torture for that it is the uppermost.'
+'Yes,' quoth King Sakhr, 'the most endurable of them all is
+Jahannam; natheless in it are a thousand mountains of fire, in
+each mountain seventy thousand cities of fire, in each city
+seventy thousand castles of fire, in each castle seventy thousand
+houses of fire, in each house seventy thousand couches of fire
+and in each couch seventy thousand manners of torment. As for the
+other hells, O Bulukiya, none knoweth the number of kinds of
+torment that be therein save Allah Most Highest.' When Bulukiya
+heard this, he fell down in a fainting-fit, and when he came to
+himself, he wept and said, 'O King what will be my case?' Quoth
+Sakhr, 'Fear not, and know thou that whoso loveth Mohammed (whom
+Allah bless and keep!) the fire shall not burn him, for he is
+made free therefrom for his sake; and whoso belongeth to his
+Faith the fire shall fly him. As for us, the Almighty Maker
+created us of the fire for the first that he made in Jahannam
+were two of His host whom he called Khalít and Malít. Now Khalít
+was fashioned in the likeness of a lion, with a tail like a
+tortoise twenty years' journey in length and ending in a member
+masculine; while Malít was like a pied wolf whose tail was
+furnished with a member feminine. Then Almighty Allah commanded
+the tails to couple and copulate and do the deed of kind, and of
+them were born serpents and scorpions, whose dwelling is in the
+fire, that Allah may there with torment those whom He casteth
+therein; and these increased and multiplied. Then Allah commanded
+the tails of Khalit and Malit to couple and copulate a second
+time, and the tail of Malit conceived by the tail of Khalit and
+bore fourteen children, seven male and seven female, who grew up
+and intermarried one with the other. All were obedient to their
+sire, save one who disobeyed him and was changed into a worm
+which is Iblis (the curse of Allah be upon him!). Now Iblis was
+one of the Cherubim, for he had served Allah till he was raised
+to the heavens and cherished[FN#527] by the especial favour of
+the Merciful One, who made him chief of the Cherubim.'"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "'Iblis served God and became chief of Cherubim. When,
+however, the Lord created Adam (with whom be peace!), He
+commanded Iblis to prostrate himself to him, but he drew back; so
+Allah Almighty expelled him from heaven and cursed him.[FN#528]
+This Iblis had issue and of his lineage are the devils; and as
+for the other six males, who were his elders, they are the
+ancestors of the true believing Jann, and we are their
+descendants. Such, O Bulukiya is our provenance.[FN#529]'
+Bulukiya marvelled at the King's words and said, 'O King, I pray
+thee bid one of thy guards bear me back to my native land.'
+'Naught of this may we do,' answered Sakhr, 'save by commandment
+of Allah Almighty; however, an thou desire to leave us and return
+home, I will mount thee on one of my mares and cause her carry
+thee to the farthest frontiers of my dominions, where thou wilt
+meet with the troops of another King, Barákhiyá highs, who will
+recognize the mare at sight and take thee off her and send her
+back to us; and this is all we can do for thee, and no more.'
+When Bulukiya heard these words he wept and said, 'Do whatso thou
+wilt.' So King Sakhr caused bring the mare and, setting Bulukiya
+on her back, said to him, 'Beware lest thou alight from her or
+strike her or cry out in her face; for if thou do so she will
+slay thee; but abide quietly riding on her back till she stop
+with thee; then dismount and wend thy ways.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'I
+hear and I obey;' he then mounted and setting out, rode on a long
+while between the rows of tents; and stinted not riding till he
+came to the royal kitchens where he saw the great cauldrons, each
+holding fifty camels, hung up over the fires which blazed
+fiercely under them. So he stopped there and gazed with a marvel
+ever increasing till King Sakhr thinking him to be anhungered,
+bade bring him two roasted camels; and they carried them to him
+and bound them behind him on the mare's crupper. Then he took
+leave of them and fared on, till he came to the end of King
+Sakhr's dominions, where the mare stood still and Bulukiya
+dismounted and began to shake the dust of the journey from his
+raiment. And behold, there accosted him a party of men who,
+recognising the mare, carried her and Bulukiya before their King
+Barakhiya. So he saluted him, and the King returned his greeting
+and seated him beside himself in a splendid pavilion, in the
+midst of his troops and champions and vassal Princes of the Jann
+ranged to right and left; after which he called for food and they
+ate their fill and pronounced the Alhamdolillah. Then they set on
+fruits, and when they had eaten thereof, King Barakhiya, whose
+estate was like that of King Sakhr, asked his guest, 'When didst
+thou leave King Sakhr?' And Bulukiya answered, 'Two days ago.'
+Quoth Barakhiya, 'Dost thou know, how many days' journey thou
+hast come in these two days?' Quoth he, 'No,' and the King
+rejoined, 'Thou hast come a journey of threescore and ten
+months.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "Barakhiya said to Bulukiya, 'In two days thou hast
+come a journey of threescore and ten months; moreover when thou
+mountedst the mare, she was affrighted at thee, knowing thee for
+a son of Adam, and would have thrown thee; so they bound on her
+back these two camels by way of weight to steady her.' When
+Bulukiya heard this, he marvelled and thanked Allah Almighty for
+safety. Then said the King, 'Tell me thy adventures and what
+brought thee to this our land.' So he told him his story from
+first to last, and the King marvelled at his words, and kept
+Bulukiya with him two months." Upon this Hasib Karim al-Din after
+he had marvelled at her story, again besought the Serpent-queen
+saying, "I pray thee of thy goodness and graciousness command one
+of thy subjects conduct me to the surface of the earth, that I
+may return to my family;" but she answered, "O Hasib, I know that
+the first thing thou wilt do, after seeing the face of the earth
+will be to greet thy family and then repair to the Hammam bath
+and bathe; and the moment thou endest thine ablutions will see
+the last of me, for it will be the cause of my death." Quoth
+Hasib, "I swear that I will never again enter the Hammam bath so
+long as I live, but when washing is incumbent on me, I will wash
+at home." Rejoined the Queen, "I would not trust thee though thou
+shouldst swear to me an hundred oaths; for such abstaining is not
+possible, and I know thee to be a son of Adam for whom no oath is
+sacred. Thy father Adam made a covenant with Allah the most High,
+who kneaded the clay whereof He fashioned him forty mornings and
+made His angels prostrate themselves to him; yet after all his
+promise did he forget and his oath violate, disobeying the
+commandment of his Lord." When Hasib heard this, he held his
+peace and burst into tears; nor did he leave weeping for the
+space of ten days, at the end of which time he said to the Queen,
+"Prithee acquaint me with the rest of Bulukiya's adventures."
+Accordingly, she began again as follows: "Know, O Hasib, that
+Bulukiya, after abiding two months with King Barakhiya,
+farewelled him and fared on over wastes and deserts nights and
+days' till he came to a high mountain which he ascended. On the
+summit he beheld seated a great Angel glorifying the names of God
+and invoking blessings on Mohammed. Before him lay a tablet
+covered with characters, these white and those black,[FN#530]
+whereon his eyes were fixed, and his two wings were outspread to
+the full, one to the western and the other to the eastern
+horizon. Bulukiya approached and saluted the Angel, who returned
+his salam adding, 'Who art thou and whence comest thou and
+whither wendest thou and what is thy story?' Accordingly, he
+repeated to him his history, from first to last, and the Angel
+marvelled mightily thereat, whereupon Bulukiya said to him, 'I
+pray thee in return acquaint me with the meaning of this tablet
+and what is writ thereon; and what may be thine occupation and
+thy name.' Replied the Angel, 'My name is Michael, and I am
+charged with the shifts of night and day; and this is my
+occupation till the Day of Doom.' Bulukiya wondered at his words
+and at his aspect and the vastness of his stature and, taking
+leave of him, fared onwards, night and day, till he came to a
+vast meadow over which he walked observing that it was traversed
+by seven streams and abounded in trees. He was struck by its
+beauty and in one corner thereof he saw a great tree and under it
+four Angels. So he drew near to them and found the first in the
+likeness of a man, the second in the likeness of a wild beast,
+the third in the likeness of a bird and the fourth in the
+likeness of a bull, engaged in glorifying Almighty Allah, and
+saying, 'O my God and my Master and my Lord, I conjure Thee, by
+Thy truth and by the decree of Thy Prophet Mohammed (on whom be
+blessings and peace!) to vouchsafe Thy mercy and grant Thy
+forgiveness to all things created in my likeness; for Thou over
+all things art Almighty!' Bulukiya marvelled at what he heard but
+continued his journey till he came to another mountain and
+ascending it, found there a great Angel seated on the summit,
+glorifying God and hallowing Him and invoking blessings on
+Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!), and he saw that Angel
+continually opening and shutting his hands and bending and
+extending his fingers. He accosted him and saluted him; whereupon
+the Angel returned his salam and enquired who he was and how he
+came thither. So Bulukiya acquainted him with his adventures
+including his having lost the way; and besought him to tell him,
+in turn, who he was and what was his function and what mountain
+was that. Quoth the Angel, 'Know, O Bulukiya, that this is the
+mountain Kaf, which encompasseth the world; and all the countries
+the Creator hath made are in my grasp. When the Almighty is
+minded to visit any land with earthquake or famine or plenty or
+slaughter or prosperity, He biddeth me carry out His commands and
+I carry them out without stirring from my place; for know thou
+that my hands lay hold upon the roots of the earth,' "--And
+Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When the angel said, 'And know thou that my hands lay
+hold upon the roots of the earth,' he asked, 'And hath Allah
+created other worlds than this within the mountain Kaf?' The
+Angel answered, 'Yes, He hath made a world white as silver, whose
+vastness none knoweth save Himself, and hath peopled it with
+Angels, whose meat and drink are His praise and hallowing and
+continual blessings upon His Prophet Mohammed (whom Allah bless
+and keep!). Every Thursday night[FN#531] they repair to this
+mountain and worship in congregation Allah until the morning, and
+they assign the future recompense of their lauds and litanies to
+the sinners of the Faith of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and
+save!) and to all who make the Ghusl ablution of Friday; and this
+is their function until the Day of Resurrection.' Asked Bulukiya,
+'And hath Allah created other mountains behind the mountain
+Kaf?'; whereto he answered, 'Yes, behind this mountain is a range
+of mountains five hundred years' journey long, of snow and ice,
+and this it is that wardeth off the heat of Jahannam from the
+world, which verily would else be consumed thereby. Moreover,
+behind the mountain Kaf are forty worlds, each one the bigness of
+this world forty times told, some of gold and some of silver and
+others of carnelian. Each of these worlds hath its own colour,
+and Allah hath peopled them with angels, that know not Eve nor
+Adam nor night nor day, and have no other business than to
+celebrate His praises and hallow Him and make profession of His
+Unity and proclaim His Omnipotence and supplicate Him on behalf
+of the followers of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). And
+know, also, O Bulukiya, that the earths were made in seven
+stages, one upon another, and that Allah hath created one of His
+Angels, whose stature and attributes none knoweth but Himself and
+who beareth the seven stages upon his shoulders. Under this Angel
+Almighty Allah hath created a great rock, and under the rock a
+bull, and under the bull a huge fish, and under the fish a mighty
+ocean.[FN#532] God once told Isa (with whom be peace! ) of this
+fish, and he said, 'O Lord show me the fish, that I may look upon
+it.' So the Almighty commanded an angel to take Isa and show him
+the fish. Accordingly, he took him up and carried him (with whom
+be peace!) to the sea, wherein the fish dwelt, and said, 'Look, O
+Isa, upon the fish.' He looked but at first saw nothing, when,
+suddenly, the fish darted past like lightning. At this sight Isa
+fell down aswoon, and when he came to himself, Allah spake to him
+by inspiration, saying, 'O Isa, hast thou seen the fish and
+comprehended its length and its breadth?' He replied, 'By Thy
+honour and glory, O Lord, I saw no fish; but there passed me by a
+great bull, whose length was three days' journey, and I know not
+what manner of thing this bull is.' Quoth Allah, 'O Isa, this
+that thou sawest and which was three days in passing by thee, was
+but the head of the fish;[FN#533] and know that every day I
+create forty fishes like unto this.' And Isa hearing this
+marvelled at the power of Allah the Almighty. Asked Bulukiya,
+'What hath Allah made beneath this sea which containeth the
+fish?'; and the Angel answered, 'Under the sea the Lord created a
+vast abyss of air, under the air fire, and under the fire a
+mighty serpent, by name Falak; and were it not for fear of the
+Most Highest, this serpent would assuredly swallow up all that is
+above it, air and fire and the Angel and his burden, without
+sensing it.'"--And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the angel
+said to Bulukiya when describing the serpent, "'And were it not
+for fear of the Most Highest, this serpent would assuredly
+swallow up all that is above it, air and fire, and the Angel and
+his burden, without sensing it. When Allah created this serpent
+He said to it by inspiration, 'I will give thee somewhat to keep
+for me, so open thy mouth.' The serpent replied, 'Do whatso Thou
+wilt;' and opened his mouth and God placed Hell into his maw,
+saying, 'Keep it until the Day of Resurrection. When that time
+comes, the Almighty will send His angels with chains to bring
+Hell and bind it until the Day when all men shall meet; and the
+Lord will order Hell to go open its gates and there will issue
+therefrom sparks bigger than the mountains.' When Bulukiya heard
+these things he wept with sore weeping and, taking leave of the
+Angel, fared on westwards, till he came in sight of two creatures
+sitting before a great shut gate. As he drew near, he saw that
+one of the gatekeepers had the semblance of a lion and the other
+that of a bull; so he saluted them and they returned his salam
+and enquired who and whence he was and whither he was bound.
+Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of Adam, a wanderer for the love of
+Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and I have strayed from my
+way.' Then he asked them what they were and what was the gate
+before which they sat, and they answered, 'We are the guardians
+of this gate thou seest and we have no other business than the
+praise and hallowing of Allah and the invocation of blessings on
+Mohammed (whom may He bless and keep!).' Bulukiya wondered and
+asked them, 'What is within the gate?'; and they answered, 'We
+wot not.' Then quoth he, 'I conjure you, by the truth of your
+glorious Lord, open to me the gate, that I may see that which is
+therein.' Quoth they, 'We cannot, and none may open this gate, of
+all created beings save Gabriel, the Faithful One, with whom be
+peace!' Then Bulukiya lifted up his voice in supplication to
+Allah, saying, 'O Lord, send me thy messenger Gabriel, the
+Faithful One, to open for me this gate that I may see what be
+therein;' and the Almighty gave ear unto his prayer and commanded
+the Archangel to descend to earth and open to him the gate of the
+Meeting-place of the Two Seas. So Gabriel descended and, saluting
+Bulukiya, opened the gate to him, saying, 'Enter this door, for
+Allah commandeth me to open to thee.' So he entered and Gabriel
+locked the gate behind him and flew back to heaven. When Bulukiya
+found himself within the gate, he looked and beheld a vast ocean,
+half salt and half fresh, bounded on every side by mountain
+ranges of red ruby whereon he saw angels singing the praises of
+the Lord and hallowing Him. So he went up to them and saluted
+them and having received a return of his salam, questioned them
+of the sea and the mountains. Replied they, 'This place is
+situate under the Arsh or empyreal heaven; and this Ocean causeth
+the flux and flow of all the seas of the world; and we are
+appointed to distribute them and drive them to the various parts
+of the earth, the salt to the salt and the fresh to the
+fresh,[FN#534] and this is our employ until the Day of Doom. As
+for the mountain ranges they serve to limit and to contain the
+waters. But thou, whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?'
+So he told them his story and asked them of the road. They bade
+him traverse the surface of the ocean which lay before him: so he
+anointed his feet with the juice of the herb he had with him, and
+taking leave of the angels, set out upon the face of the sea and
+sped on over the water nights and days; and as he was faring,
+behold, he met a handsome youth journeying along like himself,
+whereupon he greeted him and he returned his greeting. After they
+parted he espied four great Angels wayfaring over the face of the
+sea, and their going was like the blinding lightning; so he
+stationed himself in their road, and when they came up to him, he
+saluted them and said to them, 'I ask you by the Almighty, the
+Glorious, to tell me your names and whither are ye bound?'
+Replied the first Angel, 'My name is Gabriel and these my
+companions are called Isráfíl and Míká'íl and Azrá'íl. There hath
+appeared in the East a mighty dragon, which hath laid waste a
+thousand cities and devoured their inhabitants; wherefore Allah
+Almighty hath commanded us to go to him and seize him and cast
+him into Jahannam.' Bulukiya marvelled at the vastness of their
+stature and fared on, as before, days and nights, till he came to
+an island where he landed and walked about for a while,"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya
+landed on the island and walked about for a while, till he saw a
+comely young man with light shining from his visage, sitting
+weeping and lamenting between two built tombs. So he saluted him
+and he returned his salutation, and Bulukiya said to him, 'Who
+art thou and what are these two built tombs between which thou
+sittest, and wherefore this wailing?' He looked at him and wept
+with sore weeping, till he drenched his clothes with his tears;
+then said, 'Know thou, O my brother, mine is a marvellous story
+and a wondrous; but I would have thee sit by me and first tell me
+thy name and thine adventures and who thou art and what brought
+thee hither; after which I will, in turn, relate to thee my
+history.' So Bulukiya sat down by him and related to him all that
+had befallen him from his father's death,[FN#535] adding, 'Such
+is my history, the whole of it, and Allah alone knoweth what will
+happen to me after this.' When the youth heard his story, he
+sighed and said, 'O thou unhappy! How few things thou hast seen
+in thy life compared with mine. Know, O Bulukiya, that unlike
+thyself I have looked upon our lord Solomon, in his life, and
+have seen things past count or reckoning. Indeed, my story is
+strange and my case out of range, and I would have thee abide
+with me, till I tell thee my history and acquaint thee how I come
+to be sitting here.'" Hearing this much Hasib again interrupted
+the Queen of the Serpents and said to her, "Allah upon thee, O
+Queen, release me and command one of thy servants carry me forth
+to the surface of the earth, and I will swear an oath to thee
+that I will never enter the Hammam-bath as long as I live." But
+she said, "This is a thing which may not be nor will I believe
+thee upon thine oath." When he heard this, he wept and all the
+serpents wept on his account and took to interceding for him with
+their Queen, saying, "We beseech thee, bid one of us carry him
+forth to the surface of the earth, and he will swear thee an oath
+never to enter the bath his life long." Now when Yamlaykhá (for
+such was the Queen's name) heard their appeal, she turned to
+Hasib and made him swear to her an oath; after which she bade a
+serpent carry him forth to the surface of the earth. The serpent
+made ready, but as she was about to go away with him, he turned
+to Queen Yamlaykha and said, "I would fain have thee tell me the
+history of the youth whom Bulukiya saw sitting between two
+tombs." So she said: "Know, O Hasib, that when Bulukiya sat down
+by the youth and told him his tale, from first to last, in order
+that the other might also recount his adventures and explain the
+cause of his sitting between the two tombs."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen
+continued: "When Bulukiya ended his recount, the youth said, 'How
+few things of marvel hast thou seen in thy life, O unhappy! Now I
+have looked upon our lord Solomon while he was yet living and I
+have witnessed wonders beyond compt and conception.' And he began
+to relate
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Janshah.[FN#536]
+
+
+
+'Know, O my brother, that my sire was a King called Teghmús, who
+reigned over the land of Kabul and the Banu Shahlán, ten thousand
+warlike chiefs, each ruling over an hundred walled cities and a
+hundred citadels; and he was suzerain also over seven vassal
+princes, and tribute was brought to him from the broad lands
+between East and West. He was just and equitable in his rule and
+Allah Almighty had given him all this and had bestowed on him
+such mighty empire, yet had He not vouchsafed him a son (though
+this was his dearest wish) to inherit the kingdom after his
+decease. So one day it befell that he summoned the Olema and
+astrologers, the mathematicians and almanac-makers, and said,
+'Draw me my horoscope and look if Allah will grant me a son to
+succeed me.' Accordingly, they consulted their books and
+calculated his dominant star and the aspects thereof; after which
+they said to him, 'Know, O King, that thou shalt be blessed with
+a son, but by none other than the daughter of the King of
+Khorásán.' Hearing this Teghmus joyed with exceeding joy and,
+bestowing on the astrologers and wizards treasure beyond
+numbering or reckoning, dismissed them. His chief Wazir was a
+renowned warrior, by name ‘Ayn Zár, who was equal to a thousand
+cavaliers in battle; so him he summoned and, repeating to him
+what the astrologers had predicted, he said, 'O Wazir, it is my
+will that thou equip thee for a march to Khorasan and demand for
+me the hand of its King Bahrwan's daughter.' Receiving these
+orders the Wazir at once proceeded to get ready for the journey
+and encamped without the town with his troops and braves and
+retinue, whilst King Teghmus made ready as presents for the King
+of Khorasan fifteen hundred loads of silks and precious stones,
+pearls and rubies and other gems, besides gold and silver; and he
+also prepared a prodigious quantity of all that goeth to the
+equipment of a bride; then, loading them upon camels and mules,
+delivered them to Ayn Zar, with a letter to the following
+purport. 'After invoking the blessing of Heaven, King Teghmus to
+King Bahrwan, greeting. Know that we have taken counsel with the
+astrologers and sages and mathematicians, and they tell us that
+we shall have boon of a boy child, and that by none other than
+thy daughter. Wherefore I have despatched unto thee my Wazir Ayn
+Zar, with great store of bridal gear, and I have appointed him to
+stand in my stead and to enter into the marriage-contract in my
+name. Furthermore I desire that of thy favour thou wilt grant him
+his request without stay or delay; for it is my own, and all
+graciousness thou showest him, I take for myself; but beware of
+crossing me in this, for know, O King Bahrwan, that Allah hath
+bestowed upon me the Kingdom of Kabul, and hath given me dominion
+over the Banu Shahlan and vouchsafed me a mighty empire; and if I
+marry thy daughter, we will be, I and thou, as one thing in
+kingship; and I will send thee every year as much treasure as
+will suffice thee. And this is my desire of thee.' Then King
+Teghmus sealed the letter with his own ring and gave it to the
+Wazir, who departed with a great company and journeyed till he
+drew near the capital of Khorasan. When King Bahrwan heard of his
+approach, he despatched his principal Emirs to meet him,[FN#537]
+with a convoy of food and drink and other requisites, including
+forage for the steeds. So they fared forth with the train till
+they met the Wazir; then, alighting without the city, they
+exchanged salutations and abode there, eating and drinking, ten
+days; at the end of which time they mounted and rode on into the
+town, where they were met by King Bahrwan, who came out to greet
+the Wazir of King Teghmus and alighting, embraced him and carried
+him to his citadel. Then Ayn Zar brought out the presents and
+laid them before King Bahrwan, together with the letter of King
+Teghmus, which when the King read and understood, he joyed with
+joy exceeding and welcomed the Wazir, saying, 'Rejoice in winning
+thy wish; and know that if King Teghmus sought of me my life,
+verily I would give it to him.' Then he went in forthright to his
+daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk, and acquainting them
+with the King of Kabul's demand sought counsel of them, and they
+said, 'Do what seemeth good to thee.'--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+              When it was the Five Hundredth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King
+Bahrwan consulted his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk
+and they said, 'Do what seemeth good to thee.' So he returned
+straightway to the Minister Ayn Zar and notified to him that his
+desire had been fulfilled; and the Wazir, abode with him two
+months, at the end of which time he said to him, 'We beseech thee
+to bestow upon us that wherefore we came, so we may depart to our
+own land.' 'I hear and obey,' answered the King. Then he prepared
+all the gear wanted for the wedding; and when this was done he
+assembled his Wazirs and all his Emirs and the Grandees of his
+realm and the monks and priests who tied the knot of marriage
+between his daughter and King Teghmus by proxy. And King Bahrwan
+bade decorate the city after the goodliest fashion and spread the
+streets with carpets. Then he equipped his daughter for the
+journey and gave her all manner of presents and rarities and
+precious metals, such as none may describe; and Ayn Zar departed
+with the Princess to his own country. When the news of their
+approach reached King Teghmus, he bade celebrate the wedding
+festivities and adorn the city; after which he went in unto the
+Princess and abated her maidenhead; nor was it long before she
+conceived by him and, accomplishing her months, bare a man-child
+like the moon on the night of its full. When King Teghmus knew
+that his wife had given birth to a goodly son, he rejoiced with
+exceeding joy and, summoning the sages and astrologers and
+mathematicians, said to them, 'I would that ye draw the horoscope
+of the newborn child with his ascendant and its aspects and
+acquaint me what shall befall him in his lifetime.' So they made
+their calculations and found them favourable; but, that he would,
+in his fifteenth year, be exposed to perils and hardships, and
+that if he survived, he would be happy and fortunate and become a
+greater king than his father and a more powerful. The King
+rejoiced greatly in this prediction and named the boy Janshah.
+Then he delivered him to the nurses, wet and dry, who reared him
+excellently well till he reached his fifth year, when his father
+taught him to read the Evangel and instructed him in the art of
+arms and lunge of lance and sway of sword, so that in less than
+seven years he was wont to ride a-hunting, and a-chasing; he
+became a doughty champion, perfect in all the science of the
+cavalarice and his father was delighted to hear of his knightly
+prowess. It chanced one day that King Teghmus and his son
+accompanied by the troops rode out for sport into the woods and
+wilds and hunted till mid afternoon of the third day, when the
+Prince started a gazelle of a rare colour, which fled before him.
+So he gave chase to it, followed by seven of King Teghmus's white
+slaves all mounted on swift steeds, and rode at speed after the
+gazelle, which fled before them till she brought them to the sea
+shore. They all ran at her to take her as their quarry, but she
+escaped from them and, throwing herself into the waves,"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and First Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Janshah and the Mamelukes ran at the gazelle, to take her as
+their quarry, she escaped from them and, throwing herself into
+the waves, swam out to a fishing bark, that was moored near the
+shore, and sprang on board. Janshah and his followers dismounted
+and, boarding the boat, made prize of the gazelle and were minded
+to return to shore with her, when the Prince espied a great
+island in the offing and said to his merry men, 'I have a longing
+to visit yonder island.' They answered, 'We hear and obey,' and
+sailed on till they came to the island, where they landed and
+amused themselves with exploring the place. Then they again
+embarked and taking with them the gazelle, set out to return
+homeward, but the murk of evening overtook them and they missed
+their way on the main. Moreover a strong wind arose and crave the
+boat into mid-ocean, so that when they awoke in the morning, they
+found themselves lost at sea. Such was their case; but as regards
+King Teghmus, when he missed his son, he commanded his troops to
+make search for him in separate bodies; so they dispersed on all
+sides and a company of them, coming to the sea shore, found there
+the Prince's white slave whom he had left in charge of the
+horses. They asked him what was become of his master and the
+other six, and he told them what had passed whereupon they took
+him with them and returned to the King and acquainted him with
+what they had learnt. When Teghmus heard their report, he wept
+with sore weeping and cast the crown from his head, biting his
+hands for vexation. Then he rose forthright and wrote letters and
+despatched them to all the islands of the sea. Moreover he got
+together an hundred ships and filling them with troops, sent them
+to sail about in quest of Janshah, while he himself withdrew with
+his troops to his capital, where he abode in sore concern. As for
+Janshah's mother, when she heard of his loss she buffeted her
+face and began the mourning ceremonies for her son making sure
+that he was dead. Meanwhile, Janshah and his men ceased not
+driving before the wind and those in search of them cruised about
+for ten days till, finding no trace they returned and reported
+failure to the King. But a stiff gale caught the Prince's craft
+which went spooning till they made a second island, where they
+landed and walked about. Presently they came upon a spring of
+running water in the midst of the island and saw from afar a man
+sitting hard by it. So they went up to him and saluted him, and
+he returned their salam, speaking in a voice like the
+whistle[FN#538] of birds. Whilst Janshah stood marvelling at the
+man's speech he looked right and left and suddenly split himself
+in twain, and each half went a different way.[FN#539] Then there
+came down from the hills a multitude of men of all kinds, beyond
+count and reckoning; and they no sooner reached the spring, than
+each one divided into two halves and rushed on Janshah and his
+Mamelukes to eat them. When the voyagers saw this, they turned
+and fled seawards; but the cannibals pursued them and caught and
+ate three of the slaves, leaving only three slaves who with
+Janshah reached the boat in safety; then launching her made for
+the water and sailed nights and days without knowing whither
+their ship went. They killed the gazelle, and lived on her flesh,
+till the winds drove them to a third island which was full of
+trees and waters and flower-gardens and orchards laden with all
+fashion of fruits: and streams strayed under the tree shade:
+brief, the place was a Garden of Eden. The island pleased the
+Prince and he said to his companions, 'Which of you will land and
+explore?' Then said one of the slaves, 'That will I do'; but he
+replied, 'This thing may not be; you must all land and explore
+the place while I abide in the boat.' So he set them ashore,"--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Prince
+set them ashore, and they searched the island, East and West, but
+found no one; then they fared on inland to the heart thereof,
+till they came to a Castle compassed about with ramparts of white
+marble, within which was a palace of the clearest crystal and,
+set in its centre a garden containing all manner fruits beyond
+description, both fresh and dry, and flowers of grateful odour
+and trees and birds singing upon the boughs. Amiddlemost the
+garden was a vast basin of water, and beside it a great open hall
+with a raised dais whereon stood a number of stools surrounding a
+throne of red gold, studded with all kinds of jewels and
+especially rubies and seeing the beauty of the Castle and of the
+Garden they entered and explored in all directions, but found no
+one there, so after rummaging the Castle they returned to Janshah
+and told him what they had seen. When he heard their report, he
+cried, 'Needs must I solace myself with a sight of it;' so he
+landed and accompanied them to the palace, which he entered
+marvelling at the goodliness of the place. They then visited
+every part of the gardens and ate of the fruits and continued
+walking till it waxed dark, when they returned to the estrade and
+sat down, Janshah on the throne in the centre and the three
+others on the stools ranged to the right and left. Then the
+Prince, there seated, called to mind his separation from his
+father's throne-city[FN#540] and country and friends and
+kinsfolk; and fell a-weeping and lamenting over their loss whilst
+his men wept around him. And as they were thus sorrowing behold,
+they heard a mighty clamour, that came from seaward and looking
+in the direction of the clamour saw a multitude of apes, as they
+were swarming locusts. Now the castle and the island belonged to
+these apes, who, finding the strangers' boat moored to the
+strand, had scuttled it and after repaired to the palace, where
+they came upon Janshah and his men seated." Here the Serpent-
+queen again broke off her recital saying, "All this, O Hasib, was
+told to Bulukiya by the young man sitting between the two tombs."
+Quoth Hasib, "And what did Janshah do with the apes?"; so the
+Queen resumed her tale: "He and his men were sore affrighted at
+the appearance of the apes, but a company of them came up to the
+throne whereon he sat and, kissing the earth before him, stood
+awhile in his presence with their paws upon their breasts in
+posture of respect. Then another troop brought to the castle
+gazelles which they slaughtered and skinned; and roasting pieces
+of the flesh till fit for food they laid them on platters of gold
+and silver and spreading the table, made signs to Janshah and his
+men to eat. The Prince and his followers came down from their
+seats and ate, and the apes ate with them, till they were
+satisfied, when the apes took away the meat and set on fruits of
+which they partook and praised Allah the most Highest. Then
+Janshah asked the apes by signs what they were and to whom the
+palace belonged, and they answered him by signals, 'Know ye that
+this island belonged of yore to our lord Solomon, son of David
+(on both of whom be peace!), and he used to come hither once
+every year for his solace,'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
+Janshah asked the apes by signs to whom the palace belonged, they
+answered him by signals, "'Of a truth this place belonged of yore
+to our lord Solomon, son of David (on both of whom be peace!),
+who used to come hither once every year for his solace, and then
+wend his ways.' Presently the apes continued, 'And know, O King,
+that thou art become our Sultan and we are thy servants; so eat
+and drink, and whatso thou ever bid us, that will we do.' So
+saying, they severally kissed the earth between the hands of
+Janshah and all took their departure. The Prince slept that night
+on the throne and his men on the stools about him, and on the
+morrow, at daybreak, the four Wazirs or Captains of the apes
+presented themselves before him, attended by their troops, who
+ranged themselves about him, rank after rank, until the place was
+crowded. Then the Wazirs approached and exhorted him by signs to
+do justice amongst them and rule them righteously; after which
+the apes cried out to one another and went away, all save a small
+party which remained in presence to serve him. After awhile,
+there came up a company of apes with huge dogs in the semblance
+of horses, each wearing about his head a massive chain; and
+signed to Janshah and his three followers to mount and go with
+them. So they mounted, marvelling at the greatness of the dogs,
+and rode forth, attended by the four Wazirs and a host of apes
+like swarming locusts, some riding on dogs and others afoot till
+they came to the sea-shore. Janshah looked for the boat which
+brought him and finding it scuttled turned to the Wazirs and
+asked how this had happened to it; whereto they answered, 'Know,
+O King, that, when thou camest to our island, we kenned that thou
+wouldst be Sultan over us and we feared lest ye all flee from us,
+in our absence; and embark in the boat, so we sank it.' When
+Janshah heard this, he turned to his Mamelukes and said to them,
+'We have no means of escaping from these apes, and we must
+patiently await the ordinance of the Almighty.' Then they fared
+on inland and ceased not faring till they came to the banks of a
+river, on whose other side rose a high mountain, whereon Janshah
+saw a multitude of Ghuls. So he turned to the apes and asked
+them, 'What are these Ghuls?' and they answered, 'Know, O King,
+that these Ghuls are our mortal foes and we come hither to do
+battle with them.' Janshah marvelled to see them riding horses,
+and was startled at the vastness of their bulk and the
+strangeness of their semblance; for some of them had heads like
+bulls and others like camels. As soon as the Ghuls espied the
+army of the apes, they charged down to the river bank and
+standing there, fell to pelting them with stones as big as maces;
+and between them there befell a sore fight. Presently, Janshah,
+seeing that the Ghuls were getting the better of the apes, cried
+out to his men, saying, 'Unease your bows and arrows and shoot at
+them your best shafts and keep them off from us.' They did so and
+slew of the Ghuls much people, when there fell upon them sore
+dismay and they turned to flee; but the apes, seeing Janshah's
+prowess, forded the river and headed by their Sultan chased the
+Ghuls, killing many of them in the pursuit, till they reached the
+high mountain where they disappeared. And while exploring the
+said mountain Janshah found a tablet of alabaster, whereon was
+written, 'O thou who enterest this land, know that thou wilt
+become Sultan over these apes and that from them there is no
+escape for thee, except by the passes that run east and west
+through the mountains. If thou take the eastern pass, thou wilt
+fare through a country swarming with Ghuls and wild beasts,
+Marids and Ifrits, and thou wilt come, after three months'
+journeying, to the ocean which encompasseth the earth; but, if
+thou travel by the western pass, it will bring thee, after four
+months' journeying, to the head of the Wady of Emmets.[FN#541]
+When thou hast followed the road, that leads through this
+mountain, ten days,' "--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah
+read this much upon the tablet and found, at the end of the
+inscription, "'Then thou wilt come to a great river, whose
+current is so swift that it blindeth the eyes. Now this river
+drieth up every Sabbath,[FN#542] and on the opposite bank lies a
+city wholly inhabited by Jews, who the faith of Mohammed refuse;
+there is not a Moslem among the band nor is there other than this
+city in the land. Better therefore lord it over the apes, for so
+long as thou shalt tarry amongst them they will be victorious
+over the Ghuls. And know also that he who wrote this tablet was
+the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!).' When Janshah
+read these words, he wept sore and repeated them to his men. Then
+they mounted again and, surrounded by the army of the apes who
+were rejoicing in their victory, returned to the castle. Here
+Janshah abode, Sultaning over them, for a year and a half. And at
+the end of this time, he one day commanded the ape-army to mount
+and go forth a hunting with him, and they rode out into the woods
+and wilds, and fared on from place to place, till they approached
+the Wady of Emmets, which Janshah knew by the description of it
+upon the alabaster tablet. Here he bade them dismount and they
+all abode there, eating and drinking a space of ten days, after
+which Janshah took his men apart one night and said, 'I purpose
+we flee through the Valley of Emmets and make for the town of the
+Jews; it may be Allah will deliver us from these apes and we will
+go God's ways.' They replied, 'We hear and we obey:' so he waited
+till some little of the night was spent then, donning his armour
+and girding his sword and dagger and such like weapons, and his
+men doing likewise, they set out and fared on westwards till
+morning. When the apes awoke and missed Janshah and his men, they
+knew that they had fled. So they mounted and pursued them, some
+taking the eastern pass and others that which led to the Wady of
+Emmets, nor was it long before the apes came in sight of the
+fugitives, as they were about to enter the valley, and hastened
+after them. When Janshah and his men saw them, they fled into the
+Emmet-valley; but the apes soon overtook them and would have
+slain them, when behold, there rose out of the earth a multitude
+of ants like swarming locusts, as big as dogs, and charged home
+upon the apes. They devoured many of their foes, and these also
+slew many of the ants; but help came to the emmets: now an ant
+would go up to an ape and smite him and cut him in twain, whilst
+ten apes could hardly master one ant and bear him away and tear
+him in sunder. The sore battle lasted till the evening but the
+emmets were victorious. In the gloaming Janshah and his men took
+to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "in the
+gloaming Janshah and his men took to flight and fled along the
+sole of the Wady till the morning. With the break of day, the
+apes were up and at them, which when the Prince saw, he shouted
+to his men, 'Smite with your swords.' So they bared their blades
+and laid on load right and left, till there ran at them an ape,
+with tusks like an elephant, and smote one of the Mamelukes and
+cut him in sunder. Then the apes redoubled upon Janshah and he
+fled with his followers into the lower levels of the valley,
+where he saw a vast river and by its side a mighty army of ants.
+When the emmets espied Janshah they pushed on and surrounded him,
+and one of the slaves fell to smiting them with his sword and
+cutting them in twain; whereupon the whole host set upon him and
+slew him. At this pass, behold, up came the apes from over the
+mountain and fell in numbers upon Janshah; but he tore off his
+clothes and, plunging into the river, with his remaining servant,
+struck out for the middle of the stream. Presently, he caught
+sight of a tree on the other bank; so he swam up to it and laying
+hold of one of its branches, hung to it and swung himself ashore,
+but as for the last Mameluke the current carried him away and
+dashed him to pieces against the mountain. Thereupon Janshah fell
+to wringing his clothes and spreading them in the sun to dry,
+what while there befell a fierce fight between the apes and the
+ants, until the apes gave up the pursuit and returned to their
+own land. Meanwhile, Janshah, who abode alone on the river-bank,
+could do naught but shed tears till nightfall, when he took
+refuge in a cavern and there passed the dark hours, in great fear
+and feeling desolate for the loss of his slaves. At daybreak
+awaking from his sleep he set out again and fared on nights and
+days, eating of the herbs of the earth, till he came to the
+mountain which burnt like fire, and thence he made the river
+which dried up every Sabbath. Now it was a mighty stream and on
+the opposite bank stood a great city, which was the capital of
+the Jews mentioned in the tablet. Here he abode till the next
+Sabbath, when the river dried up and he walked over to the other
+side and entered the Jew city, but saw none in the streets. So he
+wandered about till he came to the door of a homestead, which he
+opened and entering, espied within the people of the house
+sitting in silence and speaking not a syllable. Quoth he, 'I am a
+stranger and anhungered;' and they signed to him, as to say, 'Eat
+and drink, but speak not.'[FN#543] So he ate and drank and slept
+that night and, when morning dawned, the master of the house
+greeted him and bade him welcome and asked him, 'Whence comest
+thou and whither art thou bound?' At these words Janshah wept
+sore and told him all that had befallen him and how his father
+was King of Kabul; whereat the Jew marvelled and said, 'Never
+heard we of that city, but we have heard from the merchants of
+the caravans that in that direction lieth a land called
+Al-Yaman.' 'How far is that land from this place?' asked Janshah,
+and the Jew answered, 'The Cafilah merchants pretend that it is a
+two years and three months' march from their land hither.' Quoth
+Janshah, 'And when doth the caravan come?' Quoth the Jew, 'Next
+year 'twill come.' "--And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
+Jew was questioned anent the coming of the caravan, he replied,
+"'Next year 'twill come.' At these words the Prince wept sore and
+fell a-sorrowing for himself and his Mamelukes; and lamenting his
+separation from his mother and father and all which had befallen
+him in his wanderings. Then said the Jew, 'O young man, do not
+weep, but sojourn with us till the caravan shall come, when we
+will send thee with it to thine own country.' So he tarried with
+the Jew two whole months and every day he went out walking in the
+streets for his solace and diversion. Now it chanced one day,
+whilst he paced about the main thoroughfares, as of wont, and was
+bending his steps right and left, he heard a crier crying aloud
+and saying, 'Who will earn a thousand gold pieces and a slave-
+girl of surpassing beauty and loveliness by working for me
+between morning and noontide?' But no one answered him and
+Janshah said in his mind, 'Were not this work dangerous and
+difficult, he would not offer a thousand diners and a fair girl
+for half a day's labour.' Then he accosted the crier and said, 'I
+will do the work;' so the man carried him to a lofty mansion
+where they found one who was a Jew and a merchant, seated on an
+ebony chair, to whom quoth the crier, standing respectfully
+before him, 'O merchant, I have cried every day these three
+months, and none hath answered, save this young man.' Hearing his
+speech the Jew welcomed Janshah, led him into a magnificent
+sitting-room and signalled to bring food. So the servants spread
+the table and set thereon all manner meats, of which the merchant
+and Janshah ate, and washed their hands. Then wine was served up
+and they drank; after which the Jew rose and bringing Janshah a
+purse of a thousand diners and a slave-girl of rare beauty, said
+to him, 'Take maid and money to thy hire.' Janshah took them and
+seated the girl by his side when the trader resumed, 'To-morrow
+to the work!'; and so saying he withdrew and Janshah slept with
+the damsel that night. As soon as it was morning, the merchant
+bade his slaves clothe him in a costly suit of silk whenas he
+came out of the Hammam-Bath. So they did as he bade them and
+brought him back to the house, whereupon the merchant called for
+harp and lute and wine and they drank and played and made merry
+till the half of the night was past, when the Jew retired to his
+Harim and Janshah lay with his slave-girl till the dawn. Then he
+went to the bath and on his return, the merchant came to him and
+said, 'Now I wish thee to do the work for me.' 'I hear and obey,'
+replied Janshah. So the merchant bade his slaves bring two she-
+mules and set Janshah on one, mounting the other himself. Then
+they rode forth from the city and fared on from morn till noon,
+when they made a lofty mountain, to whose height was no limit.
+Here the Jew dismounted, ordering Janshah to do the same; and
+when he obeyed the merchant gave him a knife and a cord, saying,
+'I desire that thou slaughter this mule.' So Janshah tucked up
+his sleeves and skirts and going up to the mule, bound her legs
+with the cord, then threw her and cut her throat; after which he
+skinned her and lopped off her head and legs and she became a
+mere heap of flesh. Then said the Jew, 'Slit open the mule's
+belly and enter it and I will sew it up on thee. There must thou
+abide awhile and whatsoever thou seest in her belly, acquaint me
+therewith.' So Janshah slit the mule's belly and crept into it,
+whereupon the merchant sewed it up on him and withdrew to a
+distance,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Five Hundred and Seventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the
+merchant sewed up the mule's belly on Janshah and, withdrawing to
+a distance, hid himself in the skirts of the mountain. After a
+while a huge bird swooped down on the dead mule and snatching it
+up, flew up with it to the top of the mountain, where it set down
+the quarry and would have eaten it; but Janshah, feeling the bird
+begin to feed, slit the mule's belly and came forth. When the
+bird saw him, it took fright at him and flew right away;
+whereupon he stood up and looking right and left, saw nothing but
+the carcasses of dead men, mummied by the sun, and exclaimed,
+'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
+Glorious, the Great!' Then he looked down the precipice and
+espied the merchant standing at the mountain-foot, looking for
+him. As soon as the Jew caught sight of him, he called out to
+him, 'Throw me down of the stones which are about thee, that I
+may direct thee to a way whereby thou mayst descend.' So Janshah
+threw him down some two hundred of the stones, which were all
+rubies,[FN#544] chrysolites and other gems of price; after which
+he called out to him, saying, 'Show me the way down and I will
+throw thee as many more.' But the Jew gathered up the stones and,
+binding them on the back of the mule, went his way without
+answering a word and left Janshah alone on the mountain-top. When
+the Prince found himself deserted, he began to weep and implore
+help of Heaven, and thus he abode three days; after which he rose
+and fared on over the mountainous ground two month's space,
+feeding upon hill-herbs; and he ceased not faring till he came to
+its skirts and espied afar off a Wady full of fruitful trees and
+birds harmonious, singing the praises of Allah, the One, the
+Victorious. At this sight he joyed with great joy and stayed not
+his steps till, after an hour or so, he came to a ravine in the
+rocks, through which the rain torrents fell into the valley. He
+made his way down the cleft till he reached the Wady which he had
+seen from the mountain-top and walked on therein, gazing right
+and left, nor ceased so doing until he came in sight of a great
+castle, towering high in air. As he drew near the gates he saw an
+old man of comely aspect and face shining with light standing
+thereat with a staff of carnelian in his hand, and going up to
+him, saluted him. The Shaykh returned his salam and bade him
+welcome, saying, 'Sit down, O my son.' So he sat down at the door
+of the castle and the old man said to him, 'How camest thou to
+this land, untrodden by son of Adam before thee, and whither art
+thou bound?' When Janshah heard his words he wept bitterly at the
+thought of all the hardships he had suffered and his tears choked
+his speech. Quoth the Shaykh, 'O my son, leave weeping; for
+indeed thou makest my heart ache.' So saying, he rose and set
+somewhat of food before him and said to him, 'Eat.' He ate and
+praised Allah Almighty; after which the old man besought him
+saying, 'O my son, I would have thee tell me thy tale and
+acquaint me with thine adventures.' So Janshah related to him all
+that had befallen him, from first to last, whereat the Shaykh
+marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then said the Prince, 'Prithee
+inform me who is the lord of this valley and to whom doth this
+great castle belong?' Answered the old man, 'Know, O my son, this
+valley and all that is therein and this castle with all it
+containeth belong to the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be
+peace!). As for me, my name is Shaykh Nasr,[FN#545] King of the
+Birds; for thou must know that the lord Solomon committed this
+castle to my charge,'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shaykh
+Nasr pursued, 'Thou must know that the lord Solomon com misted
+this castle to my charge and taught me the language of birds and
+made me ruler over all the fowls which be in the world; wherefore
+each and every come hither once in the twelvemonth, and I pass
+them in review: then they depart; and this is why I dwell here.'
+When Janshah heard this, he wept sore and said to the Shaykh, 'O
+my father, how shall I do to get back to my native land?' Replied
+the old man, 'Know, O my son, that thou art near to the mountain
+Kaf, and there is no departing for thee from this place till the
+birds come, when I will give thee in charge to one of them, and
+he will bear thee to thy native country. Meanwhile tarry with me
+here and eat and drink and divert thyself with viewing the
+apartments of this castle.' So Janshah abode with Shaykh Nasr,
+taking his pleasure in the Wady and eating of its fruits and
+laughing and making merry with the old man, and leading a right
+joyous life till the day appointed for the birds to pay their
+annual visit to the Governor. Thereupon the Shaykh said to him,
+'O Janshah, take the keys of the castle and solace thyself with
+exploring all its apartments and viewing whatever be therein, but
+as regards such a room, beware and again beware of opening its
+door; and if thou gainsay me and open it and enter there, through
+nevermore shalt thou know fair fortune.' He repeated this charge
+again and again with much instance; then he went forth to meet
+the birds, which came up, kind by kind, and kissed his hands.
+Such was his case; but as regards Janshah, he went round about
+the castle, opening the various doors and viewing the apartments
+into which they led, till he came to the room which Shaykh Nasr
+had warned him not to open or enter. He looked at the door and
+its fashion pleased him, for it had on it a padlock of gold, and
+he said to himself, 'This room must be goodlier than all the
+others; would Heaven I wist what is within it, that Shaykh Nasr
+should forbid me to open its door! There is no help but that I
+enter and see what is in this apartment; for whatso is decreed
+unto the creature perforce he must fulfil.' So he put out his
+hand and unlocked the door and entering, found himself before a
+great basin; and hard by it stood a little pavilion, builded all
+of gold and silver and crystal, with lattice-windows of jacinth.
+The floor was paved with green beryl and balas rubies and
+emeralds and other jewels, set in the ground-work mosaic-fashion,
+and in the midmost of the pavilion was a jetting fountain in a
+golden basin, full of water and girt about with figures of beasts
+and birds, cunningly wrought of gold and silver and casting water
+from their mouths. When the zephyr blew on them, it entered their
+ears and therewith the figures sang out with birdlike song, each
+in its own tongue. Beside the fountain was a great open saloon
+with a high dais whereon stood a vast throne of carnelian, inlaid
+with pearls and jewels, over which was spread a tent of green
+silk fifty cubits in width and embroidered with gems fit for seal
+rings and purfled with precious metals. Within this tent was a
+closet containing the carpet of the lord Solomon (on whom be
+peace!); and the pavilion was compassed about with a vast garden
+full of fruit trees and streams; while near the palace were beds
+of roses and basil and eglantine and all manner sweet-smelling
+herbs and flowers. And the trees bore on the same boughs fruits
+fresh and dry and the branches swayed gracefully to the wooing of
+the wind. All this was in that one apartment and Janshah wondered
+thereat till he was weary of wonderment; and he set out to solace
+himself in the palace and the garden and to divert himself with
+the quaint and curious things they contained. And first looking
+at the basin he saw that the gravels of its bed were gems and
+jewels and noble metals; and many other strange things were in
+that apartment."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah
+saw many strange things and admirable in that apartment. Then he
+entered the pavilion and mounting the throne, fell asleep under
+the tent set up thereover. He slept for a time and, presently
+awaking, walked forth and sat down on a stool before the door. As
+he sat, marvelling at the goodliness of that place, there flew up
+from mid sky three birds, in dove-form but big as eagles, and
+lighted on the brink of the basin, where they sported awhile.
+Then they put off their feathers and became three
+maidens,[FN#546] as they were moons, that had not their like in
+the whole world. They plunged into the basin and swam about and
+disported themselves and laughed, while Janshah marvelled at
+their beauty and loveliness and the grace and symmetry of their
+shapes. Presently, they came up out of the water and began
+walking about and taking their solace in the garden; and Janshah
+seeing them land was like to lose his wits. He rose and followed
+them, and when he overtook them, he saluted them and they
+returned his salam; after which quoth he, 'Who are ye, O
+illustrious Princesses, and whence come ye?' Replied the youngest
+damsel, 'We are from the invisible world of Almighty Allah and we
+come hither to divert ourselves.' He marvelled at their beauty
+and said to the youngest, 'Have ruth on me and deign kindness to
+me and take pity on my case and on all that hath befallen me in
+my life.' Rejoined she, 'Leave this talk and wend thy ways';
+whereat the tears streamed from his eyes, and he sighed heavily
+and repeated these couplets,
+
+'She shone out in the garden in garments all of green, * With
+     open vest and collars and flowing hair beseen:
+'What is thy name?' I asked her, and she replied, 'I'm she * Who
+     roasts the hearts of lovers on coals of love and teen.'
+Of passion and its anguish to her made my moan; * 'Upon a rock,'
+     she answered, 'thy plaints are wasted clean.'
+'Even if thy heart,' I told her, 'be rock in very deed, * Yet
+     hath God made fair water well from the rock, I
+     ween.'[FN#547]
+
+When the maidens heard his verses, they laughed and played and
+sang and made merry. Then he brought them somewhat of fruit, and
+they ate and drank and slept with him till the morning, when they
+donned their feather-suits, and resuming dove shape flew off and
+went their way. But as he saw them disappearing from sight, his
+reason well nigh fled with them, and he gave a great cry and fell
+down in a fainting fit and lay a-swooning all that day. While he
+was in this case Shaykh Nasr returned from the Parliament of the
+Fowls and sought for Janshah, that he might send him with them to
+his native land, but found him not and knew that he had entered
+the forbidden room. Now he had already said to the birds, 'With
+me is a young man, a mere youth, whom destiny brought hither from
+a distant land; and I desire of you that ye take him up and carry
+him to his own country.' And all answered, 'We hear and we obey.'
+So he ceased not searching for Janshah till he came to the
+forbidden door and seeing it open he entered and found the Prince
+lying a-swoon under a tree. He fetched scented waters and
+sprinkled them on his face, whereupon he revived and turned."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+         When it was the Five Hundred and Tenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Shaykh Nasr saw Janshah lying a-swoon under the tree he fetched
+him somewhat of scented waters and sprinkled them on his face.
+Thereupon he revived and turned right and left, but seeing none
+by him save the Shaykh, sighed heavily and repeated these
+couplets,
+
+'Like fullest moon she shines on happiest night, * Soft sided
+     fair, with slender shape bedight.
+Her eye-babes charm the world with gramarye; * Her lips remind of
+     rose and ruby light.
+Her jetty locks make night upon her hips; * Ware, lovers, ware ye
+     of that curl's despight!
+Yea, soft her sides are, but in love her heart * Outhardens
+     flint, surpasses syenite:
+And bows of eyebrows shower glancey shafts * Despite the distance
+     never fail to smite.
+Then, ah, her beauty! all the fair it passes; * Nor any rival her
+     who see the light.'
+
+When Shaykh Nasr heard these verses, he said, 'O my son, did I
+not warn thee not to open that door and enter that room? But now,
+O my son, tell me what thou sawest therein and acquaint me with
+all that betided thee.' So Janshah related to him all that had
+passed between him and the three maidens, and Shaykh Nasr, who
+sat listening in silence said, 'Know, O my son, that these three
+maidens are of the daughters of the Jann and come hither every
+year for a day, to divert themselves and make merry until mid
+afternoon, when they return to their own country.' Janshah asked,
+'And where is their country?'; and the old man answered, 'By
+Allah, O my son, I wot not:' presently adding, 'but now take
+heart and put away this love from thee and come with me, that I
+may send thee to thine own land with the birds.' When Janshah
+heard this, he gave a great cry and fell down in a trance; and
+presently he came to himself, and said, 'O my father indeed I
+care not to return to my native land: all I want is to foregather
+with these maidens and know, O my father, that I will never again
+name my people, though I die before thee.' Then he wept and
+cried, 'Enough for me that I look upon the face of her I love,
+although it be only once in the year!' And he sighed deeply and
+repeated these couplets,
+
+'Would Heaven the Phantom[FN#548] spared the friend at night *
+     And would this love for man were ever dight!
+Were not my heart afire for love of you, * Tears ne'er had
+     stained my cheeks nor dimmed my sight.
+By night and day, I bid my heart to bear * Its griefs, while
+     fires of love my body blight.'
+
+Then he fell at Shaykh Nasr's feet and kissed them and wept sore,
+crying, 'Have pity on me, so Allah take pity on thee and aid me
+in my strait so Allah aid thee!' Replied the old man, 'By Allah O
+my son, I know nothing of these maidens nor where may be their
+country; but, O my son, if thy heart be indeed set on one of
+them, tarry with me till this time next year for they will
+assuredly reappear; and, when the day of their coming draweth
+near, hide thyself under a tree in the garden. As soon as they
+have alighted and doffed their feather-robes and plunged into the
+lake and are swimming about at a distance from their clothes,
+seize the vest of her whom thy soul desireth. When they see thee,
+they will come a bank and she, whose coat thou hast taken, will
+accost thee and say to thee with the sweetest of speech and the
+most witching of smiles, 'Give me my dress, O my brother, that I
+may don it and veil my nakedness withal.' But if thou yield to
+her prayer and give her back the vest thou wilt never win thy
+wish: nay, she will don it and fly away to her folk and thou wilt
+nevermore see her again Now when thou hast gained the vest, clap
+it under thine armpit and hold it fast, till I return from the
+Parliament of the Fowls, when I will make accord between thee and
+her and send thee back to thy native land, and the maiden with
+thee. And this, O my son, is all I can do for thee, nothing
+more.' "--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Five Hundred and Eleventh Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "quoth
+Shaykh Nasr to Janshah, 'Hold fast the feather-robe of her thy
+soul desireth and give it not back to her till I return from the
+Parliament of the Fowls. And this, O my son, is all I can do for
+thee, nothing more.' When Janshah heard this, his heart was
+solaced and he abode with Shaykh Nasr yet another year, counting
+the days as they passed until the day of the coming of the birds.
+And when at last the appointed time arrived the old man said to
+him, 'Do as I enjoined thee and charged thee with the maidens in
+the matter of the feather-dress, for I go to meet the birds;' and
+Janshah replied, 'I hear and I obey, O my father.' Then the
+Shaykh departed whilst the Prince walked into the garden and hid
+himself under a tree, where none could see him. Here he abode a
+first day and a second and a third, but the maidens came not;
+whereat he was sore troubled and wept and sighed from a heart
+hard tried; and he ceased not weeping and wailing till he fainted
+away. When he came to himself, he fell to looking now at the
+basin and now at the welkin, and anon at the earth and anon at
+the open country, whilst his heart grieved for stress of
+love-longing. As he was in this case, behold, the three doves
+appeared in the firmament, eagle-sized as before, and flew till
+they reached the garden and lighted down beside the basin. They
+turned right and left; but saw no one, man or Jann; so they
+doffed their feather-suits and became three maidens. Then they
+plunged into the basin and swam about, laughing and frolicking;
+and all were mother-naked and fair as bars of virgin silver.
+Quoth the eldest, 'O my sister, I fear lest there be some one
+lying ambushed for us in the pavilion. Answered the second, 'O
+sister, since the days of King Solomon none hath entered the
+pavilion, be he man or Jann;' and the youngest added, laughing,
+'By Allah, O my sisters, if there be any hidden there, he will
+assuredly take none but me.' Then they continued sporting and
+laughing and Janshah's heart kept fluttering for stress of
+passion: but he hid behind the tree so that he saw without being
+seen. Presently they swam out to the middle of the basin leaving
+their clothes on the bank. Hereupon he sprang to his feet, and
+running like the darting levee to the basin's brink, snatched up
+the feather-vest of the youngest damsel, her on whom his heart
+was set and whose name was Shamsah the Sun-maiden. At this the
+girls turned and seeing him, were affrighted and veiled their
+shame from him in the water. Then they swam near the shore and
+looking on his favour saw that he was bright faced as the moon on
+the night of fullness and asked him, 'Who art thou and how camest
+thou hither and why hast thou taken the clothes of the lady
+Shamsah?'; and he answered, 'Come hither to me and I will tell
+you my tale.' Quoth Shamsah, 'What deed is this, and why hast
+thou taken my clothes, rather than those of my sisters?' Quoth
+he, 'O light of mine eyes, come forth of the water, and I will
+recount thee my case and acquaint thee why I chose thee out.'
+Quoth she, 'O my lord and coolth of my eyes and fruit of my
+heart, give me my clothes, that I may put them on and cover my
+nakedness withal; then will I come forth to thee.' But he
+replied, 'O Princess of beautiful ones, how can I give thee back
+thy clothes and slay myself for love longing? Verily, I will not
+give them to thee, till Shaykh Nasr, the king of the birds, shall
+return.' Quoth she, 'If thou wilt not give me my clothes withdraw
+a little apart from us, that my sisters may land and dress
+themselves and lend me somewhat wherewithal to cover my shame.'
+'I hear and obey,' answered he, and walked away from them into
+the pavilion, whereupon the three Princesses came out and the two
+elder, donning their dress, gave Shamsah somewhat thereof, not
+enough to fly withal, and she put it on and came forth of the
+water, and stood before him, as she were the rising full moon or
+a browsing gazelle. Then Shamsah entered the pavilion, where
+Janshah was still sitting on the throne; so she saluted him and
+taking seat near him, said, 'O fair of face, thou hast undone
+thyself and me; but tell us thy adventures that we may ken how it
+is with thee.' At these words he wept till he drenched his dress
+with his tears; and when she saw that he was distracted for love
+of her, she rose and taking him by the hand, made him sit by her
+side and wiped away the drops with her sleeve; and said she, 'O
+fair of face, leave this weeping and tell us thy tale.' So he
+related to her all that had befallen him and described to her all
+he had seen,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+
+        When it was the Five Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the
+lady Shamsah said to Janshah, 'Tell us thy tale;' so he related
+to her all that had befallen him; and, after she had lent
+attentive ear she sighed and said, 'O my lord, since thou art so
+fondly in love with me, give me my dress, that I may fly to my
+folk, I and my sisters, and tell them what affection thou hast
+conceived for me, and after I will come back to thee and carry
+thee to thine own country.' When he heard this, he wept sore and
+replied, 'Is it lawful to thee before Allah to slay me
+wrongfully?' She asked, 'O my lord, why should I do such wrongous
+deed?'; and he answered, 'If I give thee thy gear thou wilt fly
+away from me, and I shall die forthright.' Princess Shamsah
+laughed at this and so did her sisters; then said she to him, 'Be
+of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear, for I must
+needs marry thee.' So saying, she bent down to him and embraced
+him and pressing him to her breast kissed him between the eyes
+and on his cheeks. They clipped and clasped each other awhile,
+after which they drew apart and sat down on the throne. Then the
+eldest Princess went out into the garden and, plucking somewhat
+of fruits and flowers, brought them into the pavilion; and they
+ate and drank and laughed and sported and made merry. Now Janshah
+was singular in beauty and loveliness and slender shape and
+symmetry and grace, and the Princess Shamsah said to him, 'O my
+beloved, by Allah, I love thee with exceeding love and will never
+leave thee!' When he heard her words, his breast broadened and he
+laughed for joy till he showed his teeth; and they abode thus
+awhile in mirth and gladness and frolic. And when they were at
+the height of their pleasure and joyance, behold, Shaykh Nasr
+returned from the Parliament of the Fowls and came in to them;
+whereupon they all rose to him and saluted him and kissed his
+hands. He gave them welcome and bade them be seated. So they sat
+down and he said to Princess Shamsah, 'Verily this youth loveth
+thee with exceeding love; Allah upon thee, deal kindly with him,
+for he is of the great ones of mankind and of the sons of the
+kings, and his father ruleth over the land of Kabul and his reign
+compasseth a mighty empire.' Quoth she, 'I hear and I obey thy
+behest'; and, kissing the Shaykh's hands stood before him in
+respect. Quoth he, 'If thou say sooth, swear to me by Allah that
+thou wilt never betray him, what while thou abidest in the bonds
+of life.' So she swore a great oath that she would never betray
+Janshah, but would assuredly marry him, and added, 'Know, O
+Shaykh Nasr, that I never will forsake him.' The Shaykh believed
+in her oath and said to Janshah, 'Thanks be to Allah, who hath
+made you arrive at this understanding!' Hereupon the Prince
+rejoiced with exceeding joy, and he and Shamsah abode three
+months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying and making merry."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, "Janshah
+and the lady Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr,
+feasting and toying and making merry. And at the end of that time
+she said to Janshah, 'I wish to go with thee to thy mother land,
+where thou shalt marry me and we will abide there.' 'To hear is
+to obey,' answered he and took counsel with Shaykh Nasr who said
+to him, 'Go thou home, I commend her to thy care.' Then said she,
+'O Shaykh Nasr, bid him render me my feather-suit.' So the Shaykh
+bade Janshah give it to her, and he went straightways into the
+pavilion and brought it out for her. There upon she donned it and
+said to him, 'Mount my back and shut thine eyes and stop thine
+ears, so thou mayst not hear the roar of the revolving sphere;
+and keep fast hold of my feathers, lest thou fall off.' He did as
+she bade him and, as she stretched her wings to fly, Shaykh Nasr
+said, 'Wait a while till I describe to thee the land Kabul, lest
+you twain miss your way.' So she delayed till he had said his say
+and had bidden them farewell, commending the Prince to her care.
+She took leave of her sisters and bade them return to her folk
+and tell them what had befallen her with Janshah; then, rising
+into the air without stay or delay she flew off, like the wafts
+of the wind or the ramping leven. Her sisters also took flight
+and returning home delivered her message to their people. And she
+stayed not her course from the forenoon till the hour of mid-
+afternoon prayer (Janshah being still on her back), when she
+espied afar off a Wady abounding in trees and streams and she
+said to Janshah, 'I am thinking to alight in this valley, that we
+may solace ourselves amongst its trees and herbage and here rest
+for the night.' Quoth he, "Do what seemeth meet to thee!' So she
+swooped down from the lift and alighted in the Wady, when Janshah
+dismounted and kissing her between the eyes,[FN#549] sat with her
+awhile on the bank of a river there; then they rose and wandered
+about the valley, taking their pleasure therein and eating of the
+fruits of the trees, until nightfall, when they lay down under a
+tree and slept till the morning dawned. As soon as it was day,
+the Princess arose and, bidding Janshah mount, flew on with him
+till noon, when she perceived by the appearance of the buildings
+which Shaykh Nasr had described to her, that they were nearing
+the city Kabul. So she swooped down from the welkin and alighted
+in a wide plain, a blooming champaign, wherein were gazelles
+straying and springs playing and rivers flowing and ripe fruits
+growing. So Janshah dismounted and kissed her between the eyes;
+and she asked him, 'O my beloved and coolth of mine eyes, knowest
+thou how many days' journey we have come since yesterday?'; and
+he answered, 'No,' when she said, 'We have come thirty months'
+journey.' Quoth he, 'Praised be Allah for safety!' Then they sat
+down side by side and ate and drank and toyed and laughed. And
+whilst they were thus pleasantly engaged, behold, there came up
+to them two of the King's Mamelukes of those who had been of the
+Prince's company, one of them was he whom he had left with the
+horses, when he embarked in the fishing-boat and the other had
+been of his escort in the chase. As soon as they saw Janshah,
+both knew him and saluted him; then said they, 'With thy leave,
+we will go to thy sire and bear him the glad tidings of thy
+coming.' Replied the Prince, 'Go ye to my father and acquaint him
+with my case, and fetch us tents, for we will tarry here seven
+days to rest ourselves till he make ready his retinue to meet us,
+that we may enter in stateliest state.'"--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
+"Janshah said to the two Mamelukes, 'Go ye to my sire and
+acquaint him with my case and fetch us tents, for we will abide
+here seven days to rest ourselves, till he make ready his retinue
+to meet us that we may enter in the stateliest state.' So the
+officers hastened back to King Teghmus and said to him, 'Good
+news, O King of the age!' Asked he, 'What good tidings bring ye:
+is my son Janshah come back?'; and they answered, 'Yes, thy son
+Janshah hath returned from his strangerhood and is now near at
+hand in the Kirání mead.' Now when the King heard this, he joyed
+with great joy and fell down in a swoon for excess of gladness;
+then, coming to himself, he bade his Wazir give each of the
+Mamelukes a splendid suit of honour and a sum of money. The
+minister replied, 'I hear and obey,' and forthright did his
+bidding and said to them, 'Take this in turn for the good tidings
+ye bring, whether ye lie or say sooth.' They replied, 'Indeed we
+lie not, for but now we sat with him and saluted him and kissed
+his hands and he bade us fetch him tents, for that he would
+sojourn in the meadow seven days, till such time as the Wazirs
+and Emirs and Grandees should come out to meet him.' Quoth the
+King, 'How is it with my son?' and quoth they, 'He hath with him
+a Houri, as he had brought her out of Paradise.' At this, King
+Teghmus bade beat the kettledrums and sound the trumpets for
+gladness, and despatched messengers to announce the good news to
+Janshah's mother and to the wives of the Emirs and Wazirs and
+Lords of the realm: so the criers spread themselves about the
+city and acquainted the people with the coming of Prince Janshah.
+Then the King made ready, and, setting out for the Kirani meadow
+with his horsemen and footmen, came upon Janshah who was sitting
+at rest with the lady Shamsah beside him and, behold, all
+suddenly drew in sight. The Prince rose to his feet and walked
+forward to meet them; and the troops knew him and dismounted, to
+salute him and kiss his hands: after which he set out preceded by
+the men in single file till he came to his sire, who, at sight of
+his son threw himself from his horse's back and clasped him to
+his bosom and wept flooding tears of joy. Then they took horse
+again with the retinue riding to the right and left and fared
+forward till they came to the river banks; when the troops
+alighted and pitched their tents and pavilions and standards to
+the blare of trump and the piping of fife and the dub-a-dub of
+drum and tom-tom. Moreover the King bade the tent pitchers set up
+a pavilion of red silk for the Princess Shamsah, who put off her
+scanty raiment of feathers for fine robes and, entering the
+pavilion, there took seat. And as she sat in her beauty, behold,
+the King and his son Janshah came in to her, and when she saw
+Teghmus, she rose and kissed the ground before him. The King sat
+down and seating Janshah on his right hand and Princess Shamsah
+on his left, bade her welcome and said to his son, 'Tell me all
+that hath befallen thee in this thy long strangerhood.' So
+Janshah related to him the whole of his adventures from first to
+last, whereat he marvelled with exceeding marvel and turning to
+the Princess, said, 'Laud to Allah for that He hath caused thee
+to reunite me with my son! Verily this is of His exceeding
+bounty!'"[FN#550]--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King
+Teghmus said to the lady Shamsah, 'Laud to Allah for that He hath
+caused thee to reunite me with my son! Verily this is of His
+exceeding bounty.' And now I would have thee ask of me what thou
+wilt, that I may do it in thine honour.' Quoth she, 'I ask of
+thee that thou build me a palace in the midst of a flower garden,
+with water running under it.' And the King answered, 'I hear and
+obey.' And behold, up came Janshah's mother, attended by all the
+wives of the Wazirs and Emirs and nobles and city notables. When
+her son had sight of her, he rose and leaving the tent, went
+forth to meet her and they embraced a long while, whilst the
+Queen wept for excess of joy and with tears trickling from her
+eyes repeated the following verses,
+
+'Joy so o'ercometh me, for stress of joy * In that which
+     gladdeneth me I fain shed tears:
+Tears are become your nature, O my eyes, * Who weep for joyance
+     as for griefs and fears.'
+
+And they complained to each other of all their hearts had
+suffered from the long separation. Then the King departed to his
+pavilion and Janshah carried his mother to his own tent, where
+they sat talking till there came up some of the lady Shamsah's
+attendants who said, The Princess is now walking hither in order
+to salute thee. When the Queen heard this, she rose and going to
+meet Shamsah, saluted her and seated her awhile by her side.
+Presently the Queen and her retinue of noble women, the spouses
+of the Emirs and Grandees, returned with Princess Shamsah to the
+tent occupied by her daughter-in-law and sat there. Meanwhile,
+King Teghmus gave great largesse to his levies and liege and
+rejoiced in his son with exceeding joy, and they tarried there
+ten days, feasting and merry making and living a most joyous
+life. At the end of this time, the King commanded a march and
+they all returned to the capital, so he took horse surrounded by
+all the troops with the Wazirs and Chamberlains to his right and
+left nor ceased they faring till they entered the city, which was
+decorated after the goodliest fashion; for the folk had adorned
+the houses with precious stuffs and jewellery and spread costly
+bro cedes under the hoofs of the horses. The drums beat for glad
+tidings and the Grandees of the kingdom rejoiced and brought rich
+gifts and the lookers-on were filled with amazement. Furthermore,
+they fed the mendicants and Fakirs and held high festival for the
+space of ten days, and the lady Shamsah joyed with exceeding joy
+whenas she saw this. Then King Teghmus summoned architects and
+builders and men of art and bade them build a palace in that
+garden. So they straightway proceeded to do his bidding; and,
+when Janshah knew of his sire's command he caused the artificers
+to fetch a block of white marble and carve it and hollow it in
+the semblance of a chest; which being done he took the feather-
+vest of Princess Shamsah wherewith she had flown with him through
+the air: then, sealing the cover with melted lead, he ordered
+them to bury the box in the foundations and build over it the
+arches whereon the palace was to rest. They did as he bade them,
+nor was it long before the palace was finished: then they
+furnished it and it was a magnificent edifice, standing in the
+midst of the garden, with streams flowing under its
+walls.[FN#551] Upon this the King caused Janshah's wedding to be
+celebrated with the greatest splendour and they brought the bride
+to the castle in state procession and went their ways. When the
+lady Shamsah entered, she smelt the scent of her feather-gear."--
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the
+lady Shamsah entered the new palace, she smelt the scent of her
+flying feather-gear and knew where it was and determined to take
+it. So she waited till midnight, when Janshah was drowned in
+sleep; then she rose and going straight to the place where the
+marble coffer was buried under the arches she hollowed the ground
+alongside till she came upon it; when she removed the lead where
+with it was soldered and, taking out the feather-suit, put it on.
+Then she flew high in air and perching on the pinnacle of the
+palace, cried out to those who were therein, saying, 'I pray you
+fetch me Janshah, that I may bid him farewell.' So they told him
+and he came out and, seeing her on the terrace roof of the
+palace, clad in her feather-raiment, asked her, 'Why hast thou
+done this deed?'; and she answered 'O my beloved and coolth of
+mine eyes and fruit of my heart, by Allah, I love thee passing
+dear and I rejoice with exceeding joy in that I have restored
+thee to thy friends and country and thou hast seen thy mother and
+father. And now, if thou love me as I love thee, come to me at
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels.' So saying, she flew away forthright
+to find her family and friends, and Janshah fell down fainting,
+being well-nigh dead for despair. They carried the news to King
+Teghmus, who mounted at once and riding to the palace, found his
+son lying senseless on the ground; whereat he wept knowing that
+the swoon was caused by the loss of his love, and sprinkled rose-
+water on his face.[FN#552] When the Prince came to himself and
+saw his sire sitting at his head, he wept at the thought of
+losing his wife and the King asked what had befallen him. So he
+replied, 'Know, O my father, that the lady Shamsah is of the
+daughters of the Jann and she hath done such and such' (telling
+him all that had happened); and the King said, 'O my son, be not
+troubled and thus concerned, for I will assemble all the
+merchants and wayfarers in the land and enquire of them anent
+that castle. If we can find out where it is, we will journey
+thither and demand the Princess Shamsah of her people, and we
+hope in Allah the Almighty that He will give her back to thee and
+thou shalt consummate thy marriage.' Then he went out and,
+calling his four Wazirs without stay or delay, bade them assemble
+all the merchants and voyagers in the city and question them of
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels, adding, 'Whoso knoweth it and can
+guide us thither, I will surely give him fifty thousand gold
+pieces.' The Wazirs accordingly went forth at once and did as the
+King bade them, but neither trader nor traveller could give them
+news of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; so they returned and told
+the King. Thereupon he bade bring beautiful slave-girls and
+concubines and singers and players upon instruments of music,
+whose like are not found but with the Kings: and sent them to
+Janshah, so haply they might divert him from the love of the lady
+Shamsah. Moreover, he despatched couriers and spies to all the
+lands and islands and climes, to enquire for Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels, and they made quest for it two months long, but none
+could give them news thereof. So they returned and told the King,
+whereupon he wept bitter tears and going in to his son found
+Janshah sitting amidst the concubines and singers and players on
+harp and zither and so forth, not one of whom could console him
+for the lady Shamsah. Quoth Teghmus, O my son, I can find none
+who knoweth this Castle of Jewels; but I will bring thee a fairer
+one than she.' When Janshah heard this his eyes ran over with
+tears and he recited these two couplets,
+
+'Patience hath fled, but passion fareth not; * And all my frame
+     with pine is fever-hot:
+When will the days my lot with Shamsah join? * Lo, all my bones
+     with passion-lowe go rot!'
+
+Now there was a deadly feud between King Teghmus and a certain
+King of Hind, by name Kafíd, who had great plenty of troops and
+warriors and champions; and under his hand were a thousand
+puissant chieftains, each ruling over a thousand tribes whereof
+every one could muster four thousand cavaliers. He reigned over a
+thousand cities each guarded by a thousand forts and he had four
+Wazirs and under him ruled Emirs, Princes and Sovereigns; and
+indeed he was a King of great might and prowess whose armies
+filled the whole earth. Now King Teghmus had made war upon him
+and ravaged his reign and slain his men and of his treasures had
+made gain. But when it came to King Kafid's knowledge that King
+Teghmus was occupied with the love of his son, so that he
+neglected the affairs of the state and his troops were grown few
+and weak by reason of his care and concern for his son's state,
+he summoned his Wazirs and Emirs and said to them, 'Ye all know
+that whilom King Teghmus invaded our dominions and plundered our
+possessions and slew my father and brethren, nor indeed is there
+one of you, but he hath harried his lands and carried off his
+goods and made prize of his wives and slain some kinsmen of his.
+Now I have heard this day that he is absorbed in the love of his
+son Janshah, and that his troops are grown few and weak; and this
+is the time to take our blood revenge on him. So make ready for
+the march and don ye your harness of battle; and let nothing stay
+or delay you, and we will go to him and fall upon him and slay
+him and his son, and possess ourselves of his reign.'"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
+"Kafid, King of Hind, commanded his troops and armies to mount
+and make for the dominions of King Teghmus, saying, 'Get ye ready
+for the march and don ye your harness of war; and let nothing
+stay or delay you; so we will go to him and fall upon him and
+slay him and his son and possess ourselves of his reign.' They
+all answered with one voice, saying, 'We hear and obey,' and fell
+at once to equipping themselves and levying troops; and they
+ceased not their preparations for three months and, when all was
+in readiness, they beat the drums and sounded the trumps and flew
+the flags and banners: then King Kafid set out at the head of his
+host and they fared on till they reached the frontiers of the
+land of Kabul, the dominions of King Teghmus, where they began to
+harry the land and do havoc among the folk, slaughtering the old
+and taking the young prisoners. When the news reached King
+Teghmus, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and assembling his
+Grandees and officers of state, said to them 'Know that Kafid
+hath come to our land and hath entered the realm we command and
+is resolved to fight us hand to hand, and he leadeth troops and
+champions and warriors, whose number none knoweth save Allah
+Almighty; what deme deem ye?' Replied they, 'O King of the age,
+let us go out to him and give him battle and drive him forth of
+our country; and thus deem we.' So he bade them prepare for
+battle and brought forth to them hauberks and cuirasses and
+helmets and swords and all manner of warlike gear, such as lay
+low warriors and do to death the champions of mankind. So the
+troops and braves and champions flocked together and they set up
+the standards and beat the drums and sounded the trumpets and
+clashed the cymbals and piped on the pipes; and King Teghmus
+marched out at the head of his army, to meet the hosts of Hind.
+And when he drew near the foe, he called a halt, and encamping
+with his host in the Zahrán Valley,[FN#553] hard by the frontier
+of Kabul despatched to King Kafid by messenger the following
+letter: 'Know that what thou hast done is of the doings of the
+villain rabble and wert thou indeed a King, the son of a King,
+thou hadst not done thus, nor hadst thou invaded my kingdom and
+slain my subjects and plundered their property and wrought
+upright upon them. Knowest thou not that all this is the fashion
+of a tyrant! Verily, had I known that thou durst harry my
+dominions, I had come to thee before thy coming and had prevented
+thee this long while since. Yet, even now, if thou wilt retire
+and leave mischief between us and thee, well and good; but if
+thou return not, meet me in the listed field and measure thyself
+with me in cut and thrust.' Lastly he sealed his letter and
+committed to an officer of his army and sent with him spies to
+spy him out news. The messenger fared forth with the missive and,
+drawing near the enemy's camp, he descried a multitude of tents
+of silk and satin, with pennons of blue sendal, and amongst them
+a great pavilion of red satin, surrounded by a host of guards. He
+ceased not to advance till he made this tent and found on asking
+that it was that of King Kafid, whom he saw seated on a chair set
+with jewels, in the midst of his Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees.
+So he brought out the letter and straightway there came up to him
+a company of guards, who took it from him and carried it to the
+King; and Kafid read it and wrote a reply to this purport: 'After
+the usual invocations, We let King Teghmus know that we mean to
+take our blood-revenge on thee and wash out our stain and waste
+thy reign and rend the curtain in twain and slay the old men and
+enslave the young men. But to-morrow, come thou forth to combat
+in the open plain, and to show thee thrust and fight will I
+deign.' Then he sealed the letter and delivered it to the
+messenger, who carried it to King Teghmus."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid
+delivered the answering letter to the messenger who carried it to
+King Teghmus and delivered it, after kissing the ground between
+his hands. Then he reported all that he had seen, saying, 'O King
+of the age, I espied warriors and horsemen and footmen beyond
+count nor can I assist thee to the amount.' When Teghmus read the
+reply and comprehended its contents, he was with furious rage
+enraged and bade his Wazir Ayn Zar take horse and fall upon the
+army of Kafid with a thousand cavaliers, in the middle watch of
+the night when they would easily ride home and slay all before
+them. Ayn Zar replied, 'I hear and I obey,' and at once went
+forth to do his bidding. Now King Kafid had a Wazir,
+Ghatrafán[FN#554] by name, whom he bade take five thousand horse
+and attack the host of King Teghmus in like manner. So Ghatrafan
+did his bidding and set out on his enterprise marching till
+midnight. Thus the two parties met halfway and the Wazir
+Ghatrafan fell upon the Wazir, Ayn Zar. Then man cried out
+against man and there befell sore battle between them till break
+of day, when Kafid's men were routed and fled back to their King
+in confusion. As Kafid saw this, he was wroth beyond measure and
+said to the fugitives, 'Woe to you! What hath befallen you, that
+ye have lost your captains?' and they replied, 'O King of the
+age, as the Wazir Ghatrafan rode forth to fall upon King Teghmus,
+there appeared to us halfway and when night was half over, the
+Wazir, Ayn Zar, with cavaliers and champions, and we met on the
+slopes of Wady Zahran; but ere we were where we found ourselves
+in the enemy's midst, eye meeting eye; and we fought a fierce
+fight with them from midnight till morning, many on either side
+being slain. Then the Wazir and his men fell to shouting and
+smiting the elephants on the face till they took fright at their
+furious blows, and turning tail to flee, trampled down the
+horsemen, whilst none could see other for the clouds of dust. The
+blood ran like a rain torrent and had we not fled, we had all
+been cut off to the last man.' When King Kafid heard this, he
+exclaimed, 'May the sun not bless you and may he be wroth with
+you and sore be his wrath!' Meanwhile Ayn Zar, the Wazir,
+returned to King Teghmus and told him what had happened. The King
+gave him joy of his safety and rejoiced greatly and bade beat the
+drums and sound the trumpets, in honour of the victory; after
+which he called the roll of his troops and behold, two hundred of
+his stoutest champions had fallen. Then King Kafid marched his
+army into the field and drew them out ordered for battle in
+fifteen lines of ten thousand horses each, under the command of
+three hundred captains, mounted on elephants and chosen from
+amongst the doughtiest of his warriors and his champions. So he
+set up his standards and banners and beat the drums and blew the
+trumpets whilst the braves sallied forth, offering battle. As for
+King Teghmus, he drew out his troops line after line and lo!
+there were ten of ten thousand horses each, and with him were an
+hundred champions, riding on his right hand and on his left. Then
+fared forward to the fight each renowned knight, and the hosts
+clashed together in their might, whilst the earth for all its
+wideness was straitened because of the multitude of the cavaliers
+and ears were deafened by drums and cymbals beating and pipes and
+hautboys sounding and trumpets blaring and by the thunder of
+horse-tramp and the shouting of men. The dust arched in canopy
+over their heads and they fought a sore fight from the first of
+the day till the fall of darkness, when they separated and each
+army drew off to its own camp."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "each army
+drew off to its own camp. Then King Kafid called the roll of his
+troops and, finding that he had lost five thousand men, raged
+with great rage; and King Teghmus mustered his men and seeing
+that of them were slain three thousand riders, the bravest of his
+braves, was wroth with exceeding wrath. On the morrow King Kafid
+again pushed into the plain and did duty as before, while each
+man strove his best to snatch victory for himself; and Kafid
+cried out to his men, saying, 'Is there any of you will sally
+forth into the field and open us the chapter of fray and fight?'
+And behold came out from the ranks a warrior named Barkayk, a
+mighty man of war who, when he reached the King, alighted from
+his elephant and kissing the earth before him, sought of him
+leave to challenge the foe to combat singular. Then he mounted
+his elephant and driving into mid-field, cried out, 'Who is for
+duello, who is for derring do, who is for knightly devoir?' When
+King Teghmus heard this, he said to his troops, 'Which of you
+will do single battle with this sworder?' And behold, a cavalier
+came out from the ranks, mounted on a charger, mighty of make,
+and driving up to the King kissed the earth before him and craved
+his permission to engage Barkayk. Then he mounted again and
+charged at Barkayk, who said to him, 'Who art thou and what art
+thou called, that thou makest mock of me by coming out against me
+and challenging me, alone?' 'My name is Ghazanfar[FN#555] son of
+Kamkhíl,' replied the Kabul champion; and the other, 'I have
+heard tell of thee in my own country; so up and do battle between
+the ranks of the braves!' Hearing these words Ghazanfar drew a
+mace of iron from under his thigh and Barkayk took his good sword
+in hand, and they laid on load till Barkayk smote Ghazanfar on
+the head with his blade, but the morion turned the blow and no
+hurt befell him therefrom; whereupon Ghazanfar, in his turn,
+dealt Barkayk so terrible a stroke on the head with his mace,
+that he levelled him down to his elephant's back and slew him.
+With this out sallied another and crying to Ghazanfar, 'Who be
+thou that thou shouldst slay my brother?'; hurled a javelin at
+him with such force that it pierced his thigh and nailed his coat
+of mail to his flesh. Then Ghazanfar, feeling his hurt, hent his
+sword in hand and smote at Barkayk's brother and cut him in
+sunder, and he fell to the earth, wallowing in his life blood,
+whilst the challenger of Kabul galloped back to King Teghmus. Now
+when Kafid saw the death of his champions, he cried out to his
+troops, saying, 'Down with you to the plain and strike with might
+and main!' as also did King Teghmus, and the two armies fought
+the fiercest of fights. Horse neighed against horse and man cried
+out upon man and brands were bared, whilst the drums beat and the
+trumpets blared; and horseman charged upon horseman and every
+brave of renown pushed forward, whilst the faint of heart fled
+from the lunge of lance and men heard nought but slogan-cry and
+the clash and clang of armoury. Slain were the warriors that were
+slain[FN#556] and they stayed not from the mellay till the
+decline of the sun in the heavenly dome, when the Kings drew off
+their armies and returned each to its own camp.[FN#557] Then King
+Teghmus took tally of his men and found that he had lost five
+thousand, and four standards had been broken to bits, whereat he
+was sore an-angered; whilst King Kafid in like manner counted his
+troops and found that he had lost six hundred, the bravest of his
+braves, and nine standards were wanting to the full tale. The two
+armies ceased joining battle and rested on their arms three days'
+space, after which Kafid wrote a letter and sent it by messenger
+to a King called Fakun al-Kalb (with whom he claimed kinship by
+the spindle side): and this kinsman forthwith mustered his men
+and marched to meet the King of Hind."--And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Fakun
+mustered his men and marched to meet the King of Hind: and
+whileas King Teghmus was sitting at his pleasance, there came one
+in to him and said, 'I see from afar a cloud of dust spireing
+high in air and overspreading the lift.' So he commanded a
+company to fare forth and learn the meaning of this; and, crying,
+'To hear is to obey,' they sallied out and presently returned and
+said to him, 'O King, when we drew near the cloud of dust, the
+wind rent it and it lifted and showed seven standards and under
+each standard three thousand horse, making for King Kafid's
+camp.' Then King Fakun joined himself to the King of Hind and
+saluting him, asked, 'How is it with thee, and what be this war
+in which thou arrest?'; and Kafid answered, 'Knowest thou not
+that King Teghmus is my enemy and the murtherer of my father and
+brothers? Wherefore I am come forth to do battle with him and
+take my brood wreak on him.' Quoth Fakun, 'The blessing of the
+sun be upon thee!'; and the King of Hind carried King Fakun
+al-Kalb to his tent and rejoiced in him with exceeding joy. Such
+was the case of the two hostile Kings; but as regards King
+Janshah, he abode two months shut up in his palace, without
+seeing his father or allowing one of the damsels in his service
+to come in to him; at the end of which time he grew troubled and
+restless and said to his attendants, 'What aileth my father that
+he cometh not to visit me?' They told him that he had gone forth
+to do battle with King Kafid, whereupon quoth Janshah, 'Bring me
+my steed, that I may go to my sire.' They replied, 'We hear and
+obey,' and brought his horse; but he said in himself, 'I am taken
+up with the thought of myself and my love and I deem well to
+mount and ride for the city of the Jews, where haply Allah shall
+grant me the boon to meet the merchant who hired me for the ruby
+business and may be he will deal with me as he dealt before, for
+none knoweth whence good cometh.' So he took with him a thousand
+horse and set out, the folk saying, 'At last Janshah hath fared
+forth to join his father in the field, and to fight by his side;'
+and they stinted not pushing on till dusk, when they halted for
+the night in a vast meadow. As soon as he knew that all his men
+were asleep, the Prince rose privily and girding his waist,
+mounted his horse and rode away intending to make Baghdad,
+because he had heard from the Jews that a caravan came thence to
+their city once in every two years and he made up his mind to
+journey thither with the next cafilah. When his men awoke and
+missed the Prince and his horse, they mounted and sought him
+right and left but, finding no trace of him, rejoined his father
+and told him what his son had done; whereat he was wroth beyond
+measure and cast the crown from his head, whilst the sparks were
+like to fly from his mouth, and he said 'There is no Majesty and
+there is no Might but in Allah! Verily I have lost my son, and
+the enemy is still before me.' But his Wazirs and vassals said to
+him, 'Patience, O King of the age! Patience bringeth weal in
+wake.' Meanwhile Janshah, parted from his lover and pained for
+his father, was in sore sorrow and dismay, with heart seared and
+eyes tear-bleared and unable to sleep night or day. But when his
+father heard the loss his host had endured, he declined battle,
+and fled before King Kafid, and retiring to his city, closed the
+gates and strengthened the walls. Thereupon King Kafid followed
+him and sat down before the town; offering battle seven nights
+and eight days, after which he withdrew to his tents, to tend his
+wounded while the citizens defended themselves as they best
+could, fortifying the place and setting up mangonels and other
+engines on the walls. Such was the condition of the two Kings,
+and war raged between them for a space of seven years."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Kings
+Teghmus and Kafid continued in this condition for seven years;
+but, as regards Janshah, he rode through wild and wold and when
+ever he came to a town he asked anent Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels, but none knew of it and all answered, 'Of a truth we
+never heard of such place, not even by name.' At last he happened
+to enquire concerning the city of the Jews from a merchant who
+told him that it was situated in the extreme Orient, adding, 'A
+caravan will start this very month for the city of Mizrakán in
+Hind; whither do thou accompany us and we will fare on to
+Khorasan and thence to the city of Shima'ún and Khwárazm, from
+which latter place the City of the Jews is distant a year and
+three months' journey.' So Janshah waited till the departure of
+the caravan, when he joined himself thereto and journeyed, till
+he reached the city of Mizrakan whence, after vainly asking for
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels, he set out and enduring on the way
+great hardships and perils galore and the extreme of hunger and
+thirst, he arrived at the town of Shima'un. Here he made enquiry
+for the City of the Jews, and they directed him to the road
+thither. So he fared forth and journeyed days and nights till he
+came to the place where he had given the apes the slip, and
+continued his journey thence to the river, on the opposite bank
+of which stood the City of the Jews. He sat down on the shore and
+waited till the Sabbath came round and the river dried up by
+decree of Allah Almighty, when he crossed over to the opposite
+bank and, entering the city, betook himself to the house wherein
+he had lodged on his former journey. The Jew and his family
+saluted him and rejoiced in his return and, setting meat and
+drink before him, asked, 'Where hast thou been during thine
+absence?'; and he answered, 'In the kingdom of Almighty
+Allah!'[FN#558] He lay with them that night and on the morrow he
+went out to solace himself with a walk about the city and
+presently heard a crier crying aloud and saying, 'O folk, who
+will earn a thousand gold pieces and a fair slave-girl and do
+half a day's work for us?' So Janshah went up to him and said, 'I
+will do this work.'[FN#559] Quoth the crier, 'Follow me,' and
+carrying him to the house of the Jew merchant, where he had been
+afore time, said, 'This young man will do thy need.' The merchant
+not recognising him gave him welcome and carried him into the
+Harim, where he set meat and drink before him, and he ate and
+drank. Then he brought him the money and formally made over to
+him the handsome slave-girl with whom he lay that night. As soon
+as morning dawned, he took the diners and the damsel and,
+committing them to his Jew host with whom he had lodged afore
+time, returned to the merchant, who mounted and rode out with
+him, till they came to the foot of the tall and towering
+mountain, where the merchant, bringing out a knife and cords,
+said to Janshah, 'Throw the mare.' So he threw her and bound her
+four legs with the cords and slaughtered her and cut off her head
+and four limbs and slit her belly, as ordered by the Jew;
+whereupon quoth he, 'Enter her belly, till I sew it up on thee;
+and whatsoever thou seest therein, tell me of it, for this is the
+work whose wage thou hast taken.' So Janshah entered the mare's
+belly and the merchant sewed it up on him; then, withdrawing to a
+fair distance, hid himself. And after an hour a great bird
+swooped down from the lift and, snatching up the carcass in his
+pounces soared high toward the sky. Then he perched upon the
+mountain peak and would have eaten the prey, but Janshah sensing
+his intent took out his knife and slit the mare's belly and came
+forth. The bird was scared at his sight and flew away, and
+Janshah went up to a place whence he could see below, and looking
+down, espied the merchant standing at the foot of the mountain,
+as he were a sparrow. So he cried out to him, 'What is thy will,
+O merchant?' Replied the Jew, 'Throw me down of the stones that
+lie about thee, that I may direct thee in the way down.' Quoth
+Janshah, 'Thou art he who didst with me thus and thus five years
+ago, and through thee I suffered hunger and thirst and sore toil
+and much trouble; and now thou hast brought me hither once more
+and thinkest to destroy me. By Allah, I will not throw thee
+aught!' So saying, he turned from him and set out for where lived
+Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds."--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah
+took the way for where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds.
+And he ceased not faring on many days and nights, tearful-eyed
+and heavy-hearted; eating, when he was anhungered, of the growth
+of the ground and drinking, when he thirsted, of its streams,
+till he came in sight of the Castle of the lord Solomon and saw
+Shaykh Nasr sitting at the gate. So he hastened up to him and
+kissed his hands; and the Shaykh saluted him and bade him welcome
+and said to him, 'O my son, what aileth thee that thou returnest
+to this place, after I sent thee home with the Princess Shamsah,
+cool of eyes and broad of breast?' Janshah wept and told him all
+that had befallen him and how she had flown away from him,
+saying, 'An thou love me, come to me in Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels;' at which the old man marvelled and said, 'By Allah, O my
+son, I know it not, nor, by the virtue of our lord Solomon, have
+I ever in my life heard its name!' Quoth Janshah, 'What shall I
+do? I am dying of love and longing.' Quoth Shaykh Nasr, 'Take
+patience until the coming of the birds, when we will enquire at
+them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; haply one of them shall wot
+thereof.' So Janshah's heart was comforted and, entering the
+Palace, he went straight to the chamber which gave upon the Lake
+in which he had seen the three maidens. After this he abode with
+Shaykh Nasr for a while and, one day as he was sitting with him,
+the Shaykh said, 'O my son, rejoice for the time of the birds'
+coming draweth nigh.' Janshah gladdened to hear the news; and
+after a few days the birds began to come and Shaykh Nasr said to
+him, 'O my son, learn these names[FN#560] and address thyself
+with me to meet the birds.' Presently, the fowls came flying up
+and saluted Shaykh Nasr, kind after kind, and he asked them of
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but they all made answer, 'Never
+heard we of such a place.' At these words Janshah wept and
+lamented till he swooned away; whereupon Shaykh Nasr called a
+huge volatile and said to him, 'Carry this youth to the land of
+Kabul,' and described to him the country and the way thither.
+Then he set Janshah on the bird's back, saying, 'Be careful to
+sit straight and beware of leaning to either side, else thou wilt
+be torn to pieces in the air; and stop thine ears from the wind,
+lest thou be dazed by the noise of the revolving sphere and the
+roaring of the seas.' Janshah resolved to do his bidding and the
+bird took flight high in sky and flew with him a day and a night,
+till he set him down by the King of the Beasts, whose name was
+Sháh Badrí, and said to his rider, 'We have gone astray from the
+way directed by Shaykh Nasr.' And he would have taken him up
+again and flown on with him; but Janshah said, 'Go thy ways and
+leave me here; till I die on this spot or I find Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, I will not return to my country.' So the fowl
+left him with Shah Badri, King of the Beasts and flew away. The
+King thereupon said to him, 'O my son, who art thou and whence
+comest thou with yonder great bird?' So Janshah told him his
+story from beginning to end, whereat Shah Badri marvelled and
+said, 'By the virtue of the lord Solomon, I know not of this
+castle; but if any one of the beasts my subjects know it, we will
+reward him bountifully and send thee by him thither.' Hereat
+Janshah wept bitterly but presently he took patience and abode
+with Shah Badri, and after a short time the King of the Beasts
+said to him, 'O my son, take these tablets and commit to memory
+that which is therein; and when the beasts come, we will question
+them of the Castle of Jewels.' "--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the
+King of the Beasts said to Janshah, 'Commit to memory what is in
+these tablets; and whenas the beasts come, we will ask them anent
+that castle.' He did as the King bade him, and before long, up
+came the beasts, kind after kind, and saluted Shah Badri who
+questioned them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but they all
+replied, 'We know not this castle, nor ever heard we of it.' At
+this Janshah wept and lamented for that he had not gone with the
+bird that brought him from Shaykh Nasr's castle; but Shah Badri
+said to him, 'Grieve not, O my son, for I have a brother, King
+Shimákh highs, who is older than I; he was once a prisoner to
+King Solomon, for that he rebelled against him; nor is there
+among the Jinn one elder than he and Shaykh Nasr. Belike he
+knoweth of this castle; at any rate he ruleth over all the Jinn
+in this country side.' So saying he set Janshah on the back of a
+beast and gave him a letter to his brother, commending him to his
+care. The beast set off with the Prince forthwith and fared on
+days and nights, till it came to King Shimakh's abiding place.
+And when it caught sight of the King it stood still afar off,
+whereupon Janshah alighted and walked on, till he found himself
+in the presence. Then he kissed hands and presented his brother's
+letter. The King read the missive and, having mastered the
+meaning, welcomed the Prince, saying, 'By Allah, O my son, in all
+my born days I never saw nor heard of this castle!' adding (as
+Janshah burst into tears), 'but tell me thy story and who and
+whence thou art and whither thou art bound.' So Janshah related
+to him his history from beginning to end, at which Shimakh
+marvelled and said, 'O my son, I do not believe that even the
+lord Solomon ever saw this castle or heard thereof; but O my
+son,[FN#561] I know a monk in the mountains, who is exceeding old
+and whom all birds and beasts and Jann obey; for he ceased not
+his conjurations against the Kings of the Jann, till they
+submitted themselves to him in their own despite, by reason of
+the might of his oaths and his magic; and now all the birds and
+the beasts are his servants. I myself once rebelled against King
+Solomon and he sent against me this monk, the only being who
+could overcome me with his craft and his conjurations and his
+gramarye; then he imprisoned me, and since that time I have been
+his vassal. He hath travelled in all countries and quarters and
+knoweth all ways and regions and places and castles and cities;
+nor do I think there is any place hidden from his ken. So needs
+must I send thee to him; haply he may direct thee to the Castle
+of Jewels; and, if he cannot do this, none can; for all things
+obey him, birds and beasts and the very mountains and come at his
+beck and call, by reason of his skill in magic. Moreover, by the
+might of his egromancy he hath made a staff, in three pieces, and
+this he planteth in the earth and conjureth over it; whereupon
+flesh and blood issue from the first piece, sweet milk from the
+second and wheat and barley from the third; then he withdraweth
+the staff and returneth to his place which is highs the Hermitage
+of Diamonds. And this magical monk is a cunning inventor and
+artificer of all manner strange works; and he is a crafty warlock
+full of guiles and wiles, an arch deceiver of wondrous
+wickedness, who hath mastered every kind of magic and witchcraft.
+His name is Yaghmús and to him I must needs send thee on the back
+of a big bird with four wings,'"--And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shimakh
+said to Janshah, 'I must needs send thee to the monk Yaghmus on
+the back of a big bird with four wings, each measuring thirty
+Háshimi[FN#562] cubits in length; and it hath feet like those of
+an elephant, but it flieth only twice a year.' And there was with
+King Shimakh an officer, by name Timshun, who used every day to
+carry off two Bactrian[FN#563] camels from the land of Irak and
+cut them up for the bird that it might eat them. So King Shimakh
+bade the fowl take up Janshah and bear him to the cell of the
+hermit Yaghmus; and it rose into the air and flew on days and
+nights, till it came to the Mountain of the Citadels and the
+Hermitage of Diamonds where Janshah alighted and going up to the
+hermitage, found Yaghmus the Monk at his devotions. So he entered
+the chapel and, kissing the ground stood respectfully before the
+hermit. When Yaghmus saw him, he said, 'Welcome, O my son, O
+parted from thy home and garred ferforth to roam! Tell me the
+cause of thy coming hither.' So Janshah wept and acquainted him
+with all that had befallen him from beginning to end and that he
+was in quest of the Castle of Jewels. The Monk marvelled greatly
+at his story and said, 'By Allah, O my son, never in my life
+heard I of this castle, nor ever saw I one who had heard of it or
+had seen it, for all I was alive in the days of Noah, Allah's
+Prophet (on whom be peace!),[FN#564] and I have ruled the birds
+and beasts and Jinn ever since his time; nor do I believe that
+Solomon David son himself knew of it. But wait till the birds and
+beasts and chiefs of the Jann come to do their homage to me and I
+will question them of it; peradventure, some one of them may be
+able to give us news of it and Allah Almighty shall make all
+things easy to thee.' So Janshah homed with the hermit, until the
+day of the assembly, when all the birds and beasts and Jann came
+to swear fealty; and Yaghmus and his guest questioned them anent
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels; but they all replied, 'We never saw
+or heard of such a place.' At this, Janshah fell a weeping and
+lamenting and humbled himself before the Most High; but, as he
+was thus engaged, behold, there flew down from the heights of air
+another bird, big of bulk and black of blee, which had tarried
+behind the rest, and kissed the hermit's hands. Yaghmus asked it
+of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and it answered, saying 'O Monk,
+when I and my brothers were small chicks we abode behind the
+Mountain Kaf on a hill of crystal, in the midst of a great
+desert; and our father and mother used to set out for it every
+morning and in the evening come back with our food. They went out
+early one day, and were absent from us a sennight and hunger was
+sore upon us; but on the eighth day they returned, both weeping,
+and we asked them the reason of their absence. Quoth they: 'A
+Marid swooped down on us and carried us off in his claws to
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and brought us before King Shahlan,
+who would have slain us; but we told him that we had left behind
+us a brood of fledgelings; so he spared our lives and let us go.
+And were my parents yet in the bonds of life they would give thee
+news of the castle.' When Janshah heard this, he wept bitter
+tears and said to the hermit, 'Prithee bid the bird carry me to
+his father and mother's nest on the crystal hill, behind the
+Mountain Kaf.' So the hermit said, 'O bird, I desire thee to obey
+this youth in whatsoever he may command thee.' 'I hear and obey
+thy bidding,' replied the fowl; and, taking Janshah on its back,
+flew with him days and nights without ceasing till it set him
+down on the Hill of Crystal and there alighted. And having
+delayed there a resting while, it again set him on its back and
+flew off and ceased not flying for two whole days till it reached
+the spot where the nest was."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the fowl
+ceased not flying with Janshah two full days; till it reached the
+spot where the nest was, and set him down there and said, 'O
+Janshah, this is where our nest was.' He wept sore and replied,
+'I pray thee bear me farther on to where thy parents used to
+forage for food.' The bird consented; so it took him up again and
+flew on with him seven nights and eight days, till it set him
+down on the top of a high hill Karmus highs and left him there
+saying, 'I know of no land behind this hill.' Then it flew away
+and Janshah sat down on the hill-top and fell asleep. When he
+awoke, he saw a something gleaming afar off as it were lightning
+and filling the firmament with its flashings; and he wondered
+what this sheen could be without wotting that it was the Castle
+he sought. So he descended the mountain and made towards the
+light, which came from Takni, the Castle of Jewels, distant two
+months' journey from Karmús, the hill whereon he had alit, and
+its foundations were fashioned of red rubies and its buildings of
+yellow gold. Moreover, it had a thousand turrets builded of
+precious metals, and stones of price studded and set in the
+minerals brought from the Main of Murks, and on this account it
+was named the Castle of Jewels, Takni. It was a vast great castle
+and the name of its king was King Shahlan, the father of the lady
+Shamsah and her sisters. Such was the case with Janshah; but as
+regards Princess Shamsah, when she fled from Janshah, she made
+straight for the Castle of Jewels and told her father and mother
+all that had passed between the Prince and herself; how he had
+wandered the world and seen its marvels and wonders and how
+fondly he loved her and how dearly she loved him. Quoth they,
+'Thou hast not dealt righteously with him, as Allah would have
+thee deal.' Moreover King Shahlan repeated the story to his
+guards and officers of the Marids of the Jinn and bade them bring
+him every mortal they should see. For the lady Shamsah had said
+to her parents, 'Janshah loveth me with passionate love and
+forsure he will follow me; for when flying from his father's roof
+I cried to him, 'An thou love me, seek me at Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels!' Now when Janshah beheld that sheen and shine, he made
+straight for it wishing to find out what it might be. And as
+chance would have it, Shamsah had that very day despatched a
+Marid on an occasion in the direction of the hill Karmus, and on
+his way thither he caught sight of a man, a mortal; so he
+hastened up to him and saluted him. Janshah was terrified at his
+sight, but returned his salam, and the Marid asked, 'What is thy
+name?' and he answered, 'My name is Janshah, and I have fallen
+madly in love with a Jinniyah known as Princess Shamsah, who
+captivated me by her beauty and loveliness; but despite my dear
+love she fled from the palace wherein I placed her and behold, I
+am here in quest of her.' Herewith he wept with bitter weeping.
+The Marid looked at him and his heart burned with pity on hearing
+the sad tale, and he said, 'Weep not, for surely thou art come to
+thy desire. Know that she loveth thee fondly and hath told her
+parents of thy love for her, and all in yonder castle love thee
+for her sake; so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of
+tear.' Then he took him on his shoulders and made off with him to
+the Castle of Jewels, Takni. Thereupon the bearers of fair
+tidings hastened to report his coming and when the news reached
+Shamsah and her father and mother, they all rejoiced with
+exceeding joy, and King Shahlan took horse and rode out,
+commanding all his guards and Ifrits and Marids honourably to
+meet the Prince."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King
+Shahlan commanded all his guards and Ifrits and Marids to meet
+the Prince; and, as soon as he came up with him, he dismounted
+and embraced him, and Janshah kissed his hand. Then Shahlan bade
+put on him a robe of honour of many coloured silk, laced with
+gold and set with jewels, and a coronet such as man never saw,
+and, mounting him on a splendid mare of the steeds of the Kings
+of the Jinn, took horse himself and, with an immense retinue
+riding on the right hand and the left, brought him in great state
+to the Castle. Janshah marvelled at the splendour of this
+edifice, with its walls builded of rubies and other jewels and
+its pavement of crystal and jasper and emerald, and fell a
+weeping at the memory of his past miseries; but the King and
+Queen, Shamsah's mother, wiped away his tears and said, 'Now no
+more weeping and be of good cheer, for thou hast won to thy
+will.' Then Shahlan carried him into the inner court of the
+Castle, where he was received by a multitude of beautiful damsels
+and pages and black Jinn-slaves, who seated him in the place of
+honour and stood to do him service, whilst he was lost in
+amazement at the goodliness of the place, and its walls all
+edified of precious metals and jewels of price. Presently King
+Shahlan repaired to his hall of audience, where he sat down on
+his throne and, bidding the slave-girls and the pages introduce
+the Prince, rose to receive him and seated him by his side on the
+throne. Then he ordered the tables to be spread and they ate and
+drank and washed their hands; after which in came the Queen
+Shamsah's mother, and saluting Janshah, bade him welcome in these
+words, 'Thou hast come to thy desire after weariness and thine
+eyes shall now sleep after watching; so praised be Allah for thy
+safety!' Thus saying, she went away and forthwith returned with
+the Princess Shamsah, who saluted Janshah and kissed his hands,
+hanging her head in shame and confusion before him and her
+parents, after which as many of her sisters as were in the palace
+came up to him and greeted him in like manner. Then quoth the
+Queen to him, 'Welcome, O my son, our daughter Shamsah hath
+indeed sinned against thee, but do thou pardon her misdeed for
+our sakes.' When Janshah heard this, he cried out and fell down
+fainting, whereat the King marvelled and they sprinkled on his
+face rose water mingled with musk and civet, till he came to
+himself and, looking at Princess Shamsah, said, 'Praised be Allah
+who hath brought me to my desire and hath quenched the fire of my
+heart!' Replied she, 'May He preserve thee from the Fire!, but
+now tell me, O Janshah, what hath befallen thee since our parting
+and how thou madest thy way to this place; seeing that few even
+of the Jann ever heard of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; and we are
+independent of all the Kings nor any wotteth the road hither.'
+Thereupon he related to her every adventure and peril and
+hardship he had suffered and how he had left his father at war
+with King Kafid, ending with these words, 'And all for thy sake,
+my lady Shamsah!' Quoth the Queen, 'Now hast thou thy heart's
+desire, for the Princess is thy handmaid, and we give her in free
+gift to thee.' Janshah joyed exceedingly at these words and the
+Queen added, 'Next month, if it be the will of Almighty Allah, we
+will have a brave wedding and celebrate the marriage festival and
+after the knot is tied we will send you both back to thy native
+land, with an escort of a thousand Marids of our body-guard, the
+least of whom, an thou bid him slay King Kafid and his folk,
+would surely destroy them to the last man in the twinkling of an
+eye. Furthermore if it please thee we will send thee, year after
+year, a company of which each and every can so do with all thy
+foes.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the
+lady Shamsah's mother ended with saying, 'And if it so please
+thee we will send thee, year after year, a company of which each
+and every can destroy thy foes to the last man.' Then King
+Shahlan sat down on his throne and, summoning his Grandees and
+Officers of state, bade them make ready for the marriage-
+festivities and decorate the city seven days and nights. 'We hear
+and we obey,' answered they and busied themselves two months in
+the preparations, after which they celebrated the marriage of the
+Prince and Princess and held a mighty festival, never was there
+its like. Then they brought Janshah in to his bride and he abode
+with her in all solace of life and delight for two years, at the
+end of which time he said to her, 'Thy father promised to send us
+to my native land, that we might pass one year there and the next
+here.' Answered she, I hear and obey,' and going in to King
+Shahlan at nightfall told him what the Prince had said. Quoth he,
+'I consent; but have patience with me till the first of the
+month, that I may make ready for your departure.' She repeated
+these words to her husband and they waited till the appointed
+time, when the King bade his Marids bring out to them a great
+litter of red gold, set with pearls and jewels and covered with a
+canopy of green silk, purfled in a profusion of colours and
+embroidered with precious stones, dazzling with its goodliness
+the eyes of every beholder. He chose out four of his Marids to
+carry the litter in whichever of the four quarters the riders
+might choose. Moreover, he gave his daughter three hundred
+beautiful damsels to wait upon her and bestowed on Janshah the
+like number of white slaves of the sons of the Jinn. Then the
+lady Shamsah took formal leave of her mother and sisters and all
+her kith and kin; and her father fared forth with them. So the
+four Marids took up the litter, each by one corner, and rising
+under it like birds in air, flew onward with it between earth and
+heaven till mid-day, when the King bade them set it down and all
+alighted. Then they took leave of one another and King Shahlan
+commended Shamsah to the Prince's care, and giving them in charge
+to the Marids, returned to the Castle of Jewels, whilst the
+Prince and Princess remounted the litter, and the Marids taking
+it up, flew on for ten whole days, in each of which they
+accomplished thirty months' journey, till they sighted the
+capital of King Teghmus. Now one of them knew the land of Kabul;
+so when he saw the city, he bade the others let down the litter
+at that populous place which was the capital."--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Marid
+guards let down the litter at the capital of King Teghmus who had
+been routed and had fled from his foes into the city, where he
+was in sore straits, King Kafid having laid close siege to him.
+He sought to save himself by making peace with the King of Hind,
+but his enemy would give him no quarter; so seeing himself
+without resource or means of relief, he determined to strangle
+himself and to die and be at rest from this trouble and misery.
+Accordingly he bade his Wazirs and Emirs farewell and entered his
+house to take leave of his Harim; and the whole realm was full of
+weeping and wailing and lamentation and woe. And whilst this rout
+and hurly-burly was enacting, behold, the Marids descended with
+the litter upon the palace that was in the citadel, and Janshah
+bade them set it down in the midst of the Divan. They did his
+bidding and he alighted with his company of handmaids and
+Mamelukes; and, seeing all the folk of the city in straits and
+desolation and sore distress, said to the Princess, 'O love of my
+heart and coolth of mine eyes, look in what a piteous plight is
+my sire!' There upon she bade the Marid guard fall upon the
+beleaguering host and slay them, saying, 'Kill ye all, even to
+the last man;' and Janshah commanded one of them, by name
+Karátash,[FN#565] who was exceeding strong and valiant, to bring
+King Kafid to him in chains. So they set down the litter and
+covered it with the canopy; then, having waited till midnight,
+they attacked the enemy's camp one of them being a match for ten;
+or at least for eight. And while these smote the foes with iron
+maces, those mounted their magical elephants and soared high in
+the lift, and then swooping down and snatching up their
+opponents, tare them to pieces in mid air. But Karatash made
+straight for Kafid's tent where he found him lying in a couch; so
+he took him up, shrieking for fear, and flew with him to Janshah,
+who bade the four Marids bind him on the litter and hang him high
+in the air over his camp, that he might witness the slaughter of
+his men. They did as the Prince commanded them and left Kafid,
+who had swooned for fear, hanging between earth and air and
+buffeting his face for grief. As for King Teghmus, when he saw
+his son, he well-nigh died for excess of joy and, crying with a
+loud cry, fell down in a swoon. They sprinkled rose-water on his
+face, till he came to himself, when he and his son embraced and
+wept with sore weeping; for he knew not that the Jinn guard were
+battling with King Kafid's men. Then Princess Shamsah accosted
+the King and kissing his hand, said to him, 'Sire, be pleased to
+go up with me to the palace-roof and witness the slaughter of thy
+foes by my father's Marids.' So he went up to the terrace-roof
+and sitting down there with his daughter-in-law, enjoyed watching
+the Marids do havoc among the besiegers and break a way through
+the length and breadth of them. For one of them smote with his
+iron mace upon the elephants and their riders and pounded them
+till man was not to be distinguished from beast; whilst another
+shouted in the faces of those who fled, so that they fell down
+dead; and the third caught up a score of horsemen, beasts and
+all; and, towering with them high in air, cast them down on
+earth, so that they were torn in pieces. And this was high
+enjoyment for Janshah and his father and the lady Shamsah."--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King
+Teghmus and his son and daughter-in-law went up to the terrace
+roof and enjoyed a prospect of the Jinn-guards battling with the
+beleaguering host. And King Kafid (still hanging between heaven
+and earth) also saw the slaughter of his troops and wept sore and
+buffeted his face; nor did the carnage cease among the army of
+Hind for two whole days, till they were cut off even to the last
+man. Then Janshah commanded a Marid, by name Shimwál, chain up
+King Kafid with manacles and fetters, and imprison him in a tower
+called the Black Bulwark. And when his bidding was done, King
+Teghmus bade beat the drums and despatched messengers to announce
+the glad news to Janshah's mother, informing her of his approach;
+whereupon she mounted in great joy and she no sooner espied her
+son than she clasped him in her arms and swooned away for stress
+of gladness. They sprinkled rose-water on her face, till she came
+to herself, when she embraced him again and again wept for excess
+of joy. And when the lady Shamsah knew of her coming, she came to
+her and saluted her; and they embraced each other and after
+remaining embraced for an hour sat down to converse. Then King
+Teghmus threw open the city gates and despatched couriers to all
+parts of the kingdom, to spread the tidings of his happy
+deliverance; whereupon all his princely Vassals and Emirs and the
+Grandees of the realm flocked to salute him and give him joy of
+his victory and of the safe return of his son; and they brought
+him great store of rich offerings and curious presents. The
+visits and oblations continued for some time, after which the
+King made a second and a more splendid bride-feast for the
+Princess Shamsah and bade decorate the city and held high
+festival. Lastly they unveiled and paraded the bride before
+Janshah, with apparel and ornaments of the utmost magnificence,
+and when her bridegroom went in to her he presented her with an
+hundred beautiful slave-girls to wait upon her. Some days after
+this, the Princess repaired to the King and interceded with him
+for Kafid, saying, 'Suffer him return to his own land, and if
+henceforward he be minded to do thee a hurt, I will bid one of
+the Jinn-guard snatch him up and bring him to thee.' Replied
+Teghmus, 'I hear and I obey,' and bade Shimwal bring him the
+prisoner, who came manacled and fettered and kissed earth between
+his hands. Then he commanded to strike off his chains and,
+mounting him on a lame mare, said to him, 'Verily Princess
+Shamsah hath interceded for thee: so begone to thy kingdom, but
+if thou fall again to thine old tricks, she will send one of the
+Marids to seize thee and bring thee hither.' Thereupon King Kafid
+set off home wards, in the sorriest of plights,"--And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+       When it was the Five Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid
+set off homewards in the sorriest of plights, whilst Janshah and
+his wife abode in all solace and delight of life, making the most
+of its joyance and happiness. All this recounted the youth
+sitting between the tombs unto Bulukiya, ending with, 'And
+behold, I am Janshah who witnessed all these things, O my
+brother, O Bulukiya!' Then Bulukiya who was wandering the world
+in his love for Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!) asked
+Janshah, 'O my brother, what be these two sepulchres and why
+sittest thou between them and what causeth thy weeping?' He
+answered, 'Know, O Bulukiya, that we abode in all solace and
+delight of life, passing one year at home and the next at Takni,
+the Castle of Jewels, whither we betook not ourselves but in the
+litter borne by the Marids and flying between heaven and earth.'
+Quoth Bulukiya, 'O my brother, O Janshah, what was the distance
+between the Castle and thy home?' Quoth he, 'Every day we
+accomplished a journey of thirty months and the time we took was
+ten days. We abode on this wise a many of years till, one year we
+set out for the Castle of Jewels, as was our wont, and on the way
+thither alighted from the litter in this island to rest and take
+our pleasure therein. We sat down on the riverbank and ate and
+drank; after which the Lady Shamsah, having a mind to bathe, put
+off her clothes and plunged into the water. Her women did
+likewise and they swam about awhile, whilst I walked on along the
+bank of the stream leaving them to swim about and play with one
+another. And behold, a huge shark of the monsters of the deep
+seized the Princess by the leg, without touching any of the
+girls; and she cried out and died forthright, whilst the damsels
+fled out of the river to the pavilion, to escape from the shark.
+But after awhile they returned and taking up her corpse carried
+her to the litter. Now when I saw her dead, I fell down fainting
+and they sprinkled water on my face, till I recovered and wept
+over her. Then I despatched the Jinn-guards to her parents and
+family, announcing what had befallen her; and in the shortest
+time they came to the spot and washed her and shrouded her, after
+which they buried her by the river-side and made mourning for
+her. They would have carried me with them to their own country;
+but I said to King Shahlan, 'I beseech thee to dig me a grave
+beside her tomb, that, when I die, I may be buried by her side in
+that grave.' Accordingly, the King commanded one of his Marids to
+do as I wished, after which they departed and left me here to
+weep and mourn for her till I die. And this is my story and the
+cause of my sojourn between these two tombs.' And he repeated
+these two couplets,[FN#566]
+
+'The house, sweet heart, is now no home to me * Since thou art
+     gone, nor neighbour neighbourly,
+The friend whilom I took to heart, no more * Is friend, and
+     brightest lights lose brilliancy.'
+
+But when Bulukiya heard out Janshah's tale he marvelled,"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Bulukiya heard out Janshah's tale he wondered and exclaimed, 'By
+Allah, methought I had indeed wandered over the world and
+compassed it about; but now I forget all I have seen after
+listening to these adventures of thine!' He was silent a while
+and then resumed, 'I beg thee, of thy favour and courtesy, to
+direct me in the way of safety.' So Janshah directed him into the
+right road, and Bulukiya farewelled him and went his ways." All
+this the Serpent-queen related to Hasib Karim al-Din, and he
+asked her, "But how knowest thou of these things?"; and she
+answered, "O Hasib, thou must ken that I had occasion, some five-
+and-twenty years ago, to send one of my largest serpents to Egypt
+and gave her a letter for Bulukiya, saluting him. So she went
+there willingly for she had a daughter in the land called Bint
+Shumukh[FN#567]; and after asking anent Bulukiya she found him
+and gave him my missive. He read it and replied to the messenger
+snake, 'Thou comest from the Queen of the Serpents whom I am
+minded to visit for I have an occasion to her.' She replied, 'I
+hear and obey.' Then she bore him to her daughter of whom she
+took leave and said to her companion, 'Close thine eyes.' So he
+closed them and opening them again, behold, he found himself on
+the mountain where I now am. Then his guide carried him to a
+great serpent, whom he saluted; whereupon quoth she, 'Didst thou
+deliver the missive to Bulukiya?'; and she replied, 'Even so; and
+he hath accompanied me and here he standeth.' Presently Bulukiya
+asked after me, the Serpent-queen, and the great serpent
+answered, 'She hath gone to the mountain Kaf with all her host,
+as is her wont in winter; but next summer she will come hither
+again. As often as she goeth thither, she appointeth me to reign
+in her room, during her absence; and if thou have any occasion to
+her, I will accomplish it for thee.' Said he, 'I beg thee to
+bring me the herb, which whoso crusheth and drinketh the juice
+thereof, sickeneth not neither groweth grey nor dieth.' 'I will
+not bring it,' said the serpent, 'till thou tell me what befell
+thee since thou leftest the Queen of the Serpents, to go with
+Affan in quest of King Solomon's tomb.' So he related to her all
+his travels and adventures, together with the history of Janshah,
+and said at last, 'Grant me my request, that I may return to mine
+own country.' Replied the serpent, 'By the virtue of the lord
+Solomon, I know not where is to be found the herb whereof thou
+speakest.' Then she bade the serpent which had brought him
+thither, carry him back to Egypt: so the messenger obeyed her and
+said to him, 'Shut thine eyes!' He did so and, opening them
+again, found himself on the mountain Mukattam.[FN#568] When I
+returned from the mountain Kaf (added the Queen) the serpent, my
+deputy, informed me of Bulukiya's visit and gave me his
+salutations and repeated to me his story and his meeting with
+Janshah. And this, O Hasib, is how I came to know the adventures
+of Bulukiya and the history of Janshah." Thereupon Hasib said to
+her, "O Queen, deign recount to me what befell Bulukiya as
+regards his return to Egypt." She replied, "Know, O Hasib, that
+when he parted from Janshah he fared on nights and days till he
+came to a great sea; so he anointed his feet with the juice of
+the magical herb and, walking over the face of the waters, sped
+onwards till he came to an island abounding in trees and springs
+and fruits, as it were the Garden of Eden. He landed and walked
+about, till he saw an immense tree, with leaves as big as the
+sails of a ship. So he went up to the tree and found under it a
+table spread with all manner meats, whilst on a branch of the
+branches sat a great bird, whose body was of pearls and leek-
+green emeralds, its feet of silver, its beak of red carnelian and
+its plumery of precious metals; and it was engaged in singing the
+praises of Allah the Most High and blessing Mohammed (on whom be
+benediction and peace!)"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Bulukiya landed and walked about the island he found therein many
+marvels, especially a bird whose body was of pearls and leek
+green emeralds and its plumery of precious metals; and it was
+engaged in singing the praises of Allah the Most High and
+blessing Mohammed (upon whom be benediction and peace!). Seeing
+this he said, 'Who and what art thou?' Quoth the bird, 'I am one
+of the birds of Eden and followed Adam when Allah Almighty cast
+him out thence. And know, O my brother, that Allah also cast out
+with him four leaves of the trees of the garden to cover his
+nakedness withal, and they fell to the ground after awhile. One
+of them was eaten by a worm, and of it came silk: the gazelles
+ate the second and thence proceeded musk, the third was eaten by
+bees and gave rise to honey, whilst the fourth fell in the land
+of Hind and from it sprang all manner of spices. As for me, I
+wandered over the face of earth till Allah deigned give me this
+island for a dwelling-place, and I took up my abode here. And
+every Friday from night till morning the Saints and
+Princes[FN#569] of the Faith flock to this place and make pious
+visitation and eat from this table spread by Allah Almighty; and
+after they have eaten, the table is taken up again to Heaven: nor
+doth the food ever waste or corrupt.' So Bulukiya ate his fill of
+the meats and praised the Great Creator. And presently, behold,
+there came up Al-Khizr[FN#570] (with whom be peace!), at sight of
+whom Bulukiya rose and saluting him, was about to withdraw, when
+the bird said to him, 'Sit, O Bulukiya, in the presence of
+Al-Khizr, on whom be peace!' So he sat down again, and Al-Khizr
+said to him, 'Let me know who thou art and tell me thy tale.'
+Thereupon Bulukiya related to him all his adventures from
+beginning to end and asked, 'O my lord, how far is it hence to
+Cairo?' 'Five and ninety years' journey,' replied the Prophet;
+whereupon Bulukiya burst into tears; then, falling at Al-Khizr's
+feet, kissed them and said to him, 'I beseech thee deliver me
+from this strangerhood and thy reward be with Allah, for that I
+am nigh upon death and know not what to do.' Quoth Al-Khizr,
+'Pray to Allah Almighty that He permit me to carry thee to Cairo,
+ere thou perish.' So Bulukiya wept and humbled himself before
+Allah who granted his prayer, and by inspiration bade Al-Khizr
+bear him to his people. Then said the Prophet, 'Lift thy head,
+for Allah hath heard thy prayer and hath inspired me to do what
+thou desires; so take fast hold of me with both thy hands and
+shut thine eyes.' The Prince did as he was bidden and Al-Khizr
+stepped a single step forwards, then said to him, 'Open thine
+eyes!' So Bulukiya opened his eyes and found himself at the door
+of his palace at Cairo. He turned, to take leave of Al-Khizr, but
+found no trace of him."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when
+Bulukiya, standing at the gate of his palace, turned to take
+leave of Al-Khizr, he found no trace of him and entered the
+palace. When his mother saw him, she cried with a loud cry and
+swooned away for excess of joy, and they sprinkled water upon her
+face. After awhile she came to herself and embraced her son and
+wept with sore weeping, whilst Bulukiya wept and laughed by
+turns. Then all his friends and kindred came and gave him joy of
+his safe return, and the news was noised abroad in the land and
+there came to him presents from all parts. Moreover, they beat
+the drums and blew the flutes and rejoiced mightily. Then
+Bulukiya related to them his adventures ending with recounting
+how Al-Khizr had set him down at his palace door, whereat they
+marvelled exceedingly and wept, till all were a-weary of
+weeping." Hasib wondered at the Queen's tale and shed many tears
+over it; then he again besought her to let him return to his
+family; but she said, "I fear me, O Hasib, that when thou gettest
+back to thy country thou wilt fail of thy promise and prove
+traitor to thine oath and enter the Hammam." But he swore to her
+another solemn oath that he would never again enter the baths as
+long as he lived; whereupon she called a serpent and bade her
+carry him up to the surface of the earth. So the serpent took him
+and led him from place to place, till she brought him out on the
+platform-edge of an abandoned cistern and there left him. Upon
+this he walked to the city and, coming to his house by the last
+of the day, at the yellowing of the sun, knocked at the door. His
+mother opened it and seeing her son screamed out and threw
+herself upon him and wept for excess of joy. His wife heard her
+mother-in-law weeping; so she came out to her and seeing her
+husband, saluted him and kissed his hands; and each rejoiced in
+other with exceeding joy of all three. Then they entered the
+house and sat down to converse and presently Hasib asked his
+mother of the woodcutters, who had left him to perish in the
+cistern. Quoth she, "They came and told me that a wolf had eaten
+thee in the Wady. As for them, they are become merchants and own
+houses and shops, and the world is grown wide for them. But every
+day they bring me meat and drink, and thus have they done until
+the present time." Quoth Hasib, "To-morrow do thou go to them and
+say, "My son Hasib Karim al-Din hath returned from his travels;
+so come ye to meet him and salute him." Accordingly, when morning
+dawned, she repaired to the woodcutters' houses and delivered to
+them her son's message, which when they heard, they changed
+colour, and saying, "We hear and obey," gave her each a suit of
+silk, embroidered with gold, adding, "Present this to thy good
+son[FN#571] and tell him that we will be with him to-morrow." She
+assented and returning to Hasib gave him their presents and
+message. Meanwhile, the woodcutters called together a number of
+merchants and, acquainting them with all that had passed between
+themselves and Hasib, took counsel with them what they should do.
+Quoth the merchants, "It behoveth each one of you to give him
+half his monies and Mamelukes." And they all agreed to do this;
+so on the next day, each of them took half his wealth and, going
+in to Hasib, saluted him and kissed his hands. Then they laid
+before him what they had brought, saying, "This is of thy
+bounties, and we are in thy hands." He accepted their peace-
+offering and said, "What is past is past: that which befell us
+was decreed of Allah, and destiny doeth away with dexterity."
+Quoth they, "Come, let us walk about and take our solace in the
+city and visit the Hammam." Quoth he, "Not so: I have taken an
+oath never again to enter the baths, so long as I live." Rejoined
+they, at least come to our homes that we may entertain thee." He
+agreed to this, and went to their houses and each of them
+entertained him for a night and a day; nor did they cease to do
+thus for a whole sennight, being seven in number. And now Hasib
+was master of monies and houses and shops, and the merchants of
+the city foregathered with him and he told them all that had
+befallen him. He became one of the chiefs of the guild and abode
+on this wise awhile, till it happened one day, as he was walking
+about the streets, that he passed the door of a Hammam, whose
+keeper was one of his companions. When the bathman, who was
+standing without, caught his eye he ran up to him and saluted him
+and embraced him, saying, "Favour me by entering the bath and
+there wash and be rubbed that I may show thee hospitality." Hasib
+refused, alleging that he had taken a solemn oath never again to
+enter the Hammam; but the bathman was instant with him, saying,
+"Be my three wives triply divorced, can thou enter not and be
+washed!" When Hasib heard him thus conjure him, he was confounded
+and replied, "O my brother, hast thou a mind to ruin my house and
+make my children orphans and lay a load of sin upon my neck?" But
+his friend threw himself at his feet and kissed them, saying, "My
+happiness dependeth upon thy entering, and be the sin on the neck
+of me!" Then all the servants of the bath set upon Hasib and
+dragging him in pulled off his clothes. But hardly had he sat
+down against the wall and begun to pour water on his head when a
+score of men accosted him, saying, "Rise, O man, and come with us
+to the Sultan, for thou art his debtor." Then they despatched one
+of them as messenger to the Sultan's Minister, who straightway
+took horse and rode, attended by threescore Mamelukes, to the
+baths, where he alighted and going in to Hasib, saluted him and
+said, "Welcome to thee!" Then he gave the bathman an hundred
+diners and, mounting Hasib on a horse he had brought with him,
+returned with him and all his men to the Sultan's palace. Here he
+bade them aid Hasib to dismount and, after seating him
+comfortably, set food before him; and when they had eaten and
+drunken and washed their hands, the Wazir clad him in two dresses
+of honour each worth five thousand diners and said to him, "Know
+that Allah hath been merciful to us in sending thee; for the
+Sultan is nigh upon death by leprosy, and the books tell us that
+his life is in thy hands. Then, accompanied by a host of
+Grandees, he took him wondering withal and carried him through
+the seven doorways of the palace, till they came to the King's
+chamber. Now the name of this King was Karazdán, King of Persia
+and of the Seven Countries, and under his sway were an hundred
+sovereign princes sitting on chairs of red gold, and ten thousand
+valiant captains, under each one's hand an hundred deputies and
+as many headsmen armed with sword and axe. They found the King
+lying on his bed with his face swathed in a napkin, and groaning
+for excess of pain. When Hasib saw this ordinance, his wit was
+dazed for awe of the King; so he kissed the ground before him,
+and prayed a blessing on him. Then the Grand Wazir, whose name
+was Shamhúr, rose and welcoming Hasib, seated him on a high chair
+at the King's right hand."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+     When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir
+Shamhur rose to Hasib and seated him on a chair at the right hand
+of King Karazdan; after which he called for food and the tables
+were laid. And when they had eaten and drunken and washed their
+hands, Shamhur stood up (while all present also stood to do him
+honour) and, approaching Hasib said to him, "We are all thy
+servants and will give thee whatsoever thou askest, even were it
+one half the kingdom, so thou wilt but cure the King." Saying
+this, he led him by the hand to the royal couch, and Hasib,
+uncovering the King's face, saw that he was at last fatal stage
+of the disease; so he wondered at their hoping for a cure. But
+the Wazir kissed his hand and repeated his offers and ended with
+saying, "All we want of thee is to heal our King:" so he said to
+the Wazir, "True that I am the son of Allah's prophet, Daniel,
+but I know nothing of his art: for they put me thirty days in the
+school of medicine and I learnt nothing of the craft. I would
+well I knew somewhat thereof and might heal the King." Hearing
+this, the Grand Wazir said, "Do not multiply words upon us; for
+though we should gather together to us physicians from the East
+and from the West, none could cure the King save thou." Answered
+Hasib, "How can I make him whole, seeing I know neither his case
+nor its cure?" Quoth the Minister, "His healing is in thy hands,"
+and quoth Hasib, "If I knew the remedy of his sickness, I would
+heal him." Thereupon the Wazir rejoined, "Thou keenest a cure
+right well; the remedy of his sickness is the Queen of the
+Serpents, and thou knowest her abiding-place and hast been with
+her." When Hasib heard this, he knew that all this came of his
+entering the Baths, and repented whenas repentance availed him
+naught; then said he, "What is the Queen of the Serpents? I know
+her not nor ever in all my life heard I of this name." Retorted
+the Wazir, "Deny not the knowledge of her, for I have proof that
+thou knowest her and hast passed two years with her." Repeated
+Hasib, "Verily, I never saw her nor even heard of her till this
+moment;" upon which Shamhur opened a book and, after making
+sundry calculations, raised his head and spake as follows. "The
+Queen of the Serpents shall foregather with a man who shall abide
+with her two years; then shall he return from her and come forth
+to the surface of the earth, and when he entereth the Hammam bath
+his belly will become black." Then said he, "Look at thy belly."
+So Hasib looked at his own belly and behold, it was black: but he
+persisted in his denial and said, "My belly was black from the
+day my mother bare me." Said the Wazir, "I had stationed three
+Mamelukes at the door of every Hammam, bidding them note all who
+entered and let me know when they found one whose belly was
+black: so, when thou enteredst, they looked at thy belly and,
+finding it black, sent and told me, after we had well-nigh lost
+hope of coming upon thee. All we want of thee is to show us the
+place whence thou camest out and after go thy ways; for we have
+those with us who will take the Queen of the Serpents and fetch
+her to us." Then all the other Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees
+flocked about Hasib who sorely repented of his misdeed; and they
+conjured him, till they were weary, to show them the abode of the
+Queen; but he ceased not saying, "I never saw nor heard of the
+matter." Then the Grand Wazir called the hangman and bade him
+strip Hasib and beat him a sore beating; and so they did till he
+saw death face to face, for excess of pain, and the Wazir said,
+"We have proof that thou knowest the abiding-place of the Queen
+of the Serpents: why wilt thou persist in denial? Show us the
+place whence thou camest out and go from us; we have with us one
+who will take her, and no harm shall befall thee." Then he raised
+him and bade give him a dress of honour of cloth of red gold,
+embroidered with jewels, and spoke him fair till Hasib yielded
+and said, "I will show you the place." At this the Wazir rejoiced
+with great joy and took horse with all his many and rode, guided
+by Hasib, and never drew rein till they came to the mountain
+containing the cavern wherein he had found the cistern full of
+honey. There all dismounted and followed him as he entered,
+sighing and weeping, and showed them the well whence he had
+issued; whereupon the Wazir sat down thereby and, sprinkling
+perfumes upon a chafing-dish, began to mutter charms and
+conjurations; for he was a crafty magician and diviner and
+skilled in spiritual arts.  He repeated three several formulas of
+conjuration and between each threw fresh incense upon the fire,
+crying out and saying, "Come forth, O Queen of the Serpents!;"
+when behold, the water of the well sank down and a great door
+opened in the side, from which came a mighty noise of crying like
+unto thunder, so terrible that they thought the well had caved in
+and all present fell down fainting; nay, some even died for
+fright. Presently, there issued from the well a serpent as big as
+an elephant, casting out sparks, like red hot coals, from its
+eyes and mouth and bearing on its back a charger of red gold, set
+with pearls and jewels, in the midst whereof lay a serpent from
+whose body issued such splendour that the place was illumined
+thereby; and her face was fair and young and she spoke with most
+eloquent tongue. The Serpent-queen turned right and left, till
+her eyes fell upon Hasib, to whom said she "Where is the covenant
+thou madest with me, and the oath thou swearest to me, that thou
+wouldst never again enter the Hammam-bath? But there is no
+fighting against Fate nor hath any ever fled from that which is
+written on his forehead. Allah hath appointed the end of my life
+for thy hand to hend, and it is His will that slain I be and King
+Karazdan be healed of his malady." So saying, she wept with sore
+weeping and Hasib wept to see her weep. As for the abominable
+Wazir Shamhur; he put out his hand to lay hold of her; but she
+said to him, "Hold thy hand, O accursed, or I will blow upon thee
+and reduce thee to a heap of black ashes." Then she cried out to
+Hasib, saying, "Draw near me and take me in thine hand and lay me
+in the dish that is with you: then set it on thy head, for my
+death was fore-ordained, from Eternity without beginning,[FN#572]
+to be at thy hand, and thou hast no power to avert it." So he
+took her and laid her in the dish, and put it on his head, when
+the well returned to its former state. Then they set out on their
+return to the city, Hasib carrying the dish on his head, and when
+they were half-way behold, the Queen of the Serpents said to him
+privily, "Hearken, O Hasib, to my friendly counsel, for all thou
+hast broken faith with me and been false to thine oath, and hast
+done this misdeed, but it was fore-ordained from all eternity."
+He replied "To hear is to obey," and she continued, "It is this:
+when thou comest to the Wazir's house, he will bid thee behead me
+and cut me in three; but do thou refuse saying, 'I know not how
+to slaughter[FN#473]' and leave him to do it with his own hand
+and to work his wicked will. When he hath cut my throat and
+divided my body into three pieces there will come a messenger, to
+bid him to the King, so he will lay my flesh in a cauldron of
+brass and set it upon a brasier before going to the presence and
+he will say to thee, 'Keep up the fire under the cauldron till
+the scum rise; then skim it off and pour it into a phial to cool.
+Wait till it cool and then drink it, so shall naught of malady or
+pain be left in all thy body. When the second scum riseth, skim
+it off and pour it into a phial against my return from the King,
+that I may drink it for an ailment I have in my loins.' Then will
+he give thee the phials and go to the King, and when he is gone,
+do thou light the fire and wait till the first scum rise and set
+it in a phial; keep it by thee but beware of drinking it, or no
+good will befall thee. When the second scum riseth, skim it off
+and put it in a second phial and drink it down as soon as it
+cools. When the Wazir returneth and asketh thee for the second
+phial, give him the first and note what shall befall him;"--And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
+Serpent-queen charged Hasib not to drink of the first scum and
+carefully to keep the second, saying, "When the Wazir returneth
+from the King and asketh for the second phial, give him the first
+and note what shall befall him; then drink the contents of the
+second phial and thy heart will become the home of wisdom. After
+this take up the flesh and, laying it in a brazen platter, carry
+it to the King and give him to eat thereof. When he hath eaten it
+and it hath settled in his stomach, veil his face with a kerchief
+and wait by him till noontide, when he will have digested the
+meat. Then give him somewhat of wine to drink and, by the decree
+of Allah Almighty, he will be healed of his unhealth and be made
+whole as he was. And give thou ear to the charge wherewith I
+charge thee; and keep it in thy memory with carefullest keeping."
+They ceased not faring till they came to the Wazir's house, and
+he said to Hasib, "Come in with me!" So he went in and the troops
+dispersed and fared each his own way; whereupon Hasib set down
+the platter and the Wazir bade him slay the Queen of the
+Serpents; but he said, "I know not how to slaughter and never in
+my born days killed I aught. An thou wilt have her throat cut, do
+it with thine own hand." So the Minister Shamhur took the Queen
+from the platter and slew her, seeing which Hasib wept bitter
+tears and the Wazir laughed at him, saying, "O weak of wits, how
+canst thou weep for the killing of a worm?" Then he cut her in
+three and, laying the pieces in a brass cauldron, set it on the
+fire and sat down to await the cooking of the flesh. And whilst
+he was sitting, lo! there came a slave from the King, who said to
+him, "The King calls for thee without stay or delay," and he
+answered saying, "I hear and I obey." So he gave Hasib two phials
+and bade him drink the first scum and keep the second against his
+return,[FN#574] even as the Queen of the Serpents had foretold;
+after which he went away with repeated charges and injunctions;
+and Hasib tended the fire under the cauldron till the first scum
+rose, when he skimmed it off and, setting it in one of the
+phials, kept it by him. He then fed the fire till the second scum
+rose; then he skimmed it off and, putting it in the other phial
+kept it for himself. And when the meat was done, he took the
+cauldron off the fire and sat awaiting the Wazir who asked him on
+return, "What hast thou done?" and answered Hasib, "I did thy
+bidding to the last word." Quoth the Wazir, "What hast thou done
+with the first phial?" "I drank its contents but now," replied
+Hasib, and Shamhur asked, "Thy body feeleth it no change?";
+whereto Hasib answered, "Verily, I feel as I were on fire from
+front to foot." The villain Wazir made no reply hiding the truth
+but said, "Hand me the second phial, that I may drink what is
+therein, so haply I may be made whole of this ailing in my
+loins." So Hasib brought him the first phial and he drank it off,
+thinking it contained the second scum; but hardly had he done
+drinking when the phial fell from his hand and he swelled up and
+dropped down dead; and thus was exemplified in him the saying;
+"Whoso for his brother diggeth a pit, he shall be the first to
+fall into it." Now when Hasib saw this, he wondered and feared to
+drink of the second phial; but he remembered the Serpent-queen's
+injunction and bethought him that the Wazir would not have
+reserved the second scum for himself, had there been aught of
+hurt therein. So he said, "I put my trust in Allah,'[FN#575] and
+drank off the contents of the phial. No sooner had he done so,
+than the Most Highest made the waters of wisdom to well up in his
+heart and opened to him the fountains of knowledge, and joy and
+gladness overcame him. Then he took the serpent's flesh from the
+cauldron and, laying it on a platter of brass, went forth from
+the Wazir's house. On his way to the palace he raised his eyes
+and saw the seven Heavens and all that therein is, even to the
+Lote-tree, beyond which there is no passing,[FN#576] and the
+manner of the revolution of the spheres. Moreover, Allah
+discovered to him the ordinance of the planets and the scheme of
+their movements and the fixed stars; and he saw the contour of
+the land and sea, whereby he became informed with geometry,
+astrology and astronomy and mathematics and all that hangeth
+thereby; and he understood the causes and consequences of
+eclipses of the sun and moon. Then he looked at the earth and saw
+all minerals and vegetables that are therein and thereon; and he
+learned their properties, and their virtues, so that he became in
+an instant versed in medicine and chemistry and natural magic and
+the art of making gold and silver. And he ceased not carrying the
+flesh till he came to the palace, when he went in to King
+Karazdan, and kissing the ground before him, said, "May thy head
+survive thy Wazir Shamhur!" The King was mightily angered at the
+news of the Grand Wazir's death and wept for him, whilst his
+Emirs and his Grandees and officers also wept. Then said
+Karazdan, "He was with me but now, in all health, and went away
+to fetch me the flesh of the Queen of the Serpents, if it should
+be cooked; what befell him that he is now dead, and what accident
+hath betided him?" So Hasib told him the whole truth how the
+Minister had drunk the contents of the phial and had forthwith
+swelled out and died. The King mourned for his loss with mourning
+sore and said to Hasib, "What shall I do without Shamhur?" and
+Hasib answered "Grieve not, O King of the age; for I will cure
+thee within three days and leave no whit of disease in thy body."
+At this the King's breast waxed broad and he said, "I wish to be
+made whole of this affliction, though after a long term of
+years." So Hasib set the platter before the King and made him eat
+a slice of the flesh of the Serpent-queen. Then he covered him up
+and, spreading a kerchief over his face, bade him sleep and sat
+down by his side. He slept from noonday till sundown, while his
+stomach digested the piece of flesh, and presently he awoke.
+Hasib gave him somewhat of wine to drink and bade him sleep
+again; so he slept till the morning and when dawn appeared, Hasib
+repeated the treatment making him eat another piece of the flesh;
+and thus he did with him three days following, till he had eaten
+the whole, when his skin began to shrink and scale off and he
+perspired, so that the sweat ran down from his head to his heels.
+Therewith he became whole and there abode in him no trace of the
+disease, which when Hasib saw, he said, "There is no help for it
+but thou go to the Hammam." So he carried him to the bath and
+washed his body; and when he came forth, it was like a wand of
+silver and he was restored to health, nay, sounder than he was
+before he fell ill. Thereupon he donned his richest robes and,
+seating himself on his throne, deigned make Hasib sit beside him.
+Then he bade the tables be spread and they ate and washed their
+hands; after which he called for the service of wine and both
+drank their fill. Upon this all his Wazirs and Emirs and Captains
+and the Grandees of his realm and the notables of the lieges came
+in to him and gave him joy of his recovery; and they beat the
+drums and adorned the city in token of rejoicing. Then said the
+King to the assembly, "O Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees, this is
+Hasim Karim al-Din, who hath healed me of my sickness, and know
+all here present that I make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of
+the Wazir Shamhur."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+
+      When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth
+King Karazdan to his Ministers and high lords, "He who healed me
+of my sickness is none other than Hasib Karim al-Din here
+present. Therefore I make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the
+Wazir Shamhur; and whoso loveth him loveth me, and whoso
+honoureth him honoureth me, and he who obeyeth him obeyeth me."
+"Hearkening and obedience," answered they and all rising flocked
+to kiss Hasib's hand and salute him and give him joy of the
+Wazirate. Then the King bestowed on him a splendid dress of gold
+brocade, set with pearls and gems, the least of which was worth
+five thousand gold pieces. Moreover, he presented to him three
+hundred male white slaves and the like number of concubines, in
+loveliness like moons, and three hundred Abyssinian[FN#577]
+slave-girls, beside five hundred mules laden with treasure and
+sheep and oxen and buffaloes and bulls and other cattle beyond
+count; and he commanded all his Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees and
+Notables and Mamelukes and his subjects in general to bring him
+gifts. Presently Hasib took horse and rode, followed by the
+Wazirs and Emirs and lords and all the troops, to the house which
+the King had set apart for him, where he sat down on a chair; and
+the Wazirs and Emirs came up to him and kissed hands and gave him
+joy of his Ministership, vying with one another in suit and
+service. When his mother and his household knew what had
+happened, they rejoiced with exceeding joy and congratulated him
+on his good fortune; and his quondam comrades the woodcutters
+also came and gave him joy. Then he mounted again and, riding to
+the house of the late Wazir Shamhur, laid hands on all that was
+therein and transported it to his own abode. On this wise did
+Hasib, from a dunsical know-nothing, unskilled to read writing,
+become, by the decree of Allah Almighty, an adept in every
+science and versed in all manner of knowledge, so that the fame
+of his learning was blazed abroad over the land and he became
+renowned as an ocean of lore and skill in medicine and astronomy
+and geometry and astrology and alchemy and natural magic and the
+Cabbala and Spiritualism and all other arts and sciences. One
+day, he said to his mother, "My father Daniel was exceeding wise
+and learned; tell me what he left by way of books or what not!"
+So his mother brought him the chest and, taking out the five
+leaves which had been saved when the library was lost, gave them
+to him saying, "These five scrolls are all thy father left thee."
+So he read them and said to her, "O my mother, these leaves are
+part of a book: where is the rest?" Quoth she, "Thy father made a
+voyage taking with him all his library and, when he was
+shipwrecked, every book was lost save only these five leaves. And
+when he was returned to me by Almighty Allah he found me with
+child and said to me: 'Haply thou wilt bear a boy; so take these
+scrolls and keep them by thee and whenas thy son shall grow up
+and ask what his father left him, give these leaves to him and
+say, 'Thy father left these as thine only heritance. And lo! here
+they are.' " And Hasib, now the most learned of his age, abode in
+all pleasure and solace, and delight of life, till there came to
+him the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of
+societies.[FN#578]  And yet, O King, is not this tale of Bulukiya
+and Janshah more wondrous than the adventures of
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Volume V.
+
+
+
+
+
+                    Arabian Nights, Volume 5
+                           Footnotes
+
+
+
+[FN#1]  This tale (one of those translated by Galland) is best
+and fullest in the Bresl. Edit. iii. 329.
+
+[FN#2]  Europe has degraded this autumnal festival, the Sun-fête
+Mihrgán (which balanced the vernal Nau-roz) into Michaelmas and
+its goose-massacre. It was so called because it began on the 16th
+of Mihr, the seventh month; and lasted six days, with feasts,
+festivities and great rejoicings in honour of the Sun, who now
+begins his southing-course to gladden the other half of the
+world.
+
+[FN#3]  "Hindí" is an Indian Moslem as opposed to "Hindú," a
+pagan, or Gentoo.
+
+[FN#4]  The orig. Persian word is "Sháh-púr"=King's son: the
+Greeks (who had no sh) (preferred      ); the Romans turned it
+into Sapor and the Arabs (who lack the p) into Sábúr. See p. x.
+Hamzæ ispahanensis Annalium Libri x.: Gottwaldt, Lipsiæ
+mdcccxlviii.
+
+[FN#5]  The magic horse may have originated with the Hindu tale
+of a wooden Garuda (the bird of Vishnu) built by a youth for the
+purpose of a vehicle. It came with the "Moors" to Spain and
+appears in "Le Cheval de Fust," a French poem of the thirteenth
+Century. Thence it passed over to England as shown by Chaucer's
+"Half-told tale of Cambuscan (Janghíz Khan?) bold," as
+
+     "The wondrous steed of brass
+     On which the Tartar King did ride;"
+
+And Leland (Itinerary) derives "Rutlandshire" from "a man named
+Rutter who rode round it on a wooden horse constructed by art
+magic." Lane (ii. 548) quotes the parallel story of Cleomades and
+Claremond which Mr. Keightley (Tales and Popular Fictions, chapt.
+ii) dates from our thirteenth century. See Vol. i., p. 160.
+
+[FN#6]  All Moslems, except those of the Máliki school, hold that
+the maker of an image representing anything of life will be
+commanded on the Judgment Day to animate it, and failing will be
+duly sent to the Fire. This severity arose apparently from the
+necessity of putting down idol-worship and, perhaps, for the same
+reason the Greek Church admits pictures but not statues. Of
+course the command has been honoured with extensive breaching:
+for instance all the Sultans of Stambul have had their portraits
+drawn and painted.
+
+[FN#7]  This description of ugly old age is written with true
+Arab verve.
+
+[FN#8]  Arab. "Badinján": Hind. Bengan: Pers. Bádingán or
+Badilján; the Mala insana (Solanum pomiferum or S. Melongena) of
+the Romans, well known in Southern Europe. It is of two kinds,
+the red (Solanum lycopersicum) and the black (S. Melongena). The
+Spaniards know it as "berengeria" and when Sancho Panza (Part ii.
+chapt. 2) says, "The Moors are fond of egg-plants" he means more
+than appears. The vegetable is held to be exceedingly heating and
+thereby to breed melancholia and madness; hence one says to a man
+that has done something eccentric, "Thou hast been eating
+brinjalls."
+
+[FN#9]  Again to be understood Hibernice "kilt."
+
+[FN#10]  i.e. for fear of the evil eye injuring the palace and,
+haply, himself.
+
+[FN#11]  The "Sufrah" before explained acting provision-bag and
+table-cloth.
+
+[FN#12]  Eastern women in hot weather, lie mother-nude under a
+sheet here represented by the hair. The Greeks and Romans also
+slept stripped and in mediæval England the most modest women saw
+nothing indelicate in sleeping naked by their naked husbands. The
+"night-cap" and the "night-gown" are comparatively modern
+inventions.
+
+[FN#13]  Hindu fable turns this simile into better poetry, "She
+was like a second and a more wondrous moon made by the Creator."
+
+[FN#14]  "Sun of the Day."
+
+[FN#15]  Arab. "Shirk"=worshipping more than one God. A
+theological term here most appropriately used.
+
+[FN#16]  The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The
+Prince lands on the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and
+finding no one in the building goes back to the terrace. Suddenly
+he sees a beautiful girl approaching him with a party of her
+women, suggesting to him these couplets,
+
+     "She came without tryst in the darkest hour, *
+          Like full moon lighting horizon's night:
+     Slim-formed, there is not in the world her like *
+          For grace of form or for gifts of sprite:
+     'Praise him who made her from semen-drop,' *
+          I cried, when her beauty first struck my sight:
+     I guard her from eyes, seeking refuge with *
+          The Lord of mankind and of morning-light."
+
+The two then made acquaintance and "follows what follows."
+
+[FN#17]  Arab. "Akásirah," explained (vol. i., 75) as the plur.
+of Kisrá.
+
+[FN#18]  The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty but to
+have a slave of his own. This was systematised by the servile
+rulers known in history as the Mameluke Beys and to the Egyptians
+as the Ghuzz. Each had his household of servile pages and
+squires, who looked forward to filling the master's place as
+knight or baron.
+
+[FN#19]  The well-known capital of Al-Yaman, a true Arabia Felix,
+a Paradise inhabited by demons in the shape of Turkish soldiery
+and Arab caterans. According to Moslem writers Sana'a was founded
+by Shem son of Noah who, wandering southward with his posterity
+after his father's death, and finding the site delightful, dug a
+well and founded the citadel, Ghamdán, which afterwards contained
+a Mason Carrée rivalling (or attempting to rival) the Meccan
+Ka'abah. The builder was Surahbíl who, says M.C. de Perceval
+coloured its four faces red, white, golden and green; the central
+quadrangle had seven stories (the planets) each forty cubits
+high, and the lowest was a marble hall ceiling'd with a single
+slab. At the four corners stood hollow lions through whose mouths
+the winds roared. This palatial citadel-temple was destroyed by
+order of Caliph Omar. The city's ancient name was Azal or Uzal
+whom some identify with one of the thirteen sons of Joktan
+(Genesis xi. 27): it took its present name from the Ethiopian
+conquerors (they say) who, seeing it for the first time, cried
+"Hazá Sana'ah!" meaning in their tongue, this is commodious, etc.
+I may note that the word is Kisawahili (Zanzibarian) e.g. "Yámbo
+sáná--is the state good?" Sana'a was the capital of the Tabábi'ah
+or Tobba Kings who judaized; and the Abyssinians with their
+Negush made it Christian while the Persians under Anushirwán
+converted it to Guebrism. It is now easily visited but to little
+purpose; excursions in the neighborhood being deadly dangerous.
+Moreover the Turkish garrison would probably murder a stranger
+who sympathised with the Arabs, and the Arabs kill one who took
+part with their hated and hateful conquerors. The late Mr.
+Shapira of Jerusalem declared that he had visited it and Jews
+have great advantages in such travel. But his friends doubted
+him.
+
+[FN#20]  The Bresl. Edit. (iii. 347) prints three vile errors in
+four lines.
+
+[FN#21]  Alcove is a corruption of the Arab. Al-Kubbah (the dome)
+through Span. and Port.
+
+[FN#22]  Easterns as a rule sleep with head and body covered by a
+sheet or in cold weather a blanket. The practice is doubtless
+hygienic, defending the body from draughts when the pores are
+open; but Europeans find it hard to adopt; it seems to stop their
+breathing. Another excellent practice in the East, and indeed
+amongst barbarians and savages generally, is training children to
+sleep with mouths shut: in after life they never snore and in
+malarious lands they do not require Outram's "fever-guard," a
+swathe of muslin over the mouth. Mr. Catlin thought so highly of
+the "shut mouth" that he made it the subject of a book.
+
+[FN#23]  Arab. "Hanzal"=coloquintida, an article often mentioned
+by Arabs in verse and prose; the bright coloured little gourd
+attracts every eye by its golden glance when travelling through
+the brown-yellow waste of sand and clay. A favourite purgative
+(enough for a horse) is made by filling the inside with sour milk
+which is drunks after a night's soaking: it is as active as the
+croton-nut of the Gold Coast.
+
+[FN#24]  The Bresl. Edit. iii. 354 sends him to the "land of Sín"
+(China).
+
+[FN#25]  Arab. "Yá Kisrawi!"=O subject of the Kisrá or Chosroë;
+the latter explained in vol.i.,75.[Volume 1, Footnote # 128]
+"Fars" is the origin of "Persia"; and there is a hit at the
+prodigious lying of the modern race, whose forefathers were so
+famous as truth-tellers. "I am a Persian, but I am not lying
+now," is a phrase familiar to every traveller.
+
+[FN#26]  There is no such name: perhaps it is a clerical error
+for "Har jáh"=(a man of) any place. I know an Englishman who in
+Persian called himself "Mirza Abdullah-i-Híchmakáni"=Master
+Abdullah of Nowhere.
+
+[FN#27]  The Bresl. Edit. (loc. cit.) gives a comical description
+of the Prince assuming the dress of an astrologer-doctor,
+clapping an old book under his arm, fumbling a rosary of beads,
+enlarging his turband, lengthening his sleeves and blackening his
+eyelids with antimony. Here, however, it would be out of place.
+Very comical also is the way in which he pretends to cure the
+maniac by "muttering unknown words, blowing in her face, biting
+her ear," etc.
+
+[FN#28]  Arab. "Sar'a"=falling sickness. Here again we have in
+all its simplicity the old nursery idea of "possession" by evil
+spirits.
+
+[FN#29]  Arab. "Nafahát"=breathings, benefits, the Heb. Neshamah
+opp. to Nephesh (soul) and Ruach (spirit). Healing by the breath
+is a popular idea throughout the East and not unknown to Western
+Magnetists and Mesmerists. The miraculous cures of the Messiah
+were, according to Moslems, mostly performed by aspiration. They
+hold that in the days of Isa, physic had reached its highest
+development, and thus his miracles were mostly miracles of
+medicine; whereas, in Mohammed's time, eloquence had attained its
+climax and accordingly his miracles were those of eloquence, as
+shown in the Koran and Ahádís.
+
+[FN#30]  Lit. "The rose in the sleeves or calyces." I take my
+English equivalent from Jeremy Taylor, "So I have seen a rose
+newly springing from the clefts of its hood," etc.
+
+[FN#31]  These lines are from the Bresl. Edit. (v. 35). The four
+couplets in the Mac. Edit. are too irrelevant.
+
+[FN#32]  Polo, which Lane calls "Goff."
+
+[FN#33]  Arab. "Muffawak"=well-notched, as its value depends upon
+the notch. At the end of the third hemistitch Lane's Shaykh very
+properly reads "baghtatan" (suddenly) for "burhatan"=during a
+long time.
+
+[FN#34]  "Uns" (which the vulgar pronounce Anas) "al-
+Wujud"=Delight of existing things, of being, of the world. Uns wa
+jud is the normal pun=love-intimacy and liberality; and the
+caranomasia (which cannot well be rendered in English) re-appears
+again and again. The story is throughout one of love; hence the
+quantity of verse.
+
+[FN#35]  The allusion to a "written N" suggests the elongated not
+the rounded form of the letter as in Night cccxxiv.
+
+[FN#36]  The fourteenth Arabic letter in its medial form
+resembling an eye.
+
+[FN#37]  This is done by the man passing his fingers over the
+brow as if to wipe off perspiration; the woman acknowledges it by
+adjusting her head-veil with both hands. As a rule in the Moslem
+East women make the first advances; and it is truly absurd to see
+a great bearded fellow blushing at being ogled. During the
+Crimean war the fair sex of Constantinople began by these
+allurements but found them so readily accepted by the Giaours
+that they were obliged to desist.
+
+[FN#38]  The greatest of all explorers and discoverers of the
+world will be he who finds a woman confessing inability to keep a
+secret.
+
+[FN#39]  The original is intensely prosaic—and so am I.
+
+[FN#40]  Arab. "Sunnat," the practice of the Prophet. For this
+prayer and other silly and superstitious means of discovering the
+"right direction" (which is often very wrongly directed) see
+Lane, M.E. chapt. xi.
+
+[FN#41]  Arab. "Bahr (sea or river) al-Kunuz": Lane (ii. 576)
+ingeniously identifies the site with the Upper Nile whose tribes,
+between Assouan (Syene) and Wady al-Subu'a are called the
+"Kunuz"—lit. meaning "treasures" or "hoards." Philae is still
+known as the "Islet of Anas (for Uns) al-Wujud;" and the learned
+and accurate Burckhardt (Travels in Nubia p. 5) records the local
+legend that a mighty King called Al-Wujud built the Osirian
+temples. I can give no information concerning Jabal al-Sakla
+(Thakla), the Mount of the woman bereft of children, beyond the
+legend contained in Night ccclxxix.
+
+[FN#42]  A religious mendicant (lit. a pauper), of whom there are
+two great divisions. The Shara'i acts according to the faith: the
+others (La Shara'i, or irreligious) are bound by no such
+prejudices and are pretty specimens of scoundrels. (Pilgrimage
+i.22.)
+
+[FN#43]  Meaning his lips and palate were so swollen by drought.
+
+[FN#44]  It is a pious act in time of mortal danger to face the
+Kiblah or Meccan temple, as if standing in prayer.
+
+[FN#45]  Still the belief of the Badawi who tries to work upon
+the beast's compassion: "O great King I am a poor man, with wife
+and family, so spare me that Allah spare thee!" and so forth. If
+not famished the lion will often stalk off looking behind him as
+he goes; but the man will never return by the same path; "for,"
+says he, "haply the Father of Roaring may repent him of a wasted
+opportunity." These lion-tales are very common, witness that of
+Androcles at Rome and a host of others. Una and her lion is
+another phase. It remained for M. Jules Gerard, first the
+chasseur and then the tueur, du lion, to assail the reputation of
+the lion and the honour of the lioness.
+
+[FN#46]  Abu Haris=Father of spoils: one of the lion's hundred
+titles.
+
+[FN#47]  "They" again for "she."
+
+[FN#48]  Jaxartes and Oxus. The latter (Jayhun or Amu, Oxus or
+Bactros) is famous for dividing Iran from Turan, Persia from
+Tartaria. The lands to its north are known as Ma wara al-Nahr
+(Mawerannahar) or "What is behind the stream,"=Transoxiana and
+their capitals were successively Samarcand and Bokhara.
+
+[FN#49]  Arab. "Dani was gharib"=friend and foe. The lines are
+partly from the Mac. Edit. and partly from the Bresl. Edit., v.
+55.
+
+[FN#50]  Arab. "Wa Rahmata-hu!" a form now used only in books.
+
+[FN#51]  Before noted. The relationship, like that of foster-
+brother, has its rights, duties and privileges.
+
+[FN#52]  Arab. "Istikharah," before explained as praying for
+direction by omens of the rosary, opening the Koran and reading
+the first verse sighted, etc., etc. At Al-Medinah it is called
+Khirah and I have suggested (Pilgrimage, ii. 287) that it is a
+relic of the Azlam or Kidah (divining arrows) of paganism. But
+the superstition is not local: we have the Sortes Virgilianae
+(Virgil being a magician) as well as Coranicae.
+
+[FN#53]  Arab. "Wujud al-Habib," a pun, also meaning, "Wujud my
+beloved."
+
+[FN#54]  Arab. "Khilal," as an emblem of attenuation occurring in
+Al-Hariri (Ass. of Alexandria, etc.); also thin as a spindle
+(Maghzal), as a reed, and dry as a pair of shears. In the Ass. of
+Barka'id the toothpick is described as a beautiful girl. The use
+of this cleanly article was enjoined by Mohammed:--"Cleanse your
+mouths with toothpicks; for your mouths are the abode of the
+guardian angels; whose pens are the tongues, and whose ink is the
+spittle of men; and to whom naught is more unbearable than
+remains of food in the mouth." A mighty apparatus for a small
+matter; but in very hot lands cleanliness must rank before
+godliness.
+
+[FN#55]  The sense is ambiguous. Lane renders the verse:--"Thou
+resemblest it (rose) not of my portion" and gives two
+explanations "because HE is of my portion," or, "because HIS
+cheek cannot be rosy if MINE is not." Mr. Payne boldly
+translates—
+
+"If the rose ape his cheek, 'Now God forfend,' I say, 'That of my
+portion aught to pilfer thou shouldst try'."
+
+[FN#56]  Arab. "lif" (not "fibres which grow at the top of the
+trunk," Lane ii. 577); but the fibre of the fronds worked like
+the cocoa-nut fibre which forms the now well-known Indian "coir."
+This "lif" is also called "filfil" or "fulfil" which Dr. Jonathan
+Scott renders "pepper" (Lane i. 8) and it forms a clean
+succedaneum for one of the uncleanest articles of civilisation,
+the sponge. It is used in every Hammam and is (or should be)
+thrown away after use.
+
+[FN#57]  Arab. "Shinf;" a course sack, a "gunny-bag;" a net
+compared with such article.
+
+[FN#58]  The eunuch tells him that he is not a "Sandali"=one
+whose penis and testes are removed; and consequently the highest
+valued. There are many ways of making the castrato; in some (as
+here) only the penis is removed, in other the testes are bruised
+or cut off; but in all cases the animal passion remains, for in
+man, unlike other animals, the fons veneris is the brain. The
+story of Abelard proves this. Juvenal derided the idea of married
+eunuchs and yet almost all of these neutrals have wives with whom
+they practise the manifold plaisirs de la petite oie
+(masturbation, tribadism, irrumation, tete-beche, feuille-de-
+rose, etc.), till they induce the venereal orgasm. Such was the
+account once given to me by a eunuch's wife; and I need hardly
+say that she, like her confrerie, was to be pitied. At the
+critical moment she held up a little pillow for her husband to
+bite who otherwise would have torn her cheeks or breasts.
+
+[FN#59]  In real life the eunuch, as a rule, avoids all allusion
+to his misfortune, although the slave will often describe his
+being sold merrily enough.
+
+[FN#60]  The visits are in dreamland. The ringdove thanks the
+Lord for her (his?) suffering in the holy martyrdom of love.
+
+[FN#61]  Arab. "Hazar;" I have explained it as meaning "(the bird
+of) a thousand (songs)."
+
+[FN#62]  The "Bulbul" had his day with us but he departed with
+Tommy Moore. We usually English the word by "nightingale;" but it
+is a kind of shrike or butcher-bird (Lanius Boulboul. Lath.).
+
+[FN#63]  The "Hamam" is a lieu commun in Arabic poetry. I have
+noticed the world-wide reverence for the pigeon and the
+incarnation of the Third Person of the Hindu Triad (Shiva), as
+Kapoteshwara (Kapota-ishwara)"=pigeon or dove-god (Pilgrimage
+iii. 218).
+
+[FN#64]  Arab. "Hamam al-Ayk." Mr. Payne's rendering is so happy
+that we must either take it from him or do worse.
+
+[FN#65]  All primitive peoples translate the songs of birds with
+human language; but, as I have noticed, the versions differ
+widely. The pigeon cries, "Allah! Allah!" the dove "Karim, Tawwa"
+(Bountiful, Pardoner!) the Kata or sand-grouse "Man sakat salam"
+(who is silent is safe) yet always betrays itself by its lay of
+"Kat-ta" and lastly the cock "Uzkuru 'llah ya ghafilun"
+(Remember, or take the name of Allah, ye careless!).
+
+[FN#66]  "Nay," the Dervish's reed pipe, symbol of the sighing
+absent lover (i.e. the soul parted from the Creator) so famed by
+the Mullah-i-Rum and Sir William Jones.
+
+[FN#67]  Ba'albak=Ba'al (the God)-city (bek in Coptic and ancient
+Egyptian.) Such, at least, is the popular derivation which awaits
+a better. No cloth has been made there since the Kurd tribe of
+gallant robbers known as the "Harfush" (or blackguards) lorded it
+over old "Heliopolis."
+
+[FN#68]  Thinking her to be a Jinn or Ghul in the shape of a fair
+woman. This Arab is a strange contrast to the English fisherman,
+and yet he is drawn with truth.
+
+[FN#69]  Arab. "Habbaza!" (good this!) or "Habba" (how good!): so
+"Habba bihi," how dear he is to me.
+
+[FN#70]  Arab. "Zind," and "Zindah" the names of the two sticks,
+upper and lower, hard and soft, by which fire was kindled before
+flint and steel were known. We find it in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Banu
+Haram) "no one sought ire from my fire-stick (i.e. from me as a
+fire-stick) and failed." See Night dccciii.
+
+[FN#71]  Arab. "Nazih" i.e. travelled far and wide.
+
+[FN#72]  "Rajab," lit.="worshipping:" it is the seventh lunar
+month and still called "Shahr-i-Khuda" (God's month) by the
+Persians because in pre-Islamitic times it formed with Muharram
+(or in its stead Safar), Zu 'l-ka'adah and Zu-'l-Hijjah (Nos. 1
+or 2; 7,11 and 12) the yearly peace, during which a man might not
+kill his father's murderer. The idea must have taken deep root,
+as Arab history records only six "impious (or sacrilegious)
+wars," waged despite the law. Europeans compare it with the
+Treuga Dei (truce of God) a seven-years peace established about
+A.D. 1032, by a Bishop of Aquitaine; and followed in A.D. 1245 by
+the Pax Regis (Royal Peace) under Louis VIII. of France. This
+compelled the relations of a murdered man to keep the peace for
+forty days after the offence was committed.
+
+[FN#73]  His Majesty wrote sad doggrel. He is better at
+finessing, and his message was a trick because Rose-in-Hood had
+told him that at home there were special obstacles to the
+marriage.
+
+[FN#74]  Arab. "Majzub"=drawn, attracted (literally); the popular
+term for one absorbed in the contemplation of the Deity. During
+this process the soul is supposed to quit the body leaving the
+latter irresponsible for its actions. I remember a scandal being
+caused in a village near Tunis by one of these men who suddenly
+started up from his seat in a dusty corner and, in presence of a
+small crowd of people, had connection with a she-donkey. The
+supporters of the holy man declared that the deed was proof
+positive of his exceptional holiness; but there were lewd
+fellows, Moslems Voltaireans, who had their doubts and held that
+the reverend man had so acted "for the gallery." A similar story
+is told with due reserve by the late Abbe Hamilton in his book on
+the Cyrenaic. There are three grand divisions of the Sufis; (1)
+Mukiman, the stationaries; (2) Salikan, the travellers, or
+progressives, and (3) Wasilan, those who reach the desired end.
+And No. 2 has two classes: the Salik-i-majzub, one progressing in
+Divine Love; and the other, who has made greater progress, is the
+Majzub-i-Salik (Dabistan iii. 251).
+
+[FN#75]  Arab. "Sundus," a kind of brocade (low Lat. brocare to
+figure cloth), silk worked in high relief with gold and silver.
+The idea is figurative meaning it was hung outside and inside
+with fine stuff, like the Ka'abah, the "Bride of Meccah." The
+"lords" means simply the lost girl.
+
+[FN#76]  Arab. "Ayn" lit. eye, also a fount, "the eye of the
+landscape" (a noble simile); and here a helper, guard, assistant.
+
+[FN#77]  "Lord" for lady, i.e. she.
+
+[FN#78]  Arab. "Fi'l-khawafik"=in the four quarters or among the
+flappers (standards) or amid palpitations of heart. The bride
+alludes to a festal reception in a town, with burning incense,
+drums, flags, etc., etc.
+
+[FN#79]  In Egypt the shorter "honey-moon" lasts a week; and on
+the seventh day (pop. called Al-Subu'a) bride and bridegroom
+receive visits with all ceremony, of course in separate
+apartments. The seventh day (like the fortieth, the end of six
+months and the anniversary) is kept for births and deaths with
+Khatmahs (perlections) of the Koran "Saylah" family gatherings
+and so forth. The fortieth day ends the real honey-moon. See
+Night dccxcii.
+
+[FN#80]  I have noted the popular practice, amongst men as well
+as women, of hiring the Hammam for private parties and picnicking
+in it during the greater part of the day. In this tale the bath
+would belong to the public and it was a mere freak of the bride
+to bathe with her bridegroom. "Respectable" people do not.
+
+[FN#81]  She speaks in the last line as the barber or the
+bathman.
+
+[FN#82]  Here the "Ana" begin; and they mostly date themselves.
+Of the following forty-nine, Lane (vol. Ii. P. 578 et seq.) gives
+only twenty-two and transforms them to notes in chapt. xviii.  He
+could hardly translate several of them in a work intended to be
+popular.  Abu Nowás is a person carefully to be avoided; and all
+but anthropological students are advised to "skip" over anecdotes
+in which his name and abominations occur.
+
+[FN#83]  Arab. "Ghilmán," the counter part, I have said, of the
+so-called "Houris."
+
+[FN#84]  Mosul boasts of never having been polluted with
+idolatrous worship, an exemption which it owes to being a
+comparatively modern place.
+
+[FN#85]  The Aleppines were once noted for debauchery; and the
+saying is still "Halabi Shelebi" (for Chelebi)=the Aleppine is a
+fellow fine.
+
+[FN#86]  Mr. Payne omits the last line.  It refers to what
+Persian boys call, in half-Turkish phrase, "Alish Takish," each
+acting woman after he has acted man.  The best wine is still made
+in monasteries and the co-called Sinai convent is world-famous
+for its "Ráki" distilled from raisins.
+
+[FN#87]  i.e. what a difference there is between them!
+
+[FN#88]  Arab. "Salli ala 'l-Nabi," a common phrase; meaning not
+only praise hm to avert the evil eye; but also used when one
+would impose silence upon a babbler.  The latter will shuffle off
+by ejaculating "Al" and continue his chatter.  (Pilgrimage
+ii.279.)
+
+[FN#89]  Arab. "Sukát" (plur. of Sáki, cupbearer, our old
+"skinker"): the pure gold (tibr) is the amber-coloured wine, like
+the Vino d'oro of the Libanus.
+
+[FN#90]  That is, fair, white and read: Turkish slaves then
+abounded at Baghdad.
+
+[FN#91]  A Wady near Meccah where one of Mohammed's battles was
+fought.  The line means his waist is a thread connected broad
+breast and large hind quarters.
+
+[FN#92]  Arab. "Zaurá" which may mean crooked, alluding to the
+well-known rib.
+
+[FN#93]  A pun.  Bakr was the name of the eponymus chief and it
+also means virgin, as in Abu Bakr.
+
+[FN#94]  Arab. "Jámi'ayn"=two cathedrals, any large (and
+consequently vicious) city.
+
+[FN#95]  Arab. "Almá," before noticed: I cannot translate
+"damask-lipped" to suit European taste.
+
+[FN#96]  Sherbet flavoured with musk or apple to cool the mouth
+of "hot coppers."
+
+[FN#97]  Arab. "In'ásh" lit. raising from his bier.  The whole
+tone is rollicking and slangy.
+
+[FN#98]  i.e. In spite of himself: the phrase often occurs.
+
+[FN#99]  Europeans usually write "Beni" for "Banu;" the oblique
+for the nominative.  I prefer "Odhrah" or "Ozrah" to Udhrah;
+because the Ayn before the Zál takes in pronunciation the more
+open sound.
+
+[FN#100]   Possibly meaning that they were shrouded together;
+this would be opposed to Moslem sense of decorum in modern days,
+but the ancient were not so squeamish.  See Night cccxi.
+
+[FN#101]   This phase of passion in the "varium et mutabile" is
+often treated of by Oriental storytellers, and not unoften seen
+in real Eastern life.
+
+[FN#102]   As has been said, "Sáhib" (preceding the name not
+following it as in India) is a Wazirial title in mediæval Islam.
+
+[FN#103]   This parapet was rendered obligatory by Moses (Deut.
+xxii. 8) on account of the danger of leaving a flat roof without
+garde-fou.  Eastern Christians neglect the precaution and often
+lose their children by the neglect.
+
+[FN#104]   Arab. "Lauh." A bit of thin board washed white used
+for lessons as slates are amongst us, and as easily cleaned
+because the inks contain no minerals.  It is a long parallelogram
+with triangular ears at the short sides; and the shape must date
+from ages immemorial as it is found, throughout Syria and its
+adjoinings, in the oldest rock inscriptions to which the form
+serves as a frame.  Hence the "abacus" or counting table derived
+from the Gr.     , a slab (or in Phenician "sand"), dust or sand
+in old days having been strewed on a table or tablet for school-
+boys' writings and mathematical diagrams.
+
+[FN#105]   A pre-Islamic bard and friend to Tarafah the poet of
+the Suspended or "Prize Poem."  The tale is familiar to all the
+Moslem East.  Tarafah's Laura was one Khaulá.
+
+[FN#106]   King of Hirah in Chaldæa, a drunken and bloodthirsty
+tyrant.  When offended by the lampoons of the two poets he sent
+them with litteræ Bellerophontiæ to the Governor of Al-Bahrayn.
+Al-Mutalammis "smelt a rat" and destroyed his charged, but
+Tarafah was mutilated and buried alive, the victim of a trick
+which is old as (and older than) good King David and Uriah.  Of
+course neither poet could read.
+
+[FN#107]   On this occasion, and in presence of the women only,
+the groom first sees or is supposed to see the face of his wife.
+It is, I have said, the fashion for both to be greatly overcome
+and to appear as if about to faint: the groom looks especially
+ridiculous when so attitudinising.
+
+[FN#108]   This leisurely operation of the "deed of kind" was
+sure to be noticed; but we do not find in The Nights any allusion
+to that systematic prolongatio veneris which is so much
+cultivated by Moslems under the name Imsák = retention,
+withholding i.e. the semen.  Yet Eastern books on domestic
+medicine consist mostly of two parts; the first of general
+prescriptions and the second of aphrodisiacs especially those qui
+prolongent le plaisir as did the Gaul by thinking of sa pauvre
+mère.  The Ananga-Ranga, by the Reverend Koka Pandit before
+quoted, gives a host of recipes which are used, either externally
+or internally, to hasten the paroxysm of the woman and delay the
+orgasm of the man (p. 27).  Some of these are curious in the
+extreme.  I heard of a Hindi who made a candle of frogs' fat and
+fibre warranted to retain the seed till it burned out; it failed
+notably because, relying upon it, he worked too vigorously.  The
+essence of the "retaining art" is to avoid over-tension of the
+muscles and to pre-occupy the brain: hence in coition Hindus will
+drink sherbet, chew betel-nut and even smoke.  Europeans ignoring
+the science and practice, are contemptuously compared with
+village-cocks by Hindu women who cannot be satisfied, such is
+their natural coldness, increased doubtless by vegetable diet and
+unuse of stimulants, with less than twenty minutes.  Hence too
+while thousands of Europeans have cohabited for years with and
+have had families by "native women," they are never loved by
+them:--at least I never heard of a case.
+
+[FN#109]   Abu 'l Abbas al-Rakáshi, a poet of the time.  The
+saying became proverbial (Burckhardt's A. Proverbs No. 561) and
+there are variants, e.g. The night's promise is spread with
+butter that melteth when day ariseth.
+
+[FN#110]   Koran xxvi. 5,6 or "And those who err (Arab. Al-
+gháwún) follow the footsteps of the poets," etc.
+
+[FN#111]   Half-brother of Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, the celebrated
+pretender.
+
+[FN#112]   Grand-daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr and the most
+beautiful woman of her day.
+
+[FN#113]   The Calc. Edit. by mistake reads "Izzah."  Torrens
+(notes i.-xi.) remarks "The word Ghoonj is applied to this sort
+of blandishment (i.e. an affected gait), and says Burckhardt
+(Prov. No. 685), "The women of Cairo flatter themselves that
+their Ghoonj is superior to that of all other females in the
+Levant."  But Torrens did not understand and Burckhardt would not
+explain "Ghunj" except by "assumed airs" (see No. 714).  It here
+means the art of moving in coition, which is especially affected,
+even by modest women, throughout the East and they have many
+books teaching the genial art.  In China there are professors,
+mostly old women, who instruct young girls in this branch of the
+gymnastic.
+
+[FN#114]   When reciting the Fátihah (opening Koranic chapter),
+the hands are held in this position as if to receive a blessing
+falling from Heaven; after which both palms are passed down the
+face to distribute it over the eyes and other organs of sense.
+
+[FN#115]   The word used is "bizá'at" = capital or a share in a
+mercantile business.
+
+[FN#116]  This and the following names are those of noted
+traditionists of the eighth century, who derive back to Abdallah
+bin Mas'úd, a "Companion of the Apostle."  The text shows the
+recognised formula of ascription for quoting a "Hadís" = saying
+of Mohammed; and sometimes it has to pass through half a dozen
+mouths.
+
+[FN#117]   Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries who
+refer back to the "Father of the Kitten" (Abu Horayrah), an uncle
+of the Apostle.
+
+[FN#118]   Eastern story-books abound in these instances.  Pilpay
+says in "Kalilah was Dimnah," "I am the slave of what I have
+spoken and the lord of what I keep hidden."  Sa'adi follows suit,
+"When thou speakest not a word, thou hast thy hand upon it; when
+it is once spoken it hath laid its hand on thee."  Caxton, in the
+"Dyctes, or Sayings of Philosophers" (printed in 1477) uses
+almost the same words.
+
+[FN#119]   i.e. for her husband's and her sin in using a man like
+a beast.
+
+[FN#120]   See the Second Lady's story (tantôt Kadi, tantôt
+bandit), pp. 20-26 by my friend Yacoub Artin Pasha in the
+Bulletin before quoted, series ii. No. 4 of 1883.  The sharpers'
+trick is common in Eastern folk-lore, and the idea that underlies
+is always metempsychosis or metamorphosis.  So, in the Kalilah wa
+Dimnah (new Syriac), the three rogues persuade the ascetic that
+he is leading a dog not a sheep.
+
+[FN#121]   This is the popular prejudice and it has doubtless
+saved many a reputation.  The bat is known to Moslems as the Bird
+of Jesus, a legend derived by the Koran from the Gospel of
+Infancy (1 chapt. xv. Hone's Apocryphal New Testament), in which
+the boy Jesus amuses herself with making birds of clay and
+commanding them to fly when (according to the Moslems) they
+became bats.  These Apocryphal Gospels must be carefully read, if
+the student would understand a number of Moslem allusions to the
+Injíl which no Evangel contains.
+
+[FN#122]   Because it quibbled away out of every question, a
+truly diplomatic art.
+
+[FN#123]   This Caliph, the orthodox Abbaside of Egypt (A.D.
+1261) must not be confounded with the Druze-god, the heretical
+Fatimite (A.D. 996-1021).  D'Herbelot (Hakem") gives details.
+Mr. S.L. Poole (The Academy, April 26, '79) is very severe on the
+slip of Mr. Payne.
+
+[FN#124]   The beautiful name is Persian "Anúshín-rawán" = Sweet
+of Soul; and the glorious title of this contemporary of Mohammed
+is "Al-Malik al-Adil" = the Just King.  Kisra, the Chosroë per
+excellentiam, is also applied to the godly Guebre of whom every
+Eastern dictionary gives details.
+
+[FN#125]   "Sultan" is here an anachronism: I have noted that the
+title was first assumed independently by Mohammed of Ghazni after
+it had been conferred by the Caliph upon his father the Amir Al-
+Umará (Mayor of the Palace), Sabuktagin A.D. 974.
+
+[FN#126]   The "Sakká" or water-carrier race is peculiar in Egypt
+and famed for trickery and intrigue.  Opportunity here as
+elsewhere makes the thief.
+
+[FN#127]   A famous saying of Mohammed is recorded when an
+indiscretion of his young wife Ayishah was reported to him,
+"There be no adultress without an adulterer (of a husband)."
+Fatimah the Apostle's daughter is supposed to have remained a
+virgin after bearing many children: this coarse symbolism of
+purity was known to the classics (Pausanias), who made Juno
+recover her virginity by bathing in a certain river every year.
+In the last phrase, "Al-Salaf" (ancestry) refers to Mohammed and
+his family.
+
+[FN#128]  Khusrau Parwiz, grandson of Anushirwan, the Guebre King
+who tore his kingdom by tearing Mohammed's letter married the
+beautiful Maria or Irene (in Persian "Shírín = the sweet)
+daughter of the Greek Emperor Maurice: their loves were sung by a
+host of poets; and likewise the passion of the sculptor Farhád
+for the same Shirin.  Mr. Lyall writes "Parwêz" and holds
+"Parwíz" a modern form.
+
+[FN#129]   he could afford it according to historians.  His
+throne was supported by 40,000 silver pillars; and 1,000 globes,
+hung in the dome, formed an orrery, showing the motion of the
+heavenly bodies; 30,000 pieces of embroidered tapestry overhung
+the walls below were vaults full of silver, gold and gems.
+
+[FN#130]   Arab.  "Khunsá," meaning also a catamite as I have
+explained.  Lane (ii. 586) has it; "This fish is of a mixed
+kind." (!).
+
+[FN#131]   So the model lovers became the ordinary married
+couple.
+
+[FN#132]   Arab. "Jamm." Heb. "Yamm."  Al-Haríri (Ass. Of Sinjar
+and Sáwah) uses the rare form Yam for sea or ocean.
+
+[FN#133]   Al-Hadi, immediate predecessor of Harun al-Rashid,
+called "Al-Atbik": his upper lip was contracted and his father
+placed a slave over him when in childhood, with orders to say,
+"Musa! atbik!" (draw thy lips together) when he opened his mouth.
+
+[FN#134]   Immediate successor of Harun al-Rashid.  Al-Amin is an
+imposing physical figure, fair, tall, handsome and of immense
+strength; according to Al-Mas'údi, he killed a lion with his own
+hands; but his mind and judgement were weak.  He was fond of
+fishing; and his reply to the courtier bringing important news,
+"Confound thee! leave me! for Kausar (an eunuch whom he loved)
+hath caught two fish and I none," reminds one of royal frivolity
+in France.
+
+[FN#135]   Afterwards governor in Khorasan under Al-Maamun.
+
+[FN#136]   Intendant of the palace under Harun al-Rashid.
+
+[FN#137]   Moslem women have this advantage over their Western
+sisterhood: they can always leave the house of father or husband
+and, without asking permission, pay a week or ten days' visit to
+their friends.  But they are not expected to meet their lovers.
+
+[FN#138]   The tale of "Susannah and the Elders" in Moslem form.
+Dániyál is the Arab Daniel, supposed to have been buried at
+Alexandria.  (Pilgrimage, i. 16.)
+
+[FN#139]   According to Moslem law, laid down by Mohammed on a
+delicate occasion and evidently for a purpose, four credible
+witnesses are required to prove fornication, adultery, sodomy and
+so forth; and they must swear that actually saw rem in re, the
+"Kohl-needle in the Kohl-étui," as the Arabs have it.  This
+practically prevents conviction and the sabre cuts the Gordian
+knot.
+
+[FN#140]   Who, in such case, would represent our equerry.
+
+[FN#141]   The Badawi not only always tells the truth, a perfect
+contrast with the townsfolk; he is blunt in speech addressing his
+Sultan "O Sa'íd!" and he has a hard rough humour which we may
+fairly describe as "wut."  When you chaff him look out for falls.
+
+[FN#142]   The answer is as old as the hills, teste the tale of
+what happened when Amasis (who on horseback) raised his leg,
+"broke wind and bad the messenger carry it back to Apries."
+Herod. Ii. 162.  But for the full significance of the Badawi's
+most insulting reply see the Tale of Abu Hasan in Night ccccxi.
+
+[FN#143]   Arab.  "Yá sáki" al-Dakan" meaning long bearded
+(foolish) as well as frosty bearded.
+
+[FN#144]   P. N. of the tribe, often mentioned in The Nights.
+
+[FN#145]   Adnan, which whom Arab genealogy begins, is generally
+supposed to be the eighth (Al-Tabari says the fortieth)
+descendant from Ishmael and nine generations are placed between
+him and Fahr (Fihr) Kuraysh.  The Prophet cut all disputes short
+by saying, "Beyond Adnan none save Allah wotteth and the
+genealogists lie."  (Pilgrimage ii. 344)  M.C. de Perceval dates
+Adnan about B.C. 130.
+
+[FN#146]   Koran xxxiii., 38.
+
+[FN#147]   Arab.  "Arab al-Arabá," as before noticed (vol. i. 12)
+the pure and genuine blood as opposed to the "Musta'aribah," the
+"Muta'arribah," the "Mosarabians" and other Araboids; the first
+springing from Khatan (Yaktan?) and the others from Adnan. And
+note that "Arabi" = a man of pure Arab race, either of the Desert
+or of the city,  while A'arábi applies only to the Desert man,
+the Badawi.
+
+[FN#148]   Koran xxxviii. 2, speaking of the Unbelievers (i.e.
+non-Moslems) who are full of pride and contention.
+
+[FN#149]   One of the Asháb, or Companions of the Apostle, that
+is them who knew him personally.  (Pilgrimage ii. 80, etc.)  The
+Asháb al-Suffah (Companions of the bench or sofa) were certain
+houseless Believers lodged by the Prophet. (Pilgrimage ii. 143).
+
+[FN#150]   Hence Omar is entitled "Al-Adil = the Just."  Readers
+will remember that by Moslem law and usage murder and homicide
+are offences to be punished by the family, not by society or its
+delegates.  This system reappears in civilisation under the
+denomination of "Lynch Law," a process infinitely distasteful to
+lawyers (whom it abolishes) and most valuable when administered
+with due discretion.
+
+[FN#151]   Lane translates (ii. 592) "from a desire of seeing the
+face of God;" but the general belief of Al-Islam is that the
+essence of Allah's corporeal form is different from man's.  The
+orthodox expect to "see their Lord on Doom-day as they see the
+full moon" (a tradition).  But the Mu'atazilites deny with the
+existence of matter the corporiety of Alah and hold that he will
+be seen only with the spiritual eyes, i.e. of reason.
+
+[FN#152]  See Gesta Romanorum, Tale cviii., "of Constancy in
+adhering to Promises," founded on Damon and Pythias or, perhaps,
+upon the Arabic.
+
+[FN#153]   Arab.  "Al-Ahrám," a word of unknown provenance.  It
+has been suggested that the singular form (Haram), preceded by
+the Coptic article "pi" (= the) suggested to the Greeks
+"Pyramis."  But this word is still sub judice and every
+Egyptologist seems to propose his own derivation. Brugsch (Egypt
+i. 72) makes it Greek, the Egyptian being "Abumir," while "pir-
+am-us" = the edge of the pyramid, the corners running from base
+to apex.  The Egyptologist proves also what the Ancients either
+ignored or forgot to mention, that each pyramid had its own name.
+
+[FN#154]   Arab.  "Ahkám," in this matter supporting the
+"Pyramidologists."
+
+[FN#155]   All imaginative.
+
+[FN#156]   It has always been my opinion founded upon
+considerations too long to detail, that the larger Pyramids
+contain many unopened chambers.  Dr. Grant Bey of Cairo proposed
+boring through the blocks as Artesian wells are driven.  I cannot
+divine why Lane (ii, 592) chose to omit this tale, which is
+founded on historic facts and interests us by suggesting a
+comparison between Mediæval Moslem superstitions and those of our
+xixth Century, which to our descendants will appear as wild, if
+not as picturesque, as those of The Nights.  The "inspired
+British inch" and the building by Melchisedek (the Shaykh of some
+petty Syrian village) will compare not unaptly with the enchanted
+swords, flexible glass and guardian spirits.  But the
+Pyramidennarren is a race which will not speedily die out: it is
+based on Nature, the Pyramids themselves.
+
+[FN#157]   Arab.  "Rizm"; hence, through the Italian Risma our
+ream (= 20 quires of paper, etc.), which our dictionaries derive
+from        (!).  See "frail" in Night dcccxxxviii.
+
+[FN#158]   Arab.  "Taríkah" = the path trodden by ascetics and
+mystics in order to attain true knowledge (Ma'rifat in Pers.
+Dánish).  These are extensive subjects: for the present I must
+refer readers to the Dabistan, iii. 35 and iii. 29, 36-7.
+
+[FN#159]   Alluding to the Fishár or "Squeeze of the tomb."  This
+is the Jewish Hibbut hakkeber which all must endure, save those
+who lived in the Holy Land or died on the Sabbath-eve (Friday
+night).  Then comes the questioning by the Angels Munkar and
+Nakir (vulgarly called Nákir and Nakír) for which see Lane (M.E.
+chapt. xviii.).  In Egypt a "Mulakkin" (intelligencer) is hired
+to prompt and instruct the dead.  Moslems are beginning to
+question these facts of their faith: a Persian acquaintance of
+mine filled his dead father's mouth with flour and finding it in
+loco on opening the grave, publicly derided the belief.  But the
+Mullahs had him on the hip, after the fashion of reverends,
+declaring that the answers were made through the whole body, not
+only by the mouth.  At last the Voltairean had to quit Shiraz.
+
+[FN#160]   Arab. "Walí" = a saint, Santon (Ital. Form) also a
+slave.  See in Richardson (Dissert. iii.), an illustration of the
+difference between Wali and Wáli as exemplified by the Caliph al-
+Kádir and Mahmúd of Ghazni.
+
+[FN#161]   Arab.  "Tín" = the tenacious clay puddled with chaff
+which serves as mortar for walls built of Adobe or sun dried
+brick.  I made a mistake in my Pilgrimage (i.10) translating Ras
+al-Tín the old Pharos of Alexandria, by "Headland of Figs."  It
+is Headland of Clay, so called from the argile there found and
+which supported an old pottery.
+
+[FN#162]   The danik (Pers. Dang) is the sixth of a dirham.  Mr.
+S. L. Poole (The Acad. April 26, '79) prefers his uncle's
+translation "a sixth" (what of?) to Mr. Payne's "farthing."  The
+latter at any rate is intelligible.
+
+[FN#163]   The devotee was "Sáim al-dahr" i.e. he never ate nor
+drank from daylight to dark throughout the year.
+
+[FN#164]   The ablution of a common man differs from that of an
+educated Moslem as much as the eating of a clown and a gentleman.
+Moreover there are important technical differences between the
+Wuzu of the Sunni and the Shi'ah.
+
+[FN#165]   i.e., by honouring his father.
+
+[FN#166]   This young saint was as selfish and unnatural a sinner
+as Saint Alexius of the Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), to whom my
+friend, the late Thomas Wright, administered just and due
+punishment.
+
+[FN#167]   The verses are affecting enough, though by no means
+high poetry.
+
+[FN#168]   The good young man cut his father for two reasons:
+secular power (an abomination to good Moslems) and defective
+title to the Caliphate.  The latter is a trouble to Turkey in the
+present day and with time will prove worse.
+
+[FN#169]   Umm Amrí (written Amrú and pronounced Amr') a
+matronymic, "mother of Amru."  This story and its terminal verse
+is a regular Joe Miller.
+
+[FN#170]   Abuse and derision of schoolmaster are staple subjects
+in the East as in the West, (Quem Dii oderunt pædagogum
+fecerunt).  Anglo-Indians will remember:
+
+     "Miyán-ji ti-ti!
+     Bachche-kí gánd men anguli kí thi!"
+     ("Schoolmaster hum!
+     Who fumbled and fingered the little boy's bum?")
+
+[FN#171]   Arab.  "Mujawirin" = the lower servants, sweepers,
+etc.  See Pilgrimage ii. 161, where it is also applied to certain
+"settlers" at Al-Medinah.  Burckhardt (No. 480) notices another
+meaning "foreigners who attend mosque-lectures" and quotes the
+saying, "A. pilgrimaged:" quoth B. "yes! and for his villanies
+resideth (Mujáwir) at Meccah."
+
+[FN#172]   The custom (growing obsolete in Egypt) is preserved in
+Afghanistan where the learned wear turbans equal to the canoe-
+hats of the Spanish cardinals.
+
+[FN#173]   Arab.  "Makmarah," a metal cover for the usual brasier
+or pan of charcoal which acts as a fire-place.  Lane (ii. 600)
+does not translate the word and seems to think it means a belt or
+girdle, thus blunting the point of the dominie's excuse.
+
+[FN#174]   This story, a very old Joe Miller, was told to Lane as
+something new and he introduced it into his Modern Egyptians, end
+of chapt. ii.
+
+[FN#175]   This tale is a mere abbreviation of "The King and his
+Wazir's Wife," in the Book of Sindibad or the Malice of Women,
+Night dcxxviii., {which see for annotations}.
+
+[FN#176]   The older "Roe" which may be written "Rukh" or
+"Rukhkh." Colonel Yule, the
+learned translator of Marco Polo, has shown that "Roc's" feathers
+were not uncommon
+curiosities in mediæval ages; and holds that they were mostly
+fronds of the palm Raphia
+vinifera, which has the largest leaf in the vegetable kingdom and
+which the Moslems of
+Zanzibar call "Satan's date-tree." I need hardly quote "Frate
+Cipolla and the Angel Gabriel's Feather." (Decameron vi. 10.)
+
+[FN#177]   The tale is told in a bald, disjointed style and will
+be repeated in Sindbad the Seaman where I shall again notice the
+"Roc." See Night dxxxvii., etc.
+
+[FN#178]   Hírah in Mesopotamia was a Christian city and
+principality subject to the Persian Monarchs; and a rival to the
+Roman kingdom of Ghassán. It has a long history, for which see
+D'Herbelot.
+
+[FN#179]   A pre-Islamite poet.
+
+[FN#180]   Arab. "Biká'a," alluding to the pilgrimages made to
+monasteries and here equivalent to, "Address ye to the road,"
+etc.
+
+[FN#181]   Whose by name was Abu Ali, a poet under the Abbasides
+(eighth and ninth centuries).
+
+[FN#182]  A well-known quarter of Baghdad, often mentioned in The
+Nights.
+
+[FN#183]  Another well-known poet of the time.
+
+[FN#184]   Arab. "Sardáb": noticed before.
+
+[FN#185]  A gigantic idol in the Ka'abah, destroyed by Mohammed:
+it gave name to a tribe.
+
+[FN#186]  Arab. "Ya Kawwád:" hence the Port. and Span.
+Alcoviteiro.
+
+[FN#187]  Arab "Tufayli," a term before noticed; the class was as
+well-known in Baghdad and Cairo as in ancient Rome.
+
+[FN#188]  Arab. "Jauzar"=a bubalus (Antilope defessa), also
+called "Aye" from the large black eyes. This bovine antelope is
+again termed Bakar al-Wahsh (wild cattle) or "Bos Sylvestris"
+(incerti generic, Forsk.). But Janzar also signifies hart, so I
+render it by "Ariel" (the well-known antelope).
+
+[FN#189]  Arab. "Taráib" plur. of taríbah. The allusion is to the
+heart, and "the little him's a her."
+
+[FN#190]  A well-known poet of the ninth century (A.D.).
+
+[FN#191]  These easy deaths for love are a lieu common: See
+sundry of them in the Decameron (iv. 7, etc.); and, in the
+Heptameron (Nouv. Ixx.), the widow who lay down and died of love
+and sorrow that her passion had become known. For the fainting of
+lovers see Nouvelle xix.
+
+[FN#192]  This is a favourite Badawi dish, but too expensive
+unless some accident happen to the animal. Old camel is much like
+bull-beef, but the young meat is excellent, although not relished
+by Europeans because, like strange fish, it has no recognised
+flavour. I have noticed it in my "First Footsteps" (p. 68, etc.).
+There is an old idea in Europe that the maniacal vengeance of the
+Arab is increased by eating this flesh, the beast is certainly
+vindictive enough; but a furious and frantic vengefulness
+characterises the North American Indian who never saw a camel.
+Mercy and pardon belong to the elect, not to the miserables who
+make up " humanity."
+
+[FN#193]   i.e. of the Province Hazramaut, the Biblical
+Hazarmaveth (Gen. x. 26). The people are the Swill of Arabia and
+noted for thrift and hard bargains; hence the saying, If you meet
+a serpent and a Hazrami, slay the Hazrami.  To prove how
+ubiquitous they are it is related that a man, flying from their
+society, reached the uttermost parts of China where he thought
+himself safe.  But, as he was about to pass the night in some
+ruin, he heard a voice bard by him exclaim, "O Imád al-Din!"
+(the name of the patron-saint of Hazramaut).  Thereupon he arose
+and fled and he is, they say, flying still.
+
+[FN#194]   Arab. "Fál" alluding to the Sortes Coranicæ and other
+silly practices known to the English servant-girs when curious
+about her future and her futur.
+
+[FN#195]   i.e., in Arab-land (where they eat dates) and Ajam, or
+lands non-Arab (where bread is the staff of life); that is, all
+the world over.
+
+[FN#196]   This story is curious and ethnologically valuable. The
+Badawi who eructates as a civility, has a mortal hatred to a
+crepitus ventris; and were a by-stander to laugh at its
+accidental occurrence, he would at once be cut down as a
+"pundonor." The same is the custom amongst the Highlanders of
+Afghanistan, and its artificial nature suggests direct
+derivation, for the two regions are separated by a host of
+tribes, Persians and Baloch, Sindis and Panjábis who utterly
+ignore the point of honour and behave like Europeans. The raids
+of the pre-Islamitic Arabs over the lands lying to the north-east
+of them are almost forgotten; still there are traces, and this
+may be one of them.
+
+[FN#197]   Arab. "Al-‘Ár." The Badawi saying is "Al-nár wa lá l-
+‘ár" (Hell-)fire, but not shame. The sentiment is noble.  Hasan
+the Prophet's grandson, a poor creature demoralised by over-
+marrying, chose the converse, "Shame is better than Hell-fire."
+An old Arabic poem has,
+
+     "The Fire and not shame be the Lord of thee
+      And e'en to The Fire from shame go flee."
+
+Al-Hariri (Ass. of the Badawin) also has,
+
+     "For rather would I die my death than shame,--
+      On bier be borne than bear a caitiff's name."
+
+[FN#198] A grammarian and rhetorician of ninth century.
+
+[FN#199]  Once existing in Syrian Hamáh (the Biblical Hamath);
+and so called because here died the Emperor Heraclius called by
+the Arabs "Hirakl."
+
+[FN#200]  Till lately it was the custom to confine madmen in
+Syrian monasteries, hoping a cure from the patron Saint, and a
+terrible time they had of it. Every guide book relates the
+healing process as formerly pursued at the Maronite Convent
+Koshaya not far from Bayrut. The idiot or maniac was thrust
+headlong by the monks into a dismal cavern with a heavy chain
+round his neck, and was tied up within a span of the wall to
+await the arrival of Saint Anthony who especially affects this
+holy place. In very few weeks the patient was effectually cured
+or killed by cold, solitude and starvation.
+
+[FN#201]  The Moslem Eve, much nearer the Hebrew "Hawah" = the
+"manifester," because (Gen. iii. 20) she was (to be) the mother
+of all that live ("Kull hayy").
+
+[FN#202]  The mad lover says "they" for "she," which would be too
+familiar in speaking to strangers.
+
+[FN#203]  i.e. falsely to report the death.
+
+[FN#204]  A famous grammarian, etc., of the tenth century.
+
+[FN#205]  The classical Amorium in Phrygia now Anatolia: Anbár is
+a town (before mentioned) on the Euphrates; by the rules of
+Arabic grammar the word is pronounced (though never written)
+Ambár.
+
+[FN#206]  "Art thou not the slave of the Messiah, the Ráhib
+(monk)?" "No! I am the slave of Allah, the Rághib (desirous of
+mercy from the Almighty). " A fair specimen of the Saj'a or
+rhymed prose. Abdallah (properly "Abdu'llah:") is a kind of
+neutral name, neither Jewish, Moslem nor Christian; hence I
+adopted it, (Pilgrimage i. 20.)
+
+[FN#207]  Arab. "Hanut," prop. a tavern where liquors are sold, a
+term applied contemptuously to shops, inns, etc., kept by
+Christians.
+
+[FN#208]  Arab. "Shirk" = syntheism of the "Mushrik" (one who
+makes other gods partners with God), a word pronounced "Mushrit"
+by the Wahhabis and the Badawin.
+
+[FN#209]  Koran vii. 195. The passage declaims against the idols
+of the Arabs, sun, moon. stars, etc.
+
+[FN#210]  This minor miracle is commonly reported, and is not, I
+believe, unknown to modern "Spiritualism." The dead Wali or
+Waliyah (Saintess) often impels the bier-bearers to the spot
+where he would be buried: hence in Cairo the tombs scattered
+about the city. Lane notices it, Mod. E. chaps. xxviii.
+
+[FN#211]  Koran x. 36, speaking of being turned aside from the
+true worship.
+
+[FN#212]  One of the Wazirs of al-Maamun, Kurrat al-Ayn =
+"coolness (i.e. delight) of the eyes" Ali bin Hishám surnamed
+Abu'l-Hasan, was prefect of Baghdad under the same reign.
+
+[FN#213]  The Mac. Edit. (ii. 448) reads for Kawáid (plur. of
+Káid = Governors, Span. Alcayde) "Fawáid": hence Lane (ii. 606)
+translates " try thy heart."
+
+ [FN#214]  The mats of Sind were famous even in my day, but under
+English rule native industries are killed out by Manchester and
+Birmingham.
+
+[FN#215]  Sajáh was the name of a famous female impostor, a
+contemporary of "Musaylimah the Liar."
+
+[FN#216]  A poet of Mohammed's day.
+
+[FN#217]  A singer and composer of the first century (A. H.).
+
+[FN#218]  Arab = a roe, a doe; also the Yoni (of women, mares and
+bitches). It is the Heb. Tabitha and the Greek Dorcas.
+
+[FN#219]  Within the Hudúd al-Harem (bounds of the Holy Places),
+at Al-Medinah as well as Meccah, all "Muharramát" (forbidden
+sins) are doubly unlawful, such as drinking spirits, immoral
+life, etc. The Imam Malik forbids slaying animals without,
+however, specifying any penalty. The felling of trees is a
+disputed point; and no man can be put to death except invaders,
+infidels and desecraters. (Pilgrimage ii. 167.)
+
+[FN#220]  A poet of the first century (A.H.).
+
+[FN#221]  In Arab. =a fawn beginning to walk, also the 28th lunar
+mansion or station, usually known as Batn al-Hut or Whale's
+belly. These mansions or houses, the constellations through which
+the moon passes in her course along her orbit, are much used in
+Moslem astrology and meteorology.
+
+[FN#222]  Arab. Kalla-má = it is seldom (rare) that etc. used in
+books.
+
+[FN#223]  Dishonoured by his love being made public. So Hafiz,
+Petrarch and Camoens.
+
+[FN#224]  Sixth Abbaside, A.D. 809-813.
+
+[FN#225]  Ala'llah, tenth Abbaside, A. H. 232-47 (847-61),
+grandson of Al-Rashid who succeeded Al-Wásik. He was a fanatic
+Sunni, much opposed to the Shi'ahs and he ordered the Christians
+to wear round their necks the Ghull (collar of wood, iron, or
+leather), to dress in yellow head-gear and girdles, use wooden
+stirrups and place figures of devils in front of their
+dwelling-houses. He also gave distinct dresses to their women and
+slaves. The Ghull, or collar, was also used for a punishment and
+vermin gathered under it when riveted round the neck: hence
+Golius calls it "pediculosum columbar."
+
+[FN#226]  Wazir of the above. killed by al-Muntasir Billah A. H.
+247 (= 861).
+
+[FN#227]  Easterns during purgation are most careful and deride
+the want of precaution in Europeans. They do not leave the house
+till all is passed off, and avoid baths, wine and women which
+they afterwards resume with double zest. Here "breaking the seal"
+is taking the girl's maidenhead.
+
+[FN#228]  Johannes, a Greek favoured by Al-Mutawakkil and other
+Abbaside Caliphs.
+
+[FN#229]  Lady of Shaykhs, elders in the faith and men of
+learning
+
+[FN#230]  = A.D. 1166.
+
+[FN#231]  Koran iv. 38. I have before noted what the advantages
+are.
+
+[FN#232]  Koran ii. 282, "of those whom ye shall choose for
+witnesses."
+
+[FN#233]  Koran iv. 175, "Whereas if there be two sisters, they
+inherit only two-thirds between them."
+
+[FN#234]  The secondary meaning is "Fá'il" = the active sodomite
+and "Mafa'úl" = the passive, a catamite: the former is not an
+insulting word, the latter is a most injurious expression.
+"Novimus et qui te!"
+
+[FN#235]  It is an unpleasant fact that almost all the poetry of
+Háfiz is addressed to youths, as we see by the occasional
+introduction of Arabic (e.g., Afáka'lláh). Persian has no genders
+properly so called, hence the effect is less striking. Sa'di, the
+"Persian Moralist" begins one of the tales, "A certain learned
+man fell in love with a beautiful son of a blacksmith," which
+Gladwin, translating for the general, necessarily changed to
+"daughter."
+
+[FN#236]  The famous author of the Anthology called Al-Hamásah.
+
+[FN#237]  i.e., teeth under the young mustachio.
+
+[FN#238]  The "Silk man" and the celebrated author of the
+Makámát, assemblies or seances translated (or attempted) into all
+the languages of Europe. We have two in English, the first by
+Theodore Preston, M.A. (London, Madden, 1850); but it contains
+only twenty of the fifty pieces. The second by the late Mr.
+Chenery (before alluded to) ends with the twenty-sixth assembly:
+one volume in fact, the other never having been finished. English
+readers, therefore, are driven to the grand edition of the
+Makámát in folio by Baron Silvestre de Sacy.
+
+[FN#239]  The sword of the eye has a Hamáil (baldrick worn over
+right shoulder, Pilgrimage i. 352) to support the "Ghimd" (vulg.
+Ghamad) or scabbard (of wood or leather): and this baldrick is
+the young whisker.
+
+[FN#240]  The conceit of "Suláfat" (ptisane, grape juice allowed
+to drain on the slabs) and "Sawálif" (tresses, locks) has been
+explained. The newest wine is the most inebriating, a fact not
+much known in England, but familiar to the drinker of "Vino
+novo."
+
+[FN#241]  Koran xii. 51, this said by the nobleman's (Potiphar's)
+wife who adds, "I selected him to lie with me; and he (Joseph) is
+one of those who speak truth."
+
+[FN#242]  Here we have a specimen of the strained Saj'a or
+balanced prose: slave-girls (jawárí) are massed with flowing
+tears (dam'u jári) on account of the Káfiyah or rhyme.
+
+[FN#243]  The detected sodomite is punished with death according
+to Moslem law, but again comes the difficulty of proof. At Shiraz
+I have heard of a pious Moslem publicly executing his son.
+
+[FN#244]  Koran xxvi. 165 et seq. The Lord speaks to the "people
+of Lot" (Sodomites). Mr. Payne renders "Min al-álamíma," "from
+the four corners of the world."
+
+[FN#245]  Meaning before and behind, a Moslemah "Bet Balmanno."
+
+[FN#246]  Arab. " Lúti," (plur. Lawátí), much used in Persian as
+a buffoon, a debauchee, a rascal. The orig. sig. is "One of (the
+people of) Lot." The old English was Ingle or Yngle (a bardachio,
+a catamite, a boy kept for sodomy), which Minsheu says is, "Vox
+hispanica et significat Latinè Inguen" (the groin). Our vulgar
+modern word like the Italian bugiardo is pop. derived from Fr.
+Bougre, alias Bulgarus, a Bulgarian, a heretic: hence Boulgrin
+(Rabelais i. chaps. ii.) is popularly applied to the Albigeois
+(Albigenses, whose persecution began shortly after A.D. 1200) and
+the Lutherans. I cannot but think that "bougre" took its especial
+modern signification after the French became acquainted with the
+Brazil, where the Huguenots (in A.D. 1555) were founding a
+Nouvelle France, alias Equinoctiale, alias Antarctique, and
+whence the savages were carried as curiosities to Paris. Their
+generic name was "Bugre" (properly a tribe in Southern Brazil,
+but applied to all the redskins) and they were all born
+Sodomites. More of this in the terminal Essay.
+
+[FN#247]  His paper is the whiteness of his skin. I have quoted
+the Persian saying of a young beard: "his cheeks don mourning for
+his beauty's death."
+
+[FN#248]  Arab. "Khabál," lit. the pus which flows from the
+bodies of the damned.
+
+[FN#249]  Most characteristic of Egypt is all this scene. Her
+reverence, it is true, sits behind a curtain; but her virtue uses
+language which would shame the lowest European prostitute; and
+which is filthy almost as Dean Swift's.
+
+[FN#250]  Arab. "Niyat:" the Moslem's idea of intentions quite
+runs with the Christian's. There must be a "Niyat" or purpose of
+prayer or the devotion is valueless. Lane tells a pleasant tale
+of a thief in the Mosque, saying "I purpose (before Prayer) to
+carry off this nice pair of new shoes!"
+
+[FN#251]  Arab. "Ya 'l-Ajúz" (in Cairo "Agooz" pronounced "Ago-o-
+oz"): the address is now insulting and would elicit "The old
+woman in thine eye" (with fingers extended). In Egypt the polite
+address is "O lady (Sitt), O pilgrimess, O bride, and O daughter"
+(although she be the wrong side of fifty). In Arabia you may say
+"O woman (Imraah)" but in Egypt the reply would be "The woman
+shall see Allah cut out thy heart!" So in Southern Italy you
+address "bella fé" (fair one) and cause a quarrel by
+"vecchiarella."
+
+[FN#252] Governor of Egypt, Khorasan, etc. under Al-Maamun.
+
+[FN#253] i.e., a companion, a solacer: it is also a man's name
+(vol. i. xxiv.).
+
+[FN#254] At Baghdad; evidently written by a Baghdad or Mosul man.
+
+[FN#255] A blind traditionist of Bassorah (ninth century).
+
+[FN#256] Arab. "Zaghab"=the chick's down; the warts on the
+cucumber which sometimes develop into projections.
+
+[FN#257] The Persian saying is, A kiss without moustachio is
+bread without salt.
+
+[FN#258] "And We will prove you with evil, and with good, for a
+trial of you; and unto Us shall ye return." (Koran xxi. 36.) The
+saying is always in the Moslem's mouth.
+
+[FN#259] Arab. "Sunnat," lit.=a law, especially applied to the
+habit and practice of the Apostle in religious and semi-religious
+matters, completing the "Hadis," or his spoken words. Anything
+unknown is entitled "Bida'ah"=innovation. Hence the strict Moslem
+is a model Conservative whose exemplar of life dates from the
+seventh century. This fact may be casuistically explained away;
+but is not less an obstacle to all progress and it will be one of
+the principal dangers threatening Al-Islam. Only fair to say that
+an "innovation" introduced by a perfect follower of the Prophet
+is held equal theoretically to a Sunnat; but vulgarly it is said,
+"The rabble will not take gold which is not coined."
+
+[FN#260] Arab. "Arsh"=the ninth Heaven, the Throne of the Deity,
+above the Seven Heavens of the planets and the Primum Mobile
+which, in the Ptolemaic system, sets them all in motion.
+
+[FN#261] This description of a good Moslem's death is at once
+concise, pathetic and picturesque.
+
+[FN#262] This is the first mention of coffee; apparently
+introduced by the scribe: the word rendered "coffee-makers" is
+"Kahwajiyah"; an Arab. plur. of a Turkish termination (-ji) to an
+Arab. word "Kahwah" (before noticed).
+
+[FN#263] Picnics are still made to Rauzah (Rodah) island: I have
+enjoyed many a one, but the ground is all private property.
+
+[FN#264] Arab. "Hosh," plur. Híshán, the low courts surrounded by
+mean lodgings which in "native" Cairo still contrast so strongly
+with the "gingerbread" of the new buildings.
+
+[FN#265] This is the Moslem equivalent of "thank you." He looks
+upon the donor as the channel through which Allah sends him what
+he wants and prays for more to come. Thus "May your shadow never
+be less" means, May you increase in prosperity so that I may gain
+thereby! And if a beggar is disposed to be insolent (a very
+common case), he will tell you his mind pretty freely on the
+subject, and make it evident to you that all you have is also his
+and that La propriété (when not shared) est le vol.
+
+[FN#266] I have noticed in my Pilgrimage (i. 51-53) the kindly
+care with which the stranger is treated by Moslems, a marvellous
+contrast to the ways of "civilization."
+
+[FN#267] Arab. "Dimyat," vulg. pronounced "Dumíyat."
+
+[FN#268] Where the door-keepers sit and receive their friends.
+
+[FN#269] This is a traveller's 'Kit' in the East.
+
+[FN#270] Arab. "Takht-rawán," from Persian meaning "moveable
+throne."
+
+[FN#271] The use of the expression proved the speaker to be a
+Moslem Jinní.
+
+[FN#272] The "haunted" house proper, known to the vulgar and to
+spiritualists becomes, I have said, amongst Moslems a place
+tenanted by Jinns.
+
+[FN#273] Needless to say there never was a Sultan or a King of
+Baghdad nor a Duke of Athens. This story would seem not to have
+been written by the author of "the Emir bin Tahir," etc. Night
+ccccxxiv.
+
+[FN#274] Plur. of Álim=one learned in the law, a D.D. Mohammed
+did his best to abolish the priest and his craft by making each
+Moslem paterfamilias a pontifex in his own household and he
+severely condemned monkery and celibacy. But human nature was too
+much for him: even before his death ascetic associations began to
+crop up. Presently the Olema in Al-Islam formed themselves into a
+kind of clergy; with the single but highly important difference
+that they must (or ought to) live by some honest secular calling
+and not by the "cure of souls"; hence Mahomet IV. of Turkey was
+solemnly deposed. So far and no farther Mohammed was successful
+and his success has secured for him the lively and lasting hatred
+of the ecclesiastical caste which he so honestly and wisely
+attempted to abate. Even to the present day missionaries have a
+good word for the Guebre and the Buddhist, the Brahmanist and the
+Confucian, but none for the Moslem: Dr. Livingstone, for one
+instance of many, evidently preferred the Fetichist, whom he
+could convert, to the Unitarian Faithful whom he could not.
+
+[FN#275] i.e. they recited seven times (an unusual number), for
+greater solemnity, the opening Chapter of the Koran which does
+general duty on such occasions as making covenants and swearing
+fealty. This proclaiming a King by acclamation suggests the
+origin of the old and venerable Portuguese institution.
+
+[FN#276] By affixing his own seal and that of the King. This in
+later times was supplanted by the "Tughrá," the imperial cypher
+or counter-mark (much like a writing master's flourish), with
+which Europe has now been made familiar through the agency of
+Turkish tobacco.
+
+[FN#277] Arab. "Wird"=the twenty-five last chapters of the Koran
+which are repeated, one or more at a time, after the end of the
+"Farz," or obligatory prayers and ad libitum with the Sunnat or
+customary, and the Náfilah or supererogatory.
+
+[FN#278] The sensible creed of Al-Islam freely allows
+anthropophagy when it saves life; a contrast to the
+sentimentalism of the West which brings a "charge of cannibalism"
+against unfortunate expeditionists. I particularly allude to the
+scandalous pulings of the English Press over the gallant and
+unfortunate Greely voyage. (The Academy, Sept. 25, 1884.)
+
+[FN#279] The story is mere Æsopic: the "Two dogs" contains it
+all. One of Mohammed's sensible sayings is recorded and deserves
+repetition:--"Empire endureth with infidelity (idolatry, etc.),
+but not with tyranny."
+
+[FN#280] This couplet occurs in Night xxi. (vol. i. 207); so I
+give Torrens (p.207) by way of variety.
+
+[FN#281] Lane (ii. 636) omits this tale, "as it would not only
+require a volume of commentary but be extremely tiresome to most
+readers." Quite true; but it is valuable to Oriental Students who
+are beginning their studies, as an excellent compendium of
+doctrine and practice according to the Shafi'í School.
+
+[FN#282] Pronounced Aboo 'l-Husn = Father of Beauty, a fancy
+name.
+
+[FN#283] As in most hot climates so in Egypt the dead are buried
+at once despite the risk of vivisepulture. This seems an instinct
+with the Semitic (Arabian) race teste Abraham, as with the Gypsy.
+Hence the Moslems have invoked religious aid. The Mishkát
+al-Masábih (i. 387) makes Mohammed say, "When any one of you
+dieth you may not keep him in the house but bear him quickly to
+his grave"; and again, "Be quick in raising up the bier: for if
+the dead have been a good man, it is good to bear him gravewards
+without delay; and if bad, it is frowardness ye put from your
+necks."
+
+[FN#284] This biting of the hand in Al-Haríri expresses
+bitterness of repentance and he uses more than once the Koranic
+phrase (chapter vii., 148) "Sukita fí aydíhim," lit. where it
+(the biting) was fallen upon their hands; i.e. when it repented
+them; "sukita" being here not a passive verb as it appears, but
+an impersonal form uncommon in Arabic. The action is instinctive,
+a survival of the days when man was a snarling and snapping
+animal (physically) armed only with claws and teeth.
+
+[FN#285] Arab. "'Alam," applied to many things, an "old man" of
+stones (Kákúr), a signpost with a rag on the top, etc.
+
+[FN#286] The moon of Ramazan was noticed in Night ix. That of
+Sha'aban (eighth month) begins the fighting month after the
+conclusion of the Treuga Dei in Rajab. See Night ccclxxviii.
+
+[FN#287] These lines have occurred in Night cccxix. I give Mr.
+Payne's version for variety.
+
+[FN#288] i.e. in her prime, at fourteen to fifteen.
+
+[FN#289] i.e. pale and yellow.
+
+[FN#290] The word means the wood; but it alludes to a preparation
+made by levigating it on a stone called in India "Sandlásá." The
+gruel-like stuff is applied with the right hand to the right side
+of the neck, drawing the open fingers from behind forwards so as
+to leave four distinct streaks, then down to the left side, and
+so on to the other parts of the body.
+
+[FN#291] Arab. "Haykal" which included the Porch, the Holy and
+the Holy of Holies. The word is used as      in a wider sense by
+Josephus A. J. v. v. 3. In Moslem writings it is applied to a
+Christian Church generally, on account of its images.
+
+[FN#292] These lines having occurred before, I here quote Mr.
+Payne.
+
+[FN#293] Arab writers often mention the smile of beauty, but
+rarely, after European fashion, the laugh, which they look upon
+as undignified. A Moslem will say "Don't guffaw (Kahkahah) in
+that way; leave giggling and grinning to monkeys and Christians."
+The Spaniards, a grave people, remark that Christ never laughed.
+I would draw the reader's attention to a theory of mine that the
+open-hearted laugh has the sound of the vowels a and o; while e,
+i, and u belong to what may be roughly classed as the rogue
+order.
+
+[FN#294] i.e. gaining the love of another, love.
+
+[FN#295] i.e. the abrogated passages and those by which they are
+abrogated. This division is necessary for "inspired volumes,"
+which always abound in contradictions. But the charge of
+"opportunism" brought against the Koran is truly absurd; as if
+"revelation" could possibly be aught save opportune.
+
+[FN#296] Koran iv. 160, the chapter "Women."
+
+[FN#297] She unveiled, being a slave-girl and for sale. If a free
+woman show her face to a Moslem, he breaks out into violent
+abuse, because the act is intended to let him know that he is
+looked upon as a small boy or an eunuch or a Chriastian--in fact
+not a man.
+
+[FN#298] Ilah=Heb. El, a most difficult root, meaning strength,
+interposition, God (Numen) "the" (article) "don't" (do not), etc.
+etc.
+
+[FN#299] As far as I know Christians are the only worshippers who
+kneel as if their lower legs were cut off and who "join hands"
+like the captive offering his wrists to be bound (dare manus).
+The posture, however, is not so ignoble as that of the Moslem
+"Sijdah" (prostration) which made certain North African tribes
+reject Al-Islam saying, "These men show their hind parts to
+heaven."
+
+[FN#300] i.e. saying "I intend (purpose) to pray (for instance)
+the two-bow prayer (ruka'tayn) of the day-break," etc.
+
+[FN#301] So called because it prohibits speaking with others till
+the prayer is ended.
+
+[FN#302] Lit. "any thing opposite;" here used for the Ka'abah
+towards which men turn in prayer; as Guebres face the sun or fire
+and idolators their images. "Al-Kiblatayn" (= the two Kiblahs)
+means Meccah and Jerusalem, which was faced by Moslems as well as
+Jews and Christians till Mohammed changed the direction. For the
+occasion of the change see my Pilgrimage, ii. 320.
+
+[FN#303] Which includes Tayammum or washing with sand. This is a
+very cleanly practice in a hot, dry land and was adopted long
+before Mohammed. Cedrenus tells of baptism with sand being
+administered to a dying traveller in the African desert.
+
+[FN#304] The Koranic order for Wuzú is concise and as usual
+obscure, giving rise to a host of disputes and casuistical
+questions. Its text runs (chapt. v.), "O true believers, when you
+prepare to pray, wash (Ghusl) your faces, and your hands unto the
+elbows; and rub (Mas-h) your hands and your feet unto the ankles;
+and if ye be unclean by having lain with a woman, wash (Ghusl)
+yourselves all over." The purifications and ceremonious ablutions
+of the Jews originated this command; and the early Christians did
+very unwisely in not making the bath obligatory. St. Paul (Heb.
+xi. 22) says, "Let us draw near with a true heart...having our
+hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
+with clean (or pure) water." But this did not suffice. Hence the
+Eastern Christian, in hot climates where cleanliness should rank
+before godliness, is distinguished by his dirt which as a holy or
+reverend man he makes still dirtier, and he offers an ugly
+comparison with the Moslem and especially the Hindu. The neglect
+of commands to wash and prohibitions to drink strong waters are
+the two grand physical objections of the Christian code of
+morality.
+
+[FN#305] Arab. "Istinshák"=snuffing up water from the palm of the
+right hand so as to clean thoroughly the nostrils. This
+"function" is unreasonably neglected in Europe, to the detriment
+of the mucous membrane and the olfactory nerves.
+
+[FN#306] So as to wash between them. The thick beard is combed
+out with the fingers.
+
+[FN#307] Poor human nature! How sad to compare ita pretensions
+with its actualities.
+
+[FN#308] Complete ablution is rendered necessary chiefly by the
+emission of semen either in copulation or in nocturnal pollution.
+The water must be pure and not less than a certain quantity, and
+it must touch every part of the skin beginning with the right
+half of the person and ending with the left. Hence a plunge-bath
+is generally preferred.
+
+[FN#309] Arab. "Ta'mím," lit. crowning with turband, or tiara,
+here=covering, i.e. wetting.
+
+[FN#310] This practice (saying "I purpose to defer the washing of
+the feet," etc.) is now somewhat obsolete.
+
+[FN#311] Arabs have a prejudice against the hydropathic treatment
+of wounds, holding that water poisons them: and, as the native
+produce usually contains salt, soda and magnesia, they are
+justified by many cases. I once tried water-bandages in Arabia
+and failed dismally.
+
+[FN#312] The sick man says his prayers lying in bed, etc., and as
+he best can.
+
+[FN#313] i.e. saying, "And peace be on us and on the worshippers
+of Allah which be pious."
+
+[FN#314] i.e. saying, " I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the
+Stoned."
+
+[FN#315] Certain parts should be recited aloud (jahr) and others
+sotto voce (with mussitation=Khafi). No mistake must be made in
+this matter where a Moslem cannot err.
+
+[FN#316] Hence an interest of two-and-a-half percent is not held
+to be "Ribá" or unlawful gain of money by money, usury.
+
+[FN#317] The meal must be finished before the faster can plainly
+distinguish the white thread from the black thread (Koran ii.
+183); some understand this literally, others apply it to the dark
+and silvery streak of zodiacal light which appears over the
+Eastern horizon an hour or so before sunrise. The fast then
+begins and ends with the disappearance of the sun. I have noticed
+its pains and penalties in my Pilgrimage, i. 110, etc.
+
+[FN#318] For the "Azán" or call to prayer see Lane, M. E., chapt.
+xviii. The chant, however, differs in every country, and a
+practical ear will know the land by its call.
+
+[FN#319] Arab. "Hadís" or saying of the Apostle.
+
+[FN#320] "Al-I'itikaf" resembles the Christian "retreat;" but the
+worshipper generally retires to a mosque, especially in Meccah.
+The Apostle practised it on Jabal Hira and other places.
+
+[FN#321] The word is the Heb. "Hagg" whose primary meaning is
+circularity of form or movement. Hence it applied to religious
+festivals in which dancing round the idol played a prime part;
+and Lucian of "saltation" says, dancing was from the beginning
+and coeval with the ancient god, Love. But man danced with joy
+before he worshipped, and, when he invented a systematic
+saltation, he made it represent two things, and only two things,
+love and war, in most primitive form, courtship and fighting.
+
+[FN#322] Two adjoining ground-waves in Meccah. For these and for
+the places subsequently mentioned the curious will consult my
+Pilgrimage, iii. 226, etc.
+
+[FN#323] The 'Umrah or lesser Pilgrimage, I have noted, is the
+ceremony performed in Meccah at any time out of the
+pilgrim-season proper, i.e. between the eighth and tenth days of
+the twelfth lunar month Zu 'l-Hijjah. It does not entitle the
+Moslem to be called Hájj (pilgrim) or Hájí as Persians and
+Indians corrupt the word.
+
+[FN#324] I need hardly note that Mohammed borrowed his
+pilgrimage-practices from the pagan Arabs who, centuries before
+his day, danced around the Meccan Ka'abah. Nor can he be blamed
+for having perpetuated a Gentile rite, if indeed it be true that
+the Ka'abah contained relics of Abraham and Ishmael.
+
+[FN#325] On first sighting Meccah. See Night xci.
+
+[FN#326] Arab. "Tawáf:" the place is called Matáf and the guide
+Mutawwif. (Pilgrimage, iii. 193, 205.) The seven courses are
+termed Ashwát.
+
+[FN#327] Stoning the Devil at Mina. (Pilgrimage, iii. 282.) Hence
+Satan's title "the Stoned" (lapidated not castrated).
+
+[FN#328] Koran viii. 66; in the chapter entided "Spoil," and
+relating mainly to the "day of Al-Bedr.
+
+[FN#329] Arab. "AI-Ikálah"= cancelling: Mr. Payne uses the
+technical term "resiliation."
+
+[FN#330] Freedman of Abdallah, son of the Caliph Omar and noted
+as a traditionist.
+
+[FN#331] i.e. at a profit: the exchange must be equal--an
+ordinance intended to protect the poor. Arabs have strange
+prejudices in these matters; for instance it disgraces a Badawi
+to take money for milk.
+
+[FN#332] Arab. "Jamá'ah," which in theology means the Greek
+        , our "Church," the congregation of the Faithful under a
+lawful head. Hence the Sunnis call themselves "People of the
+Sunnat and Jamá'at." In the text it is explained as "Ulfat" or
+intimacy.
+
+[FN#333] Arab. "Al-Khalíl," i.e. of Allah=Abraham. Mohammed,
+following Jewish tradition, made Abraham rank second amongst the
+Prophets, inferior only to himself and superior to Hazrat
+Isa=Jesus. I have noted that Ishmael the elder son succeeded his
+father. He married Da'alah bint Muzáz bin Omar, a Jurhamite, and
+his progeny abandoning Hebrew began to speak Arabic (ta'arraba);
+hence called Muta'arribah or Arabised Arabs. (Pilgrimage iii.
+190.) He died at Meccah and was buried with his mother in the
+space North of the Ka'abah called Al-Hijr which our writers
+continue to confuse with the city Al-Hijr. (Ibid. 165-66.)
+
+[FN#334] This ejaculation, "In the name of Allah" is, I have
+noted, equivalent to "saying grace." If neglected it is a sin and
+entails a curse.
+
+[FN#335] The ceremonious posture is sitting upon the shin-bones,
+not tailor-fashion; and "bolting food" is a sign of boorishness.
+
+[FN#336] Arab. "Zidd," the word is a fair specimen of Arabic
+ambiguity meaning primarily opposite or contrary (as virtue to
+vice), secondarily an enemy or a friend (as being opposite to an
+enemy).
+
+[FN#337] "The whole earth (shall be) but His handful on the
+Resurrection day and in His right hand shall the Heaven be rolled
+up (or folded together)."-Koran xxxix. 67.
+
+[FN#338] See Night lxxxi.
+
+[FN#339] Koran lxxviii. 19.
+
+[FN#340] Arab. "Al-Munáfik," technically meaning one who
+outwardly professes Al-Islam while inwardly hating it. Thus the
+word is by no means synonymous with our "hypocrite," hypocrisy
+being the homage vice pays to virtue; a homage, I may observe,
+nowhere rendered more fulsomely than among the so-called
+Anglo-Saxon race.
+
+[FN#341] Arab. "Tawakkul alá 'llah": in the imperative the phrase
+is vulgarly used="Be off!"
+
+[FN#342] i.e. ceremonial impurity which is sui generis, a very
+different thing from general dirtiness.
+
+[FN#343] A thick beard is one which does not show the skin;
+otherwise the wearer is a "Kausaj;" in Pers. "Kúseh." See vol.
+iii., 246.
+
+[FN#344] Arab. "Al-Khutnah." Nowhere commanded in the Koran and
+being only a practice of the Prophet, the rite is not
+indispensable for converts, especially the aged and the sick. Our
+ideas upon the subject are very hazy, for modern "niceness"
+allows a "Feast of the Circumcision," but no discussion thereon.
+Moses (alias Osarsiph) borrowed the rite from the Egyptian
+hierophants who were all thus "purified"; the object being to
+counteract the over-sensibility of the "sixth sense" and to
+harden the glans against abrasions and infection by exposure to
+air and friction against the dress. Almost all African tribes
+practise it but the modes vary and some are exceedingly curious:
+I shall notice a peculiarly barbarous fashion called Al-Salkh
+(the flaying) still practised in the Arabian province Al-Asír.
+(Pilgrimage iii. 80.) There is a difference too between the
+Hebrew and the Moslem rite. The Jewish operator, after snipping
+off the foreskin, rips up the prepuce with his sharp thumb-nails
+so that the external cutis does not retract far from the
+internal; and the wound, when healed, shows a narrow ring of
+cicatrice. This ripping is not done by Moslems. They use a stick
+as a probe passed round between glans and prepuce to ascertain
+the extent of the frenum and that there is no abnormal adhesion.
+The foreskin is then drawn forward and fixed by the forceps, a
+fork of two bamboo splints, five or six inches long by a quarter
+thick, or in some cases an iron like our compasses. This is tied
+tightly over the foreskin so as to exclude about an inch and a
+half of the prepuce above and three quarters below. A single
+stroke of the razor drawn directly downwards removes the skin.
+The slight bleeding is stopped by burnt rags or ashes and healed
+with cerates, pledgets and fumigations. Thus Moslem circumcision
+does not prevent the skin retracting.
+
+[FN#345] Of these 6336 versets only some 200 treat on law, civil
+and ceremonial, fiscal and political, devotional and ceremonial,
+canonical and ecclesiastical.
+
+[FN#346] The learned young woman omitted Ukhnúkh=Enoch, because
+not in Koran; and if she denoted him by "Idrís," the latter is
+much out of place.
+
+[FN#347] Some say grandson of Shem. (Koran vii. 71.)
+
+[FN#348] Koran vii. 63, etc.
+
+[FN#349] Father-in-law of Moses. (Koran vii. 83.)
+
+[FN#350] Who is the last and greatest of the twenty-five.
+
+[FN#351] See Night ccccxxxviii.
+
+[FN#352] Koran ii., whose 256th Ayah is the far-famed and sublime
+Throne-verse which begins "Allah! there is no god but He, the
+Living, the Eternal One, whom nor slumber nor sleep seizeth on!"
+The trivial name is taken from the last line, "His throne
+overstretcheth Heaven and Earth and to Him their preservation is
+no burden for He is the most Highest, the Supreme." The lines are
+often repeated in prayers and engraved on agates, etc., as
+portable talismans.
+
+[FN#353] Koran ii. 159.
+
+[FN#354] Koran xvi. 92. The verset ends with, "He warneth you, so
+haply ye may be mindful."
+
+[FN#355] Koran lxx. 38.
+
+[FN#356] Koran xxxix. 54.
+
+[FN#357] The Sunnis hold that the "Anbiyá" (=prophets, or rather
+announcers of Allah's judgments) were not sinless. But this dogma
+is branded as most irreverent and sinful by the Shi'ahs or
+Persian "followers of Ali," who make capital out of this
+blasphemy and declare that if any prophet sinned he sinned only
+against himself.
+
+[FN#358] Koran xii. 18.
+
+[FN#359] Koran ii. 107.
+
+[FN#360] Koran ii. 57. He (Allah) does not use the plurale
+majestatis.
+
+[FN#361] Koran ii. 28.
+
+[FN#362] Koran xvi. 100. Satan is stoned in the Miná or Muná
+basin (Night ccccxlii.) because he tempted Abraham to disobey the
+command of Allah by refusing to sacrifice Ishmael. (Pilgrimage
+iii. 248.)
+
+[FN#363] It may also mean "have recourse to God."
+
+[FN#364] Abdallah ibn Abbas, before noticed, first cousin of
+Mohammed and the most learned of the Companions. See D'Herbelot.
+
+[FN#365] Koran xcvi., "Blood-clots," 1 and 2. "Read" may mean
+"peruse the revelation" (it was the first Koranic chapter
+communicated to Mohammed), or "recite, preach."
+
+[FN#366] Koran xxvii. 30. Mr. Rodwell (p.1) holds to the old idea
+that the "Basmalah" is of Jewish origin, taught to the Kuraysh by
+Omayyah, of Taif, the poet and Haníf (convert).
+
+[FN#367] Koran ix.: this was the last chapter revealed and the
+only one revealed entire except verse 110.
+
+[FN#368] Ali was despatched from Al-Medinah to Meccah by the
+Prophet on his own slit-eared camel to promulgate this chapter;
+and meeting the assembly at Al-'Akabah he also acquainted them
+with four things; (1) No Infidel may approach the Meccah temple;
+(2) naked men must no longer circut the Ka'abah; (3) only Moslems
+enter Paradise, and (4) public faith must be kept.
+
+[FN#369] Dictionaries give the word "Basmalah" (=saying
+Bismillah); but the common pronunciation is "Bismalah."
+
+[FN#370] Koran xvii. 110, a passage revealed because the
+Infidels, hearing Mohammed calling upon The Compassionate,
+imagined that Al-Rahmán was other deity but Allah. The "names"
+have two grand divisions, Asmá Jalálí, the fiery or terrible
+attributes, and the Asmá Jamálí (airy, watery, earthy or)
+amiable. Together they form the Asmá al-Husna or glorious
+attributes, and do not include the Ism al-A'azam, the ineffable
+name which is known only to a few.
+
+[FN#371] Koran ii. 158.
+
+[FN#372] Koran xcvi. before noticed.
+
+[FN#373] A man of Al-Medinah, one of the first of Mohammed's
+disciples.
+
+[FN#374] Koran lxxiv. 1, etc., supposed to have been addressed by
+Gabriel to Mohammed when in the cave of Hira or Jabal Núr. He
+returned to his wife Khadijah in sore terror at the vision of one
+sitting on a throne between heaven and earth, and bade her cover
+him up. Whereupon the Archangel descended with this text,
+supposed to be the first revealed. Mr. Rodwell (p. 3) renders it,
+"O thou enwrapped in thy mantle!" and makes it No. ii. after a
+Fatrah or silent interval of six months to three years.
+
+[FN#375] There are several versets on this subject (chapts. ii.
+and xxx.)
+
+[FN#376] Koran cx. 1.
+
+[FN#377] The third Caliph; the "Writer of the Koran."
+
+[FN#378] Koran, v. 4. Sale translates "idols." Mr. Rodwell, "On
+the blocks (or shafts) of Stone," rude altars set by the pagan
+Arabs before their dwellings.
+
+[FN#379] Koran, v. 116. The words are put into the mouth of
+Jesus.
+
+[FN#380] The end of the same verse.
+
+[FN#381] Koran, v. 89. Supposed to have been revealed when
+certain Moslems purposed to practise Christian asceticism,
+fasting, watching, abstaining from women and sleeping on hard
+beds. I have said Mohammed would have "no monkery in Al-Islam,"
+but human nature willed otherwise. Mr. Rodwell prefers "Interdict
+the healthful viands."
+
+[FN#382] Koran, iv. 124.
+
+[FN#383] Arab. "Mukri." "Kári" is one who reads the Koran to
+pupils; the Mukri corrects them. "With the passage of the clouds"
+= without a moment's hesitation.
+
+[FN#384] The twenty-first, twenty-fourth and eighteenth Arabic
+letters.
+
+[FN#385] Arab. "Hizb." The Koran is divided into sixty portions,
+answering to "Lessons" for convenience of public worship.
+
+[FN#386] Arab. "Jalálah,"=saying Jalla Jalálu-hu=magnified be His
+Majesty!, or glorified be His Glory.
+
+[FN#387] Koran, xi. 50.
+
+[FN#388] The partition-wall between Heaven and Hell which others
+call Al-'Urf (in the sing. from the verb meaning he separated or
+parted). The Jews borrowed from the Guebres the idea of a
+partition between Heaven and Hell and made it so thin that the
+blessed and damned can speak together. There is much dispute
+about the population of Al-A'aráf, the general idea being that
+they are men who do not deserve reward in Heaven or punishment in
+Hell. But it is not a "Purgatory" or place of expiating sins.
+
+[FN#389] Koran, vii. 154.
+
+[FN#390] A play on the word ayn, which means "eye" or the
+eighteenth letter which in olden times had the form of a circle.
+
+[FN#391] From misreading these words comes the absurd popular
+belief of the moon passing up and down Mohammed's sleeves. George
+B. Airy (The Athenæum, Nov.29, 1884) justly objects to Sale's
+translation "The hour of judgment approacheth" and translates
+"The moon hath been dichotomised" a well-known astronomical term
+when the light portion of the moon is defined in a strait line:
+in other words when it is really a half-moon at the first and
+third quarters of each lunation. Others understand, The moon
+shall be split on the Last Day, the preterite for the future in
+prophetic style. "Koran Moslems" of course understand it
+literally.
+
+[FN#392] Chapters liv., lv. and lvi.
+
+[FN#393] We should say, not to utter, etc.
+
+[FN#394] These well-known "humours of Hippocrates," which
+reappear in the form of temperaments of European phrenology, are
+still the base of Eastern therapeutics.
+
+[FN#395] The doctrine of the three souls will be intelligible to
+Spiritualists.
+
+[FN#396] Arab. "Al-lámi"=the l-shaped, curved, forked.
+
+[FN#397] Arab. "Usus," our os sacrum because, being
+incorruptible, the body will be built up thereon for
+Resurrection-time. Hence Hudibras sings (iii. 2),
+
+     "The learned Rabbis of the Jews
+     Write there's a bone which they call leuz,
+     I' the rump of man, etc."
+
+It is the Heb. "Uz," whence older scholars derived os. Sale
+(sect. iv.) called it "El Ajb, os coccygis or rump-bone."
+
+[FN#398] Arab physiologists had difficulties in procuring
+"subjects"; and usually practised dissection on the simiads.
+Their illustrated books are droll; the figures have been copied
+and recopied till they have lost all resemblance to the
+originals.
+
+[FN#399] The liver and spleen are held to be congealed blood.
+Hence the couplet,
+
+    "We are allowed two carrions (i.e. with throats uncut) and
+         two bloods,
+     The fish and the locust, the liver and the spleen."
+(Pilgrimage iii. 92.)
+
+[FN#400] This is perfectly true and yet little known to the
+general.
+
+[FN#401] Koran xvii. 39.
+
+[FN#402] Arab. "Al-malikhulíya," proving that the Greeks then
+pronounced the penultimate vowel according to the acute
+accent–ía; not as we slur it over. In old Hebrew we have the
+transliteration of four Greek words; in the languages of
+Hindostan many scores including names of places; and in Latin and
+Arabic as many hundreds. By a scholar-like comparison of these
+remains we should find little difficulty in establishing the true
+Greek pronunciation since the days of Alexander the Great; and we
+shall prove that it was pronounced according to accent and
+emphatically not quantity. In the next century I presume English
+boys will be taught to pronounce Greek as the Greeks do.
+
+[FN#403] Educated Arabs can quote many a verse bearing upon
+domestic medicine and reminding us of the lines bequeathed to
+Europe by the School of Salerno. Such e.g. are;
+
+     "After the noon-meal, sleep, although for moments twain;
+     After the night-meal, walk, though but two steps be ta'en;
+     And after swiving stale, though but two drops thou drain."
+
+[FN#404] Arab. "Sarídah" (Tharídah), also called "ghaut"=crumbled
+bread and hashed meat in broth; or bread, milk and meat. The
+Sarídah of Ghassán, cooked with eggs and marrow, was held a
+dainty dish: hence the Prophet's dictum.
+
+[FN#405] Koran v. 92. "Lots"=games of chance and
+"images"=statues.
+
+[FN#406] Koran ii. 216. The word "Maysar" which I have rendered
+"gambling" or gaming (for such is the modern application of the
+word), originally meant what St. Jerome calls            and
+explains thereby the verse (Ezek. xxi. 22), "The King held in his
+hand the lot of Jerusalem" i.e. the arrow whereon the city-name
+was written. The Arabs use it for casting lots with ten azlam or
+headless arrows (for dice) three being blanks and the rest
+notched from one to seven. They were thrown by a "Zárib" or
+punter and the stake was generally a camel. Amongst so excitable
+a people as the Arabs, this game caused quarrels and bloodshed,
+hence its prohibition: and the theologians, who everywhere and at
+all times delight in burdening human nature, have extended the
+command, which is rather admonitory than prohibitive, to all
+games of chance. Tarafah is supposed to allude to this practice
+in his Mu'allakah.
+
+[FN#407] Liberal Moslems observe that the Koranic prohibition is
+not absolute, with threat of Hell for infraction. Yet Mohammed
+doubtless forbade all inebriatives and the occasion of his so
+doing is well known. (Pilgrimage ii. 322.)
+
+[FN#408] I have noticed this soured milk in Pilgrimage i. 362.
+
+[FN#409] He does not say the "Caliph" or successor of his uncle
+Mohammed.
+
+[FN#410] The Jewish Korah (Numbers xvi.) fabled by the Koran
+(xxviii. 76), following a Talmudic tradition, to have been a man
+of immense wealth. The notion that lying with an old woman, after
+the menses have ceased, is unwholesome, dates from great
+antiquity; and the benefits of the reverse process were well
+known to good King David. The faces of children who sleep with
+their grandparents (a bad practice now waxing obsolete in
+England), of a young wife married to an old man and of a young
+man married to an old woman, show a peculiar wizened appearance,
+a look of age overlaying youth which cannot be mistaken.
+
+[FN#411] Arab. "Hindibá"(=endubium): the modern term is
+Shakuríyah=chicorée. I believe it to be very hurtful to the eyes.
+
+[FN#412] Arab. "Khuffásh" and "Watwát": in Egypt a woman is
+called "Watwátíyah" when the hair of her privities has been
+removed by applying bats' blood. I have often heard of this; but
+cannot understand how such an application can act depilatory.
+
+[FN#413] Dictionaries render the word by "dragon, cockatrice."
+The Badawin apply it to a variety of serpents mostly large and
+all considered venomous.
+
+[FN#414] Arab. "Zarr wa 'urwah," 1it.=handle. The button-hole, I
+have said, is a modern invention; Urwah is also applied to the
+loopshaped handle of the water-skin, for attachment of the
+Allákah or suspensory thong.
+
+[FN#415] Koran lxx. 40; see also the chapter following, v. 16.
+
+[FN#416] Koran x. 5; the "her" refers to the sun.
+
+[FN#417] Koran xxxvi. 40.
+
+[FN#418] Koran xxii. 60.
+
+[FN#419] Arab. "Manázil:" these are the Hindu "Nakshatra";
+extensively used in meteorology even by Europeans unconsciously:
+thus they will speak of the Elephantina-storm without knowing
+anything of the lunar mansion so called. The names in the text
+are successively Sharatán=two horns of the Ram; (2) the Ram's
+belly; (3) the Pleiades; (4) Aldebaran; (5) three stars in
+Orion's head; (6) ditto in Orion's shoulder; (7) two stars above
+the Twins; (8) Lion's nose and first summer station; (9) Lion's
+eye; (1O) Lion's forehead; (11) Lion's mane; (12) Lion's heart;
+(13) the Dog, two stars in Virgo; (14) Spica Virginis; (15) foot
+of Virgo; (16) horns of Scorpio; (17) the Crown; (18) heart of
+Scorpio; (19) tail of Scorpio; (2O) stars in Pegasus; (21) where
+no constellation appears; (22) the Slaughterer's luck; (23)
+Glutton's luck; (24) Luck of Lucks, stars in Aquarius; (25) Luck
+of Tents, stars in Aquarius; (26) the fore-lip or spout of Urn;
+(27) hind lip of Urn; and (28) in navel of Fish's belly (Batn
+al-Hút); of these 28, to each of the four seasons 7 are allotted.
+
+[FN#420] The Hebrew absey, still used by Moslems in chronograms.
+For mnemonic purposes the 28 letters are distributed into eight
+words of which the first and second are Abjad and Hawwaz. The
+last six letters in two words (Thakhiz and Zuzigh) are Arabian,
+unknown to the Jews and not found in Syriac.
+
+[FN#421] Arab. "Zindík;" properly, one who believes in two gods
+(the old Persian dualism); in books an atheist, i.e. one who does
+not believe in a god or gods; and, popularly, a free-thinker who
+denies the existence of a Supreme Being, rejects revelation for
+the laws of Nature imprinted on the heart of man and for humanity
+in its widest sense. Hence he is accused of permitting incestuous
+marriages and other abominations. We should now call him (for
+want of something better) an Agnostic.
+
+[FN#422] Koran xxxi. 34. The words may still be applied to
+meteorologists especially of the scientific school. Even the
+experienced (as the followers of the late Mathieu de la Drôme)
+reckon far more failures than successes. The Koranic passage
+enumerates five things known only to Allah; Judgment-day; rain;
+sex of child in womb; what shall happen to-morrow and where a man
+shall die.
+
+[FN#423] The fifth and seventh months (January and March) of the
+Coptic year which, being solar, is still used by Arab and
+Egyptian meteorologists. Much information thereon will be found
+in the "Egyptian Calendar" by Mr. Mitchell, Alexandria, 1876. It
+bears the appropriate motto "Anni certus modus apud solos semper
+Egyptios fuit." (Macrobius.) See also Lane M.E., chapt. ix.
+
+[FN#424] Vulg. Kiyák; the fourth month, beginning 9th--1Oth
+December. The first month is Tút, commencing 1Oth--11th
+September.
+
+[FN#425] The 8th and 12th months partly corresponding with April
+and August: Hátúr is the 3rd (November) and AmshRr the 6th
+(February).
+
+[FN#426] Moslems have been compelled to adopt infidel names for
+the months because Mohammed's Koranic rejection of Nasy or
+intercalation makes their lunar months describe the whole circle
+of the seasons in a cycle of about thirty-three and a half years.
+Yet they have retained the terms which contain the original
+motive of the denomination. The first month is Muharram, the
+"Holy," because war was forbidden; it was also known as Safar No.
+1. The second Safar="Emptiness," because during the heats
+citizens left the towns and retired to Táif and other cool sites.
+Rabí'a (first and second) alluded to the spring-pasturages;
+Jumádá (first and second) to the "hardening" of the dry ground
+and, according to some, to the solidification, freezing, of the
+water in the highlands. Rajab (No.7)="worshipping," especially by
+sacrifice, is also known as Al-Asamm the deaf; because being
+sacred, the rattle of arms was unheard. Sha'abán="collecting,"
+dispersing, ruining, because the tribal wars recommenced: Ramazan
+(intensely hot) has been explained and Shawwál (No. 10) derives
+from Shaul (elevating) when the he-camels raise their tails in
+rut. Zú'l-Ka'adah, the sedentary, is the rest time of the year,
+when fighting is forbidden and Zu'l-Hijjah explains itself as the
+pilgrimage-month.
+
+[FN#427] The lowest of the seven.
+
+[FN#428] Koran xxxvii. 5.
+
+[FN#429] Arab. "Faylasúf," an evident corruption from the Greek.
+Amongst the vulgar it denotes a sceptic, an atheist; much the
+same a "Frammásún" or Freemason. The curious reader will consult
+the Dabistan, vol. iii. chapt. xi. p. 138 et seq. "On the
+Religion of the Wise" (philosophi), and, Beaconsfield's theft
+from Shaftesbury.
+
+[FN#430] Koran xxxvi. 37-38.
+
+[FN#431] Koran xxii. 7. The Hour i.e. of Judgment.
+
+[FN#432] Koran xx. 58. The Midrasch Tanchumah on Exod. vii. gives
+a similar dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses. (Rodwell, in loco.)
+
+[FN#433] Arab. "Sham'ún" or "Shim'ún," usually applied to Simon
+Peter (as in Acts xv. 14). But the text alludes to Saint Simeon
+(Luke ii. 25-35). See Gospel of Infancy (ii. 8) and especially
+the Gospel of Nicodemus (xii. 3) which makes him a High-Priest.
+
+[FN#434] Sálih the Patriarch's she-camel, miraculously produced
+from the rock in order to convert the Thamúd-tribe. (Koran vii.)
+
+[FN#435] When Abu Bakr was hiding with Mohammed in a cave on the
+Hill Al-Saur (Thaur or Thúr, Pilgrimage ii. 131) South of Meccah,
+which must not be confounded with the cave on Jabal Hirá now
+called Jabal Núr on the way to Arafat (Pilgrimage iii. 246), the
+fugitives were protected by a bird which built her nest at the
+entrance (according to another legend it was curtained by a
+spider's web), whilst another bird (the crow of whom I shall
+presently speak) tried to betray them. The first bird is
+popularly supposed to have been a pigeon, and is referred to by
+Hudibras,
+
+     "Th' apostles of this fierce religion
+     Like Mahomet, were ass and widgeon."
+
+The ass I presume alludes to the marvellous beast Al-Burák which
+the Greeks called         from      (Euthymius in Pocock, Spec.
+A.H. p.144) and which Indian Moslems picture with human face,
+ass's ears, equine body and peacock's wings and tail. The
+"widgeon" I presume to be a mistake or a misprint for pigeon.
+
+[FN#436] The Arabs are not satisfied with the comparative
+moderation of the Hebrew miracle, and have added all manner of
+absurdities. (Pilgrimage ii. 288.)
+
+[FN#437] Koran lxxxi. 18. Sale translates "by the morning when it
+appeareth;" and the word (tanaffus) will bear this meaning. Mr.
+Rodwell prefers, "By the dawn when it clears away the darkness by
+its breath."
+
+[FN#438] As a rule Moslems are absurdly ignorant of arithmetic
+and apparently cannot master it. Hence in Egypt they used Copts
+for calculating-machines and further East Hindds. The mildest
+numerical puzzle, like the above, is sure of success.
+
+[FN#439] The paradiseal tree which supplied every want. Mohammed
+borrowed it from the Christians (Rev. xxi. 10-21 and xxii. 1-2)
+who placed in their paradise the Tree of Life which bears twelve
+sorts of fruits and leaves of healing virtue. (See also the 3rd
+book of Hermas, his Similitudes.) The Hebrews borrowed it from
+the Persians. Amongst the Hindus it appears as "Kalpavriksha;"
+amongst the Scandinavians as Yggdrasil. The curious reader will
+consult Mr. James Fergusson's learned work, "Tree and Serpent
+Worship," etc. London, 1873.
+
+[FN#440] Aaron's Rod becomes amongst Moslems (Koran vii. 110)
+Moses' Staff; the size being that of a top-mast. (Pilgrimage i.
+300, 301.) In Koran xx. 18, 19, we find a notice of its uses; and
+during the Middle Ages it reappeared in the Staff of Wamba the
+Goth (A.D.672-680) the witch's broomstick was its latest
+development.
+
+[FN#441] Christ, say the Eutychians, had only one nature, the
+divine; so he was crucified in effigy.
+
+[FN#442] Jesus is compared with Adam in the Koran (chapt. iii.):
+his titles are Kalámu 'llah (word of God) because engendered
+without a father, and Rúhu 'llah (breath of God) because
+conceived by Gabriel in the shape of a beautifui youth breathing
+into the Virgin's vulva. Hence Moslems believe in a "miraculous
+conception" and consequently determine that one so conceived was,
+like Elias and Khizr, not subject to death; they also hold him
+born free from "original sin" (a most sinful superstition), a
+veil being placed before the Virgin and Child against the Evil
+One who could not touch them. He spoke when a babe in cradle; he
+performed miracles of physic; he was taken up to Heaven; he will
+appear as the forerunner of Mohammed on the White Tower of
+Damascus, and finally he will be buried at Al-Medinah. The Jews
+on the other hand speak of him as "that man:" they hold that he
+was begotten by Joseph during the menstrual period and therefore
+a born magician. Moreover he learned the Sham ha-maphrash or
+Nomen tetragrammaton, wrote it on parchment and placed it in an
+incision in his thigh, which closed up on the Name being
+mentioned (Buxtorf, Lex Talmud, 25-41). Other details are given
+in the Toldoth Jesu (Historia Joshuæ Nazareni). This note should
+be read by the eminent English littérateur who discovered a fact,
+well known to Locke and Carlyle, that "Mohammedans are
+Christians." So they are and something more.
+
+[FN#443] In the Kalamdán, or pen-case, is a little inkstand of
+metal occupying the top of the long, narrow box.
+
+[FN#444] A fair specimen of the riddle known as the "surprise."
+
+[FN#445] Koran xli. 10.
+
+[FN#446] Koran xxxvi. 82.
+
+[FN#447] Here we enter upon a series of disputed points. The
+Wahhábis deny the intercession of the Apostle (Pilgrimage ii.
+76-77). The Shi'ahs place Ali next in dignity to Mohammed and
+there is a sect (Ali-Iláhi) which believes him to be an Avatar or
+incarnation of the Deity. For the latter the curious reader will
+consult the "Dabistan," ii. 451. The Koran by its many
+contradictions seems to show that Mohammed never could make up
+his own mind on the subject, thinking himself at times an
+intercessor and then sharply denying all intercession.
+
+[FN#448] Arab. "Kanjifah"=a pack of cards; corrupted from the
+Persian "Ganjífah." We know little concerning the date or origin
+of this game in the East, where the packs are quite unlike ours.
+
+[FN#449] It is interesting to compare this account with the
+pseudo Ovid and with Tale clxvi. in Gesta "Of the game of
+Schaci." Its Schacarium is the chess-board. Rochus (roccus, etc.)
+is not from the Germ. Rock (a coat) but from Rukh (Pers. a hero,
+a knight-errant) Alphinus (Ital. Alfino) is Al-Firzán (Pers.
+science, wise).
+
+[FN#450] Arab, "Baydak" or "Bayzak"; a corruption of the Persian
+"Piyádah"=a footman, peon, pawn; and proving whence the Arabs
+derived the game. The Persians are the readiest
+backgammon-players known to me, better even than the Greeks; they
+throw the dice from the hand and continue foully abusing the
+fathers and mothers of the "bones" whilst the game lasts. It is
+often played in the intervals of dinner by the higher classes in
+Persia.
+
+[FN#451] Metaphor from loading camels and mules. To "eat" a piece
+is to take it.
+
+[FN#452] Arab. "Bilábil"; a plural of "Bulbul" with a double
+entendre balábil (plur. of ballalah)=heart's troubles, and "balá,
+bul"=a calamity, nay, etc.
+
+[FN#453] The popular English idea of the Arab horse is founded
+upon utter unfact. Book after book tells us, "There are three
+distinct breeds of Arabians -the Attechi, a very superior breed;
+the Kadishi, mixed with these and of little value; and the
+Kochlani, highly prized and very difficult to procure." "Attechi"
+may be At-Tázi (the Arab horse, or hound) or some confusion with
+"At" (Turk.) a horse. "Kadish" (Gadish or Kidish) is a nag; a
+gelding, a hackney, a "pacer" (generally called "Rahwán").
+"Kochlani" is evidently "Kohláni," the Kohl-eyed, because the
+skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered. This is the true
+blue blood; and the bluest of all is "Kohláni al-Ajúz" (of the
+old woman) a name thus accounted for. An Arab mare dropped a
+filly when in flight; her rider perforce galloped on and
+presently saw the foal appear in camp, when it was given to an
+old woman for nursing and grew up to be famous. The home of the
+Arab horse is the vast plateau of Al-Najd: the Tahámah or lower
+maritime regions of Arabia, like Malabar, will not breed good
+beasts. The pure blood all descends from five collateral lines
+called Al-Khamsah (the Cinque). Literary and pedantic Arabs
+derive them from the mares of Mohammed, a native of the dry and
+rocky region, Al-Hijaz, whither horses are all imported. Others
+go back (with the Koran, chapt. xxviii.) to Solomon, possibly
+Salmán, a patriarch fourth in descent from Ishmael and some 600
+years older than the Hebrew King. The Badawi derive the five from
+Rabí'at al-Faras (R. of the mare) fourth in descent from Adnán,
+the fount of Arab genealogy. But they differ about the names:
+those generally given are Kahilan (Kohaylat), Sakláwi (which the
+Badawin pronounce Sagláwi), Abayán, and Hamdáni; others
+substitute Manákhi (the long-maned), Tanís and Jalfún. These
+require no certificate amongst Arabs; for strangers a simple
+statement is considered enough. The Badawin despise all
+half-breeds (Arab sires and country mares), Syrian, Turkish,
+Kurdish and Egyptian. They call these (first mentioned in the
+reign of Ahmes, B.C. 1600) the "sons of horses"; as opposed to
+"sons of mares," or thorough-breds. Nor do they believe in
+city-bred animals. I have great doubts concerning our old English
+sires, such as the Darley Arabian which looks like a Kurdish
+half-bred, the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized by
+the Romans: in Syria I rode a "Harfúshí" (Kurd) the very image of
+it. There is no difficulty in buying Arab stallions except the
+price. Of course the tribe does not like to part with what may
+benefit the members generally; but offers of £500 to £1,000 would
+overcome men's scruples. It is different with mares, which are
+almost always the joint property of several owners. The people
+too dislike to see a hat on a thorough-bred mare: "What hast thou
+done that thou art ridden by that ill-omened Kafir?" the Badawin
+used to mutter when they saw a highly respectable missionary at
+Damascus mounting a fine Ruwalá mare. The feeling easily explains
+the many wars about horses occurring in Arab annals, e.g. about
+Dáhis and Ghabrá. (C. de Perceval, Essas, vol.ii.)
+
+[FN#454] The stricter kind of Eastern Jew prefers to die on the
+floor, not in bed, as was the case with the late Mr. Emmanuel
+Deutsch, who in his well-known article on the Talmud had the
+courage to speak of "Our Saviour." But as a rule the Israelite,
+though he mostly appears as a Deist, a Unitarian, has a fund of
+fanatical feelings which crop up in old age and near death. The
+"converts" in Syria and elsewhere, whose Judaism is intensified
+by "conversion," when offers are made to them by the missionaries
+repair to the Khákhám (scribe) and, after abundant wrangling
+determine upon a modus vivendi. They are to pay a proportion of
+their wages, to keep careful watch in the cause of Israel and to
+die orthodox. In Istria there is a legend of a Jew Prior in a
+convent who was not discovered till he announced himself most
+unpleasantly on his death-bed. For a contrary reason to Jewish
+humility, the Roman Emperors preferred to die standing.
+
+[FN#455] He wished to die in a state of ceremonial purity; as has
+before been mentioned.
+
+[FN#456] Arab. "Badal": in Sind (not to speak of other places) it
+was customary to hire a pauper "badal" to be hanged in stead of a
+rich man. Sir Charles Napier signed many a death-warrant before
+he ever heard of the practice.
+
+[FN#457] Arab. "La'an" = curse. The word is in every mouth though
+strongly forbidden by religion. Even of the enemies of Al-Islam
+the learned say, "Ila'an Yezíd wa lá tazíd" = curse Yezid but do
+not exceed (i.e. refrain from cursing the others). This, however,
+is in the Shafi'í school and the Hanafís do not allow it
+(Pilgrimage i. 198). Hence the Moslem when scrupulous uses na'al
+(shoe) for la'an (curse) as Ina'al abúk (for Ila'an abu'-k) or,
+drat (instead of damn) your father. Men must hold Supreme
+Intelligence to be of feeble kind if put off by such miserable
+pretences.
+
+[FN#458] Koran vi. 44, speaking of the Infidels. It is a most
+unamiable chapter, with such assertions as "Allah leadeth into
+error whom He pleaseth," etc.
+
+[FN#459] Alluding to the "formication" which accompanies a stroke
+of paralysis.
+
+[FN#460] Pronounce Zool Karnayn.
+
+[FN#461] i.e. the Koranic and our mediæval Alexander, Lord of the
+two Horns (East and West) much "Matagrobolized" and very
+different from him of Macedon. The title is variously explained,
+from two protuberances on his head or helm, from two long locks
+and, possibly, from the ram-horns of Jupiter Ammon. The anecdote
+in the text seems suggested by the famous interview (probably a
+canard) with Diogenes: see in the Gesta, Tale cxlvi., "The answer
+of Diomedes the Pirate to Alexander." Iskandar was originally
+called Marzbán (Lord of the Marches), son of Marzabah; and,
+though descended from Yunán, son of Japhet, the eponymus of the
+Greeks, was born obscure, the son of an old woman. According to
+the Persians he was the son of the Elder Dáráb (Darius Codomannus
+of the Kayanian or Second dynasty), by a daughter of Philip of
+Macedon; and was brought up by his grandfather. When Abraham and
+Isaac had rebuilt the Ka'abah they foregathered with him and
+Allah sent him forth against the four quarters of the earth to
+convert men to the faith of the Friend or to cut their throats;
+thus he became one of the four world-conquerors with Nimrod,
+Solomon, Bukht al-Nasr (Nabochodonosor); and he lived down two
+generations of men. His Wazir was Aristú (the Greek Aristotle)
+and he carried a couple of flags, white and black, which made day
+and night for him and facilitated his conquests. At the end of
+Persia, where he was invited by the people, on account of the
+cruelty of his half brother Darab II., he came upon two huge
+mountains on the same line, behind which dwelt a host of
+abominable pygmies, two spans high, with curious eyes, ears which
+served as mattresses and coverlets, huge fanged mouths, lions'
+claws and hairy hind quarters. They ate men, destroyed
+everything, copulated in public and had swarms of children. These
+were Yájúj and Májúj (Gog and Magog) descendants of Japhet.
+Sikandar built against them the famous wall with stones cemented
+and riveted by iron and copper. The "Great Wall" of China, the
+famous bulwark against the Tartars, dates from B.C. 320
+(Alexander of Macedon died B.C. 324); and as the Arabs knew
+Canton well before Mohammed's day, they may have built their
+romance upon it. The Guebres consigned Sikandar to hell for
+burning the Nusks or sections of the Zendavesta.
+
+[FN#462] These terrific preachments to Eastern despots (who
+utterly ignore them) are a staple produce of Oriental
+tale-literature and form the chiaro-oscuro, as it were, of a
+picture whose lights are brilliant touches of profanity and
+indelicate humour. It certainly has the charm of contrast. Much
+of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh (Alexander Book) of
+the great Persian poet, Nizámi, who flourished A.H. 515-597,
+between the days of Firdausi (ob. A.D.1021) and Sa'adi (ob. A.D.
+1291). In that romance Sikandar builds, "where the sun goes
+down," a castle of glittering stone which kills men by causing
+excessive laughter and surrounds it with yellow earth like gold.
+Hence the City of Brass. He also converts, instead of being
+converted by, the savages of the text. He finds a stone of
+special excellence which he calls Almás (diamond); and he obtains
+it from the Valley of Serpents by throwing down flesh to the
+eagles. Lastly he is accompanied by "Bilínas" or "Bilínus," who
+is apparently Apollonius of Tyana.
+
+[FN#463] I have explained the beautiful name in Night cclxxxix:
+He is stil famous for having introduced into Persia the fables of
+Pilpay (Bidyapati, the lord of lore) and a game which the genius
+of Persia developed into chess.
+
+[FN#464] Here we find an eternal truth, of which Malthusians ever
+want reminding; that the power of a nation simply consists in its
+numbers of fighting men and in their brute bodily force. The
+conquering race is that which raises most foot-pounds: hence the
+North conquers the South in the Northern hemisphere and visa
+versa.
+
+[FN#465] Arab. "Wayha," not so strong as "Woe to," etc. Al-Hariri
+often uses it as a formula of affectionate remonstrance.
+
+[FN#466] As a rule (much disputed) the Sayyid is a descendant
+from Mohammed through his grandchild Hasan, and is a man of the
+pen; whereas the Sharif derives from Husayn and is a man of the
+sword. The Najíb al-taraf is the son of a common Moslemah by a
+Sayyid, as opposed to the "Najib al-tarafayn," when both parents
+are of Apostolic blood. The distinction is not noticed in Lane's
+"Modern Egyptians". The Sharif is a fanatic and often dangerous,
+as I have instanced in Pilgrimage iii. 132.
+
+[FN#467] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century): surnamed Abú
+Yahyá. The prayer for mercy denotes that he was dead when the
+tale was written.
+
+[FN#468] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century).
+
+[FN#469] Arab. "Musallá"; lit. a place of prayer; an oratory, a
+chapel, opp. to "Jámi'" = a (cathedral) mosque.
+
+[FN#470] According to all races familiar with the negro, a calf
+like a shut fist planted close under the ham is, like the
+"cucumber shin" and "lark heel", a good sign in a slave. Shapely
+calves and well-made legs denote the idle and the ne'er-do-well.
+I have often found this true although the rule is utterly
+empirical. Possibly it was suggested by the contrast of the
+nervous and lymphatic temperaments.
+
+[FN#471] These devotees address Allah as a lover would his
+beloved. The curious reader will consult for instances the
+Dabistan on Tasawwuf (ii. 221; i.,iii. end, and passim).
+
+[FN#472] Arab. "Ma'rifat," Pers. Dánish; the knowledge of the
+Truth. The seven steps are (1) Sharí'at, external law like night;
+(2) Taríkat, religious rule like the stars; (3) Hakíkat, reality,
+truth like the moon; (4) Ma'arifat like the sun; (5) Kurbat,
+proximity to Allah; (6) Wasílat, union with Allah, and (7)
+Suknat, dwelling in Allah. (Dabistan iii.29.)
+
+[FN#473] Name of a fountain of Paradise: See Night xlix., vol.
+ii., p.100.
+
+[FN#474] Arab. "Atbák"; these trays are made of rushes, and the
+fans of palm-leaves or tail-feathers.
+
+[FN#475] Except on the two great Festivals when fasting is
+forbidden. The only religion which has shown common sense in this
+matter is that of the Guebres or Parsis: they consider fasting
+neither meritorious nor lawful; and they honour Hormuzd by good
+living "because it keeps the soul stronger." Yet even they have
+their food superstitions, e.g. in Gate No. xxiv.: "Beware of sin
+specially on the day thou eatest flesh, for flesh is the diet of
+Ahriman." And in India the Guebres have copied the Hindus in not
+slaughtering horned cattle for the table.
+
+[FN#476] Arab. "Jallábiyah," a large-sleeved robe of coarse stuff
+worn by the poor.
+
+[FN#477] His fear was that his body might be mutilated by the
+fall.
+
+[FN#478] The phrase means "offering up many and many a prayer."
+
+[FN#479] A saying of Mohammed is recorded "Al-fakru fakhrí"
+(poverty is my pride!), intelligible in a man who never wanted
+for anything. Here he is diametrically opposed to Ali who
+honestly abused poverty; and the Prophet seems to have borrowed
+from Christendom, whose "Lazarus and Dives" shows a man sent to
+Hell because he enjoyed a very modified Heaven in this life and
+which suggested that one of the man's greatest miseries is an
+ecclesiastical virtue--"Holy Poverty"--represented in the Church
+as a bride young and lovely. If a "rich man can hardly enter the
+kingdom" what must it be with a poor man whose conditions are far
+more unfavourable? Going to the other extreme we may say that
+Poverty is the root of all evil and the more so as it curtails
+man's power of benefiting others. Practically I observe that
+those who preach and praise it the most, practise it the least
+willingly: the ecclesiastic has always some special reasons, a
+church or a school is wanted; but not the less he wishes for more
+money. In Syria this Holy Poverty leads to strange abuses. At
+Bayrut I recognised in most impudent beggers well-to-do peasants
+from the Kasrawán district, and presently found out that whilst
+their fields were under snow they came down to the coast, enjoyed
+a genial climate and lived on alms. When I asked them if they
+were not ashamed to beg, they asked me if I was ashamed of
+following in the footsteps of the Saviour and Apostles. How much
+wiser was Zoroaster who found in the Supreme Paradise
+(Minuwán-minu) "many persons, rich in gold and silver who had
+worshipped the Lord and had been grateful to Him." (Dabistan i.
+265.)
+
+[FN#480] Koran vii. 52.
+
+[FN#481] Arab. "Al-bayt" = the house. The Arabs had probably
+learned this pleasant mode of confinement from the Chinese whose
+Kea or Cangue is well known. The Arabian form of it is "Ghull,"
+or portable pillory, which reprobates will wear on Judgment Day.
+
+[FN#482] This commonest conjuring trick in the West becomes a
+miracle in the credulous East.
+
+[FN#483] Arab. "Kánún"; the usual term is Mankal (pron. Mangal) a
+pan of copper or brass. Some of these "chafing-dishes" stand four
+feet high and are works of art. Lane (M.E. chapt. iv) gives an
+illustration of the simpler kind, together with the "Azikí," a
+smaller pan for heating coffee. See Night dxxxviii.
+
+[FN#484] See vol. iii., p.239. The system is that of the Roman As
+and Unciae. Here it would be the twenty-fourth part of a dinar or
+miskal; something under 5d. I have already noted that all Moslem
+rulers are religiously bound to some handicraft, if it be only
+making toothpicks. Mohammed abolished kingship proper as well as
+priestcraft.
+
+[FN#485] Al-Islam, where salvation is found under the shade of
+the swords.
+
+[FN#486] Moslems like the Classics (Aristotle and others) hold
+the clitoris (Zambúr) to be the sedes et scaturigo veneris which,
+says Sonnini, is mere profanity. In the babe it protrudes beyond
+the labiæ and snipping off the head forms female circumcision.
+This rite is supposed by Moslems to have been invented by Sarah
+who so mutilated Hagar for jealousy and was afterwards ordered by
+Allah to have herself circumcised at the same time as Abraham. It
+is now (or should be) universal in Al-Islam and no Arab would
+marry a girl "unpurified" by it. Son of an "uncircumcised" mother
+(Ibn al-bazrá) is a sore insult. As regards the popular idea that
+Jewish women were circumcised till the days of Rabbi Gershom
+(A.D.1000) who denounced it as a scandal to the Gentiles, the
+learned Prof. H. Graetz informs me, with some indignation, that
+the rite was never practised and that the great Rabbi contended
+only against polygamy. Female circumcision, however, is I believe
+the rule amongst some outlying tribes of Jews. The rite is the
+proper complement of male circumcision, evening the sensitiveness
+of the genitories by reducing it equally in both sexes: an
+uncircumcised woman has the venereal orgasm much sooner and
+oftener than a circumcised man, and frequent coitus would injure
+her health; hence I believe, despite the learned historian, that
+it is practised by some Eastern Jews. "Excision" is universal
+amongst the negroids of the Upper Nile (Werne), the Somál and
+other adjacent tribes. The operator, an old woman, takes up the
+instrument, a knife or razor-blade fixed into a wooden handle,
+and with three sweeps cuts off the labia and the head of the
+clitoris. The parts are then sewn up with a packneedle and a
+thread of sheepskin; and in Dar-For a tin tube is inserted for
+the passage of urine. Before marriage the bridegroom trains
+himself for a month on beef, honey and milk; and, if he can open
+his bride with the natural weapon, he is a sworder to whom no
+woman in the tribe can deny herself. If he fails, he tries
+penetration with his fingers and by way of last resort whips out
+his whittle and cuts the parts open. The sufferings of the first
+few nights must be severe. The few Somáli prostitutes who
+practised at Aden always had the labiæ and clitoris excised and
+the skin showing the scars of coarse sewing. The moral effect of
+female circumcision is peculiar. While it diminishes the heat of
+passion it increases licentiousness, and breeds a debauchery of
+mind far worse than bodily unchastity, because accompanied by a
+peculiar cold cruelty and a taste for artificial stimulants to
+"luxury." It is the sexlessness of a spayed canine imitated by
+the suggestive brain of humanity.
+
+[FN#487] Koran vi. So called because certain superstitions about
+Cattle are therein mentioned.
+
+[FN#488] Koran iv. So called because it treats of marriages,
+divorces, etc.
+
+[FN#489] Sídi (contracted from Sayyidí = my lord) is a title
+still applied to holy men in Marocco and the Maghrib; on the East
+African coast it is assumed by negro and negroid Moslems, e.g.
+Sidi Mubárak Bombay; and "Seedy boy" is the Anglo-Indian term for
+a Zanzibar-man. "Khawwás" is one who weaves palm-leaves (Khos)
+into baskets, mats, etc.: here, however, it may be an inherited
+name.
+
+[FN#490] i.e. in spirit; the "strangers yet" of poor dear Richard
+Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton.
+
+[FN#491] Al-Hakk = the Truth, one of the ninety-nine names of
+Allah.
+
+[FN#492] The Moslem is still unwilling to address Salám (Peace be
+with you) to the Christian, as it is obligatory (Farz) to a
+Moslem (Koran, chapt. iv. and lxviii.). He usually evades the
+difficulty by saluting the nearest Moslem or by a change of words
+Allah Yahdí-k (Allah direct thee to the right way) or "Peace be
+upon us and the righteous worshipers of Allah" (not you) or
+Al-Samm (for Salam) alayka = poison to thee. The idea is old:
+Alexander of Alexandria in his circular letter describes the
+Arian heretics as "men whom it is not lawful to salute or to bid
+God-speed."
+
+[FN#493] Koran xxxvi. 82. I have before noted that this famous
+phrase was borrowed from the Hebrews, who borrowed it from the
+Egyptians.
+
+[FN#494] The story of Moses and Khizr has been noticed before.
+See Koran chapt. xviii. 64 et seq. It is also related, says Lane
+(ii. 642), by Al-Kazwíni in the Ajáib al-Makhlúkát. This must be
+"The Angel and the Hermit" in the Gesta Romanorum, Tale lxxx.
+which possibly gave rise to Parnell's Hermit; and Tale cxxvii.
+"Of Justice and Equity." The Editor says it "contains a beautiful
+lesson:" I can find only excellent excuses for "doing evil that
+good may come of it."
+
+[FN#495] Koran chapt. v.108.
+
+[FN#496] The doggrel is phenomenal.
+
+[FN#497] He went in wonder and softened heart to see the miracle
+of saintly affection.
+
+[FN#498]  In Sufistical parlance, the creature is the lover and
+the Creator the Beloved: worldly existence is Disunion, parting,
+severance; and the life to come is Reunion. The basis of the idea
+is the human soul being a divinæ particula auræ, a disjoined
+molecule from the Great Spirit, imprisoned in a jail of flesh;
+and it is so far valuable that it has produced a grand and
+pathetic poetry; but Common Sense asks, Where is the proof? And
+Reason wants to know, What does it all mean?
+
+[FN#499] Koran xiii. 41.
+
+[FN#500] Robinson Crusoe, with a touch of Arab prayerfulness.
+Also the story of the Knight Placidus in the Gesta (cx.),
+Boccaccio, etc.
+
+[FN#501] Arabs note two kinds of leprosy, "Bahak" or "Baras" the
+common or white, and "Juzam" the black leprosy; the leprosy of
+the joints, mal rouge. Both are attributed to undue diet as
+eating fish and drinking milk; and both are treated with tonics,
+especially arsenic. Leprosy is regarded by Moslems as a
+Scriptural malady on account of its prevalence amongst the
+Israelites who, as Manetho tells us, were expelled from Egypt
+because they infected and polluted the population. In mediæval
+Christendom an idea prevailed that the Saviour was a leper; hence
+the term "morbus sacer"; the honours paid to the sufferers by
+certain Saints and the Papal address (Clement III. A.D.1189)
+dilectis filiis leprosis. (Farrar's Life of Christ, i.149.) For
+the "disgusting and impetuous lust" caused by leprosy, see
+Sonnini (p.560) who visited the lepers at Canea in Candia. He is
+one of many who describes this symptom; but in the Brazil, where
+the foul malady still prevails, I never heard of it.
+
+[FN#502] A city in Irak; famous for the three days' battle which
+caused the death of Yezdegird, last Sassanian king.
+
+[FN#503] A mountain pass near Meccah famous for the "First Fealty
+of the Steep" (Pilgrimage ii. 126). The mosque was built to
+commemorate the event.
+
+[FN#504] To my surprise I read in Mr. Redhouse's "Mesnevi"
+(Trubner, 1881), "Arafat, the mount where the victims are
+slaughtered by the pilgrims." (p.60). This ignorance is
+phenomenal. Did Mr. Redhouse never read Burckhardt or Burton?
+
+[FN#505] i.e. listening to the sermon.
+
+[FN#506] It is sad doggrel.
+
+[FN#507] This long story, containing sundry episodes and
+occupying fifty-three Nights, is wholly omitted by Lane (ii. 643)
+because "it is a compound of the most extravagant absurdities."
+He should have enabled his readers to form their own judgment.
+
+[FN#508] Called Jamasp (brother and minister of the ancient
+Persian King Gushtasp) in the translations of Trebutien and
+others from Von Hammer.
+
+[FN#509] The usual term of lactation in the East, prolonged to
+two years and a-half, which is considered the rule laid down by
+the Shara' or precepts of the Prophet. But it is not unusual to
+see children of three and even four years hanging to their
+mothers' breasts. During this period the mother does not cohabit
+with her husband; the separation beginning with her pregnancy.
+Such is the habit, not only of the "lower animals," but of all
+ancient peoples, the Egyptians (from whom the Hebrews borrowed
+it), the Assyrians and the Chinese. I have discussed its bearing
+upon pregnancy in my "City of the Saints": the Mormons insist
+upon this law of purity being observed; and the beauty, strength
+and good health of the younger generation are proofs of their
+wisdom.
+
+[FN#510] Thus distinguishing it from "Asal-kasab," cane honey or
+sugar. See vol. i., 271.
+
+[FN#511] The student of Hinduism will remember the Nága-Kings and
+Queens (Melusines and Echidnæ) who guard the earth-treasures in
+Naga-land. The first appearance of the snake in literature is in
+Egyptian hieroglyphs, where he forms the letters f and t, and
+acts as a determinative in the shape of a Cobra di Capello
+(Coluber Naja) with expanded hood.
+
+[FN#512] In token that he was safe.
+
+[FN#513] "Akhir al-Zamán." As old men praise past times, so
+prophets prefer to represent themselves as the last. The early
+Christians caused much scandal amongst the orderly law-loving
+Romans by their wild and mistaken predictions of the end of the
+world being at hand. The catastrophe is a fact for each man under
+the form of death; but the world has endured for untold ages and
+there is no apparent cause why it should not endure as many more.
+The "latter days," as the religious dicta of most "revelations"
+assure us, will be richer in sinners than in sanctity: hence "End
+of Time" is a facetious Arab title for a villain of superior
+quality. My Somali escort applied it to one thus distinguished:
+in 1875, I heard at Aden that he ended life by the spear as we
+had all predicted.
+
+[FN#514] Jahannam and the other six Hells are personified as
+feminine; and (woman-like) they are somewhat addicted to prolix
+speechification.
+
+[FN#515] These puerile exaggerations are fondly intended to act
+as nurses frighten naughty children.
+
+[FN#516] Alluding to an oft-quoted saying "Lau lá-ka, etc.
+Without thee (O Mohammed) We (Allah) had not created the
+spheres," which may have been suggested by "Before Abraham was, I
+am" (John viii. 58); and by Gate xci. of Zoroastrianism "O
+Zardusht for thy sake I have created the world" (Dabistan i.
+344). The sentiment is by no means "Shi'ah," as my learned friend
+Prof. Aloys Springer supposes. In his Mohammed (p. 220) we find
+an extract from a sectarian poet, "For thee we dispread the
+earth; for thee we caused the waters to flow; for thee we vaulted
+the heavens." As Baron Alfred von Kremer, another learned and
+experienced Orientalist, reminds me, the "Shi'ahs" have always
+shown a decided tendency to this kind of apotheosis and have
+deified or quasi-deified Ali and the Imams. But the formula is
+first found in the highly orthodox Burdah poem of Al-Busiri:--
+
+     "But for him (Lau lá-hu) the world had never come out of
+     nothingness."
+
+Hence it has been widely diffused. See Les Aventures de Kamrup
+(pp. 146-7) and Les Œuvres de Wali (pp. 51-52), by M. Garcin de
+Tassy and the Dabistan (vol. i. pp. 2-3).
+
+[FN#517] Arab. "Símiyá" from the Pers., a word apparently built
+on the model of "Kámiyá" = alchemy, and applied, I have said, to
+fascination, minor miracles and white magic generally like the
+Hindu "Indrajal." The common term for Alchemy is Ilm al-Káf (the
+K-science) because it is not safe to speak of it openly as
+Alchemy.
+
+[FN#518] Mare Tenebrarum = Sea of Darknesses; usually applied to
+the "mournful and misty Atlantic."
+
+[FN#519] Some Moslems hold that Solomon and David were buried in
+Jerusalem, others on the shore of Lake Tiberias. Mohammed,
+according to the history of Al-Tabari (p. 56 vol. i. Duleux's
+"Chronique de Tabari") declares that the Jinni bore Solomon's
+corpse to a palace hewn in the rock upon an island surrounded by
+a branch of the "Great Sea" and set him on a throne, with his
+ring still on his finger, under a guard of twelve Jinns. "None
+hath looked upon the tomb save only two, Affan who took Bulukiya
+as his companion: with extreme pains they arrived at the spot,
+and Affan was about to carry off the ring when a thunderbolt
+consumed him. So Bulukiya returned."
+
+[FN#520] Koran xxxviii. 34, or, "art the liberal giver."
+
+[FN#521] i.e. of the last trumpet blown by the Archangel Israfil:
+an idea borrowed from the Christians. Hence the title of certain
+churches--ad Tubam.
+
+[FN#522] This may mean that the fruits were fresh and dried like
+dates or tamarinds (a notable wonder), or soft and hard of skin
+like grapes and pomegranates.
+
+[FN#523] Arab. "Ai-lksír" meaning lit. an essence; also the
+philosopher's stone.
+
+[FN#524] Name of the Jinni whom Solomon imprisoned in Lake
+Tiberias (See vol. i., 41).
+
+[FN#525] Vulgarly pronounced "Jahannum." The second hell is
+usually assigned to Christians. As there are seven Heavens (the
+planetary orbits) so, to satisfy Moslem love of symmetry, there
+must be as many earths and hells under the earth. The Egyptians
+invented these grim abodes, and the marvellous Persian fancy
+worked them into poem.
+
+[FN#526] Arab. "Yájúj and Majuj," first named in Gen. x. 2, which
+gives the ethnology of Asia Minor, circ. B.C. 800. "Gomer" is the
+Gimri or Cymmerians; "Magog" the original Magi, a division of the
+Medes, "Javan" the Ionian Greeks, "Meshesh" the Moschi; and
+"Tires" the Turusha, or primitive Cymmerians. In subsequent
+times, "Magog" was applied to the Scythians, and modern Moslems
+determine from the Koran (chaps. xviii. and xxi.) that Yajuj and
+Majuj are the Russians, whom they call Moska or Moskoff from the
+Moskwa River,
+
+[FN#527] I attempt to preserve the original pun; "Mukarrabin"
+(those near Allah) being the Cherubim, and the Creator causing
+Iblis to draw near Him (karraba).
+
+[FN#528] A vulgar version of the Koran (chaps. vii.), which seems
+to have borrowed from the Gospel of Barnabas. Hence Adam becomes
+a manner of God-man.
+
+[FN#529] These wild fables are caricatures of Rabbinical legends
+which began with "Lilith," the Spirit-wife of Adam: Nature and
+her counterpart, Physis and Antiphysis, supply a solid basis for
+folk-lore. Amongst the Hindus we have Brahma (the Creator) and
+Viswakarmá, the anti-Creator: the former makes a horse and a bull
+and the latter caricatures them with an ass and a buffalo, and so
+forth.
+
+[FN#530] This is the "Lauh al-Mahfúz," the Preserved Tablet, upon
+which are written all Allah's decrees and the actions of mankind
+good (white) and evil (black). This is the "perspicuous Book" of
+the Koran, chaps. vi. 59. The idea again is Guebre.
+
+[FN#531] i.e. the night before Friday which in Moslem parlance
+would be Friday night.
+
+[FN#532] Again Persian "Gáw-i-Zamín" = the Bull of the Earth.
+"The cosmogony of the world," etc., as we read in the Vicar of
+Wakefield.
+
+[FN#533] The Calc. Edit. ii. 614. here reads by a clerical error
+"bull."
+
+[FN#534] i.e. Lakes and rivers.
+
+[FN#535] Here some abridgement is necessary, for we have another
+recital of what has been told more than once.
+
+[FN#536] This name, "King of Life," is Persian: "Tegh" or "Tigh"
+means a scimitar and "Bahrwán," is, I conceive, a mistake for
+"Bihrún," the Persian name of Alexander the Great.
+
+[FN#537] Arab. "Mulákát" or meeting the guest which, I have said,
+is an essential part of Eastern ceremony, the distance from the
+divan, room, house or town being proportioned to his rank or
+consideration.
+
+[FN#538] Arab. "Sifr": whistling is held by the Badawi to be the
+speech of devils; and the excellent explorer Burckhardt got a bad
+name by the ugly habit.
+
+[FN#539] The Arabs call "Shikk" (split man) and the Persians
+"Nímchahrah" (half-face) a kind of demon like a man divided
+longitudinally: this gruesome creature runs with amazing speed
+and is very cruel and dangerous. For the celebrated soothsayers
+"Shikk" and "Sátih" see Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 371.
+
+[FN#540] Arab. "Takht" (Persian) = a throne or a capital.
+
+[FN#541] Arab. "Wady al-Naml"; a reminiscence of the Koranic Wady
+(chaps. xxvii.), which some place in Syria and others in Táif.
+
+[FN#542] This is the old, old fable of the River Sabbation which
+Pliny ((xxx). 18) reports as "drying up every Sabbath-day"
+(Saturday): and which Josephus reports as breaking the Sabbath by
+flowing only on the Day of Rest.
+
+[FN#543] They were keeping the Sabbath. When lodging with my
+Israelite friends at Tiberias and Safet, I made a point of never
+speaking to them (after the morning salutation) till the Saturday
+was over.
+
+[FN#544] Arab. "La'al" and "Yákút," the latter also applied to
+the garnet and to a variety of inferior stones. The ruby is
+supposed by Moslems to be a common mineral thoroughly "cooked" by
+the sun, and produced only on the summits of mountains
+inaccessible even to Alpinists. The idea may have originated from
+exaggerated legends of the Badakhshán country (supposed to be the
+home of the ruby) and its terrors of break-neck foot-paths,
+jagged peaks and horrid ravines: hence our "balas-ruby" through
+the Spanish corruption "Balaxe." Epiphanius, archbishop of
+Salamis in Cyprus, who died A.D. 403, gives, m a little treatise
+(De duodecim gemmis rationalis summi sacerdotis Hebræorum Liber,
+opera Fogginii, Romae, 1743, p. 30), a precisely similar
+description of the mode of finding jacinths in Scythia. "In a
+wilderness in the interior of Great Scythia," he writes, "there
+is a valley begirt with stony mountains as with walls. It is
+inaccessible to man, and so excessively deep that the bottom of
+the valley is invisible from the top of the surrounding
+mountains. So great is the darkness that it has the effect of a
+kind of chaos. To this place certain criminals are condemned,
+whose task it is to throw down into the valley slaughtered lambs,
+from which the skin has been first taken off. The little stones
+adhere to these pieces of flesh. Thereupon the eagles, which live
+on the summits of the mountains, fly down following the scent of
+the flesh, and carry away the lambs with the stones adhering to
+them. They, then, who are condemned to this place watch until the
+eagles have finished their meal, and run and take away the
+stones." Epiphanius, who wrote this, is spoken of in terms of
+great respect by many ecclesiastical writers, and St. Jerome
+styles the treatise here quoted, "Egregium volumen, quod si
+legere volueris, plenissimam scientiam consequeris ," and,
+indeed, it is by no means improbable that it was from the account
+of Epiphanius that this story was first translated into Arabic. A
+similar account is given by Marco Polo and by Nicolò de Conti, as
+of a usage which they had heard was practiced in India, and the
+position ascribed to the mountain by Conti, namely, fifteen days'
+journey north of Vijanagar, renders it highly probable that
+Golconda was alluded to. He calls the mountain Albenigaras, and
+says that it was infested with serpents. Marco Polo also speaks
+of these serpents, and while his account agrees with that of
+Sindbad, inasmuch as the serpents, which are the prey of
+Sindbad's Rukh, are devoured by the Venetian's eagles, that of
+Conti makes the vultures and eagles fly away with the meat to
+places where they may be safe from the serpents. (Introd. p.
+xiii., India in the Fifteenth Century, etc., R. H. Major, London,
+Hakluyt Soc. MDCCCLVII.)
+
+[FN#545] Elder Victory: "Nasr" is a favourite name with Moslems.
+
+[FN#546] These are the "Swan-maidens" of whom Europe in late
+years has heard more than enough. It appears to me that we go
+much too far for an explanation of the legend; a high-bred girl
+is so like a swan in many points that the idea readily suggests
+itself. And it is also aided by the old Egyptian (and Platonic)
+belief in pre-existence and by the Rabbinic and Buddhistic
+doctrine of ante-natal sin, to say nothing of metempsychosis.
+(Joseph Ant. xvii.. 153.)
+
+[FN#547] The lines have occurred before. I quote Mr. Payne for
+variety.
+
+[FN#548] Arab. "Al-Khayál": it is a synonym of "al-Tayf' and the
+nearest approach to our "ghost," as has been explained. In poetry
+it is the figure of the beloved seen when dreaming.
+
+[FN#549] He does not kiss her mouth because he intends to marry
+her.
+
+[FN#550] It should be "manifest" excellence. (Koran xxvii. 16.)
+
+[FN#551] The phrase is Koranic used to describe Paradise, and
+Damascus is a familiar specimen of a city under which a river,
+the Baradah, passes, distributed into a multitude of canals.
+
+[FN#552] It may be noted that rose-water is sprinkled on the
+faces of the "nobility and gentry, " common water being good
+enough for the commonalty. I have had to drink tea made in
+compliment with rose-water and did not enjoy it.
+
+[FN#553] The "Valley Flowery:" Zahrán is the name of a place near
+Al-Medinah.
+
+[FN#554] The Proud or Petulant.
+
+[FN#555] i.e. Lion, Son of ( ?).
+
+[FN#556] i.e. Many were slain.
+
+[FN#557] I venture to draw attention to this battle-picture which
+is at once simple and highly effective.
+
+[FN#558] Anglicè a quibble, evidently evasive.
+
+[FN#559] In text "Aná A'amil," etc., a true Egypto-Syrian
+vulgarism.
+
+[FN#560] i.e. magical formulæ. The context is purposely left
+vague.
+
+[FN#561] The repetition is a condescension, a token of kindness.
+
+[FN#562] This is the common cubic of 18 inches: the modern vary
+from 22 to 26.
+
+[FN#563] I have noticed the two-humped Bactrian camel which the
+Syrians and Egyptians compare with an elephant. See p. 221 (the
+neo-Syrian) Book of Kalilah and Dimnah.
+
+[FN#564] The Noachian dispensation revived the Islam or true
+religion first revealed to Adam and was itself revived and
+reformed by Moses.
+
+[FN#565] Probably a corruption of the Turkish "Kara Tásh" = black
+stone, in Arab. "Hájar Jahannam" (hell-stone), lava, basalt.
+
+[FN#566] A variant of lines in Night xx., vol. i., 211.
+
+[FN#567] i.e. Daughter of Pride: the proud.
+
+[FN#568] In the Calc. Edit. by misprint "Maktab." Jabal Mukattam
+is the old sea-cliff where the Mediterranean once beat and upon
+whose North-Western slopes Cairo is built.
+
+[FN#569] Arab. "Kutb"; lie. an axle, a pole; next a prince; a
+high order or doyen in Sainthood especially amongst the
+Sufi-gnostics.
+
+[FN#570] Lit. "The Green" (Prophet), a mysterious personage
+confounded with Elijah, St. George and others. He was a Moslem,
+i.e. a ewe believer in the Islam of his day and Wazir to
+Kaykobad, founder of the Kayanian dynasty, sixth century B.C. We
+have before seen him as a contemporary of Moses. My learned
+friend Ch. Clermone-Ganneau traces him back, with a multitude of
+his similars (Proteus, Perseus, etc.), to the son of Osiris (p.
+45, Horus et Saint Georges).
+
+[FN#571] Arab. "Waled," more ceremonious than "ibn." It is, by
+the by, the origin of our "valet" in its sense of boy or servant
+who is popularly addressed Yá waled. Hence I have seen in a
+French book of travels "un petit Iavelet."
+
+[FN#572] Arab. "Azal" = Eternity (without beginning); "Abad" =
+Infinity (eternity without end).
+
+[FN#573] The Moslem ritual for slaughtering (by cutting the
+throat) is not so strict as that of the Jews; but it requires
+some practice; and any failure in the conditions renders the meat
+impure, mere carrion (fatís).
+
+[FN#574] The Wazir repeats all the words spoken by the Queen--but
+"in iteration there is no recreation."
+
+[FN#575] A phrase always in the Moslem's mouth: the slang meaning
+of "we put our trust in Allah" is "let's cut our stick."
+
+[FN#576] Koran liii. 14. This "Sidrat al-Muntahá" (Zizyphus
+lotus) stands m the seventh heaven on the right hand of Allah's
+throne: and even the angels may not pass beyond it.
+
+[FN#577] Arab. "Habash" the word means more than "Abyssinia" as
+it includes the Dankali Country and the sea-board, a fact unknown
+to the late Lord Stratford de Redcliffe when he disputed with the
+Porte. I ventured to set him right and suffered accordingly.
+
+[FN#578] Here ends vol. ii. of the Mac. Edit.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, V5
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5, by Richard F. Burton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5
+
+Author: Richard F. Burton
+
+Release Date: July 5, 2001 [EBook #3439]
+Last updated: May 25, 2019
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS ***
+
+
+
+
+This etext was scanned by J.C. Byers and proofread by Doris Ringbloom.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<h1>THE BOOK OF THE<br/> THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT</h1>
+
+<h4>A Plain and Literal Translation<br/>
+of the Arabian Nights Entertainments<br/></h4>
+
+<h2>Translated and Annotated by<br/> Richard F. Burton </h2>
+
+<h3>VOLUME FIVE</h3>
+
+<h5>Privately Printed By The Burton Club</h5>
+
+<p>
+To Doctor George Bird.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+My Dear Bird, This is not a strictly medical work, although in places treating
+of subjects which may modestly be called hygienic. I inscribe it to you
+because your knowledge of Egypt will enable you to appreciate its finer
+touches; and for another and a yet more cogent reason, namely, that you are one
+of my best and oldest friends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ever yours sincerely,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Richard F. Burton
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Athenæum Club, October 20, 1885.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Contents of the Fifth Volume</h3>
+
+<table summary="" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: auto">
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap01">59. The Ebony Horse</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap02">60. Uns Al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter Al-Ward Fi'l-Akmam or Rose-In-Hood</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap03">61. Abu Nowas With the Three Boys and the Caliph Harun Al-Rashid</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap04">62. Abdallah Bin Ma'amar With the Man of Bassorah and His Slave Girl</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap05">63. The Lovers of the Banu Ozrah</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap06">64. The Wazir of Al-Yaman and His Younger Brother</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap07">65. The Loves of the Boy and Girl at School</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap08">66. Al-Mutalammis and His Wife Umaymah</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap09">67. The Caliph Marun Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah in the Bath</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap10">68. Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Poets</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap11">69. Mus'ab Bin Al-Zubayr and Ayishah His Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap12">70. Abu Al-Aswad and His Slave-Girl</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap13">71. Harun Al-Rashid and the Two Slave-Girls</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap14">72. The Caliph Harun Al-Rashid and the Three Slave-Girls</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap15">73. The Miller and His Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap16">74. The Simpleton and the Sharper</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap17">75. The Kazi Abu Yusuf With Harum Al-Rashid and Queen Zubaydah</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap18">76. The Caliph Al-Hakim and the Merchand</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap19">77. King Kisra Anushirwan and the Village Damsel</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap20">78. The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap21">79. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap22">80. Yahya Bin Khalid the Barmecide and the Poor Man</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap23">81. Mohammed Al-Amin and the Slave-Girl</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap24">82. The Sons of Yahya Bin Khalid and Sa'id Bin Salim Al-Bahili</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap25">83. The Woman's Trick Against Her Husband</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap26">84. The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap27">85. Ja'afar the Barmecide and the Old Badawi</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap28">86. The Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab and the Young Badawi</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap29">87. The Caliph Al-Maamum and the Pyramids of Egypt</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap30">88. The Thief and the Merchant</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap31">89. Masrur the Eunuch and Ibn Al-Karibi</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap32">90. The Devotee Prince</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap33">91. The Unwise Schoolmaster Who Fell in Love by Report</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap34">92. The Foolish Dominie</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap35">93. The Illiterate Who Set Up For a Schoolmaster</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap36">94. The King and the Virtuous Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap37">95. Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap38">96. Adi Bin Zayd and the Princess Hind</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap39">97. Di'ibil Al-Khuza'i With the Lady and Muslim Bin Al-Walid</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap40">98. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap41">99. The Three Unfortunate Lovers</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap42">100. How Abu Hasan Brake Wind</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap43">101. The Lovers of the Banu Tayy</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap44">102. The Mad Lover</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap45">103. The Prior Who Became A Moslem</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap46">104. The Loves of Abu Isa and Jurrat Al-Ayn</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap47">105. Al-Amin Son of Al-Rashid and His Uncle Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap48">106. Al-Fath Bin Khakan and Al-Mutawakkil</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap49">107. The Man's Dispute With the Learned Woman Concerning the Relative Excellence of Male and Female</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap50">108. Abu Suwayd and the Pretty Old Woman</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap51">109. The Emir ali Bin Tahir and the Girl Muunis</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap52">110. The Woman Who had a Boy and the Other Who had a Man to Lover</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap53">111. Ali the Cairene and the Haunted House in Baghdad</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap54">112. The Pilgrim Man and the Old Woman</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap55">113. Abu Alhusn and His Slave-Girl Tawaddud</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap56">114. The Angel of Death With the Proud King and the Devout Man</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap57">115. The Angel of Death and the Rich King</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap58">116. The Angel of Death and the King of the Children of Israel</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap59">117. Iskandar Zu Al-Karnayn and a Certain Tribe of Poor Folk</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap60">118. The Righteousness of King Anushirwan</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap61">119. The Jewish Kazi and His Pious Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap62">120. The Shipwrecked Woman and Her Child</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap63">121. The Pious Black Slave</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap64">122. The Devout Tray-Maker and His Wife</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap65">123. Al-Jajjaj and the Pious Man</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap66">124. The Blacksmith Who Could Handle Fire Without Hurt</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap67">125. The Devotee To Whom Allah Gave a Cloud for Service and the Devout King</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap68">126. The Moslem Champion and the Christian Damsel</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap69">127. The Christian King's Daughter and the Moslem</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap70">128. The Prophet and the Justice of Providence</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap71">129. The Ferryman of the Nile and the Hermit</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap72">130. The Island King and the Pious Israelite</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap73">131. Abu Al-Hasan and Abu Ja'afar the Leper</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap74">132. The Queen of Serpents</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap75">a. The Adventures of Bulukiya</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap76">b. The Story of Jansha</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+
+</table>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3>The Book Of The<br/>
+THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
+</h3>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap01"></a>THE EBONY HORSE.[FN#1]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once in times of yore and ages long gone before, a great and puissant
+King, of the Kings of the Persians, Sαbϊr by name, who was the richest of all
+the Kings in store of wealth and dominion and surpassed each and every in wit
+and wisdom. He was generous, open handed and beneficent, and he gave to those
+who sought him and repelled not those who resorted to him; and he comforted the
+broken-hearted and honourably entreated those who fled to him for refuge.
+Moreover, he loved the poor and was hospitable to strangers and did the
+oppressed justice upon the oppressor. He had three daughters, like full moons
+of shining light or flower-gardens blooming bright; and a son as he were the
+moon; and it was his wont to keep two festivals in the twelve- month, those of
+the Nau-Roz, or New Year, and Mihrgαn the Autumnal Equinox,[FN#2] on which
+occasions he threw open his palaces and gave largesse and made proclamation of
+safety and security and promoted his chamberlains and viceroys; and the people
+of his realm came in to him and saluted him and gave him joy of the holy day,
+bringing him gifts and servants and eunuchs. Now he loved science and geometry,
+and one festival-day as he sat on his kingly throne there came in to him three
+wise men, cunning artificers and past masters in all manner of craft and
+inventions, skilled in making things curious and rare, such as confound the
+wit; and versed in the knowledge of occult truths and perfect in mysteries and
+subtleties. And they were of three different tongues and countries, the first a
+Hindi or Indian,[FN#3] the second a Roumi or Greek and the third a Farsi or
+Persian. The Indian came forwards and, prostrating himself before the King,
+wished him joy of the festival and laid before him a present befitting his
+dignity; that is to say, a man of gold, set with precious gems and jewels of
+price and hending in hand a golden trumpet. When Sabur[FN#4] saw this, he
+asked, "O sage, what is the virtue of this figure?"; and the Indian answered,
+"O my lord, if this figure be set at the gate of thy city, it will be a
+guardian over it; for, in an enemy enter the place, it will blow this clarion
+against him and he will be seized with a palsy and drop down dead." Much the
+King marvelled at this and cried, "By Allah, O sage, an this thy word be true,
+I will grant thee thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the Greek and,
+prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a basin of silver, in
+whose midst was a peacock of gold, surrounded by four-and-twenty chicks of the
+same metal. Sabur looked at them and turning to the Greek, said to him, "O
+sage, what is the virtue of this peacock?" "O my lord," answered he, "as often
+as an hour of the day or night passeth, it pecketh one of its young and crieth
+out and flappeth its wings, till the four-and-twenty hours are accomplished;
+and when the month cometh to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see
+the crescent therein." And the King said, "An thou speak sooth, I will bring
+thee to thy wish and thy desire." Then came forward the Persian sage and,
+prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a horse[FN#5] of the
+blackest ebony-wood inlaid with gold and jewels, and ready harnessed with
+saddle, bridle and stirrups such as befit Kings; which when Sabur saw, he
+marvelled with exceeding marvel and was confounded at the beauty of its form
+and the ingenuity of its fashion. So he asked, "What is the use of this horse
+of wood, and what is its virtue and what the secret of its movement?"; and the
+Persian answered, "O my lord, the virtue of this horse is that, if one mount
+him, it will carry him whither he will and fare with its rider through the air
+and cover the space of a year in a single day." The King marvelled and was
+amazed at these three wonders, following thus hard upon one another on the same
+day, and turning to the sage, said to him, "By Allah the Omnipotent, and our
+Lord the Beneficent, who created all creatures and feedeth them with meat and
+drink, an thy speech be veritable and the virtue of thy contrivance appear, I
+will assuredly give thee whatsoever thou lustest for and will bring thee to thy
+desire and thy wish!"[FN#6] Then he entertained the sages three days, that he
+might make trial of their gifts; after which they brought the figures before
+him and each took the creature he had wroughten and showed him the mystery of
+its movement. The trumpeter blew the trump; the peacock pecked its chicks and
+the Persian sage mounted the ebony house, whereupon it soared with him high in
+air and descended again. When King Sabur saw all this, he was amazed and
+perplexed and felt like to fly for joy and said to the three sages, "Now I am
+certified of the truth of your words and it behoveth me to quit me of my
+promise. Ask ye, therefore, what ye will, and I will give you that same." Now
+the report of the King's daughters had reached the sages, so they answered, "If
+the King be content with us and accept of our gifts and allow us to prefer a
+request to him, we crave of him that he give us his three daughters in
+marriage, that we may be his sons-in-law; for that the stability of Kings may
+not be gainsaid." Quoth the King, "I grant you that which you wish and you
+desire," and bade summon the Kazi forthright, that he might marry each of the
+sages to one of his daughters. Now it fortuned that the Princesses were behind
+a curtain, looking on; and when they heard this, the youngest considered her
+husband to be and behold, he was an old man,[FN#7] an hundred years of age,
+with hair frosted, forehead drooping, eyebrows mangy, ears slitten, beard and
+mustachios stained and dyed; eyes red and goggle; cheeks bleached and hollow;
+flabby nose like a brinjall, or egg- plant[FN#8]; face like a cobbler's apron,
+teeth overlapping and lips like camel's kidneys, loose and pendulous; in brief
+a terror, a horror, a monster, for he was of the folk of his time the
+unsightliest and of his age the frightfullest; sundry of his grinders had been
+knocked out and his eye-teeth were like the tusks of the Jinni who frighteneth
+poultry in hen-houses. Now the girl was the fairest and most graceful of her
+time, more elegant than the gazelle however tender, than the gentlest zephyr
+blander and brighter than the moon at her full; for amorous fray right
+suitable; confounding in graceful sway the waving bough and outdoing in
+swimming gait the pacing roe; in fine she was fairer and sweeter by far than
+all her sisters. So, when she saw her suitor, she went to her chamber and
+strewed dust on her head and tore her clothes and fell to buffeting her face
+and weeping and wailing. Now the Prince, her brother, Kamar al-Akmαr, or the
+Moon of Moons hight, was then newly returned from a journey and, hearing her
+weeping and crying came in to her (for he loved her with fond affection, more
+than his other sisters) and asked her, "What aileth thee? What hath befallen
+thee? Tell me and conceal naught from me." So she smote her breast and
+answered, "O my brother and my dear one, I have nothing to hide. If the palace
+be straitened upon thy father, I will go out; and if he be resolved upon a foul
+thing, I will separate myself from him, though he consent not to make provision
+for me; and my Lord will provide." Quoth he, "Tell me what meaneth this talk
+and what hath straitened thy breast and troubled thy temper." "O my brother and
+my dear one," answered the Princess, "Know that my father hath promised me in
+marriage to a wicked magician who brought him, as a gift, a horse of black
+wood, and hath bewitched him with his craft and his egromancy; but, as for me,
+I will none of him, and would, because of him, I had never come into this
+world!" Her brother soothed her and solaced her, then fared to his sire and
+said, "What be this wizard to whom thou hast given my youngest sister in
+marriage, and what is this present which he hath brought thee, so that thou
+hast killed[FN#9] my sister with chagrin? It is not right that this should be."
+Now the Persian was standing by and, when he heard the Prince's words, he was
+mortified and filled with fury and the King said, "O my son, an thou sawest
+this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou wouldst be amated with
+amazement." Then he bade the slaves bring the horse before him and they did so;
+and, when the Prince saw it, it pleased him. So (being an accomplished
+cavalier) he mounted it forthright and struck its sides with the shovel-shaped
+stirrup-irons; but it stirred not and the King said to the Sage, "Go show him
+its movement, that he also may help thee to win thy wish." Now the Persian bore
+the Prince a grudge because he willed not he should have his sister; so he
+showed him the pin of ascent on the right side of the horse and saying to him,
+"Trill this," left him. Thereupon the Prince trilled the pin and lo! the horse
+forthwith soared with him high in ether, as it were a bird, and gave not
+overflying till it disappeared from men's espying, whereat the King was
+troubled and perplexed about his case and said to the Persian, "O sage, look
+how thou mayest make him descend." But he replied, "O my lord, I can do
+nothing, and thou wilt never see him again till Resurrection-day, for he, of
+his ignorance and pride, asked me not of the pin of descent and I forgot to
+acquaint him therewith." When the King heard this, he was enraged with sore
+rage; and bade bastinado the sorcerer and clap him in jail, whilst he himself
+cast the crown from his head and beat his face and smote his breast. Moreover,
+he shut the doors of his palaces and gave himself up to weeping and keening, he
+and his wife and daughters and all the folk of the city; and thus their joy was
+turned to annoy and their gladness changed into sore affliction and sadness.
+Thus far concerning them; but as regards the Prince, the horse gave not over
+soaring with him till he drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up for lost
+and saw death in the skies, and was confounded at his case, repenting him of
+having mounted the horse and saying to himself, "Verily, this was a device of
+the Sage to destroy me on account of my youngest sister; but there is no
+Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! I am lost
+without recourse; but I wonder, did not he who made the ascent-pin make also a
+descent-pin?" Now he was a man of wit and knowledge and intelligence; so he
+fell to feeling all the parts of the horse, but saw nothing save a screw, like
+a cock's head, on its right shoulder and the like on the left, when quoth he to
+himself, "I see no sign save these things like buttons." Presently he turned
+the right-hand pin, whereupon the horse flew heavenwards with increased speed.
+So he left it and looking at the sinister shoulder and finding another pin, he
+wound it up and immediately the steed's upwards motion slowed and ceased and it
+began to descend, little by little, towards the face of the earth, while the
+rider became yet more cautious and careful of his life.—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince wound up
+the sinister screw, the steed's upward motion slowed and ceased, and it began
+to descend, little by little, towards the earth while the rider became yet more
+cautious and careful of his life. And when he saw this and knew the uses of the
+horse, his heart was filled with joy and gladness and he thanked Almighty Allah
+for that He had deigned deliver him from destruction. Then he began to turn the
+horse's head whithersoever he would, making it rise and fall at pleasure, till
+he had gotten complete mastery over its every movement. He ceased not to
+descend the whole of that day, for that the steed's ascending flight had borne
+him afar from the earth; and, as he descended, he diverted himself with viewing
+the various cities and countries over which he passed and which he knew not,
+never having seen them in his life. Amongst the rest, he descried a city
+ordered after the fairest fashion in the midst of a verdant and riant land,
+rich in trees and streams, with gazelles pacing daintily over the plains;
+whereat he fell a-musing and said to himself, "Would I knew the name of yon
+town and in what land it is!" And he took to circling about it and observing it
+right and left. By this time, the day began to decline and the sun drew near to
+its downing; and he said in his mind, "Verily I find no goodlier place to night
+in than this city; so I will lodge here and early on the morrow I will return
+to my kith and kin and my kingdom; and tell my father and family what hath
+passed and acquaint him with what mine eyes have seen." Then he addressed
+himself to seeking a place wherein he might safely bestow himself and his horse
+and where none should descry him, and presently behold, he espied a-middlemost
+of the city a palace rising high in upper air surrounded by a great wall with
+lofty crenelles and battlements, guarded by forty black slaves, clad in
+complete mail and armed with spears and swords, bows and arrows. Quoth he,
+"This is a goodly place," and turned the descent-pin, whereupon the horse sank
+down with him like a weary bird, and alighted gently on the terrace-roof of the
+palace. So the Prince dismounted and ejaculating "Alhamdolillah"—praise be to
+Allah[FN#10]—he began to go round about the horse and examine it, saying, "By
+Allah, he who fashioned thee with these perfections was a cunning craftsman,
+and if the Almighty extend the term of my life and restore me to my country and
+kinsfolk in safety and reunite me with my father, I will assuredly bestow upon
+him all manner bounties and benefit him with the utmost beneficence." By this
+time night had overtaken him and he sat on the roof till he was assured that
+all in the palace slept; and indeed hunger and thirst were sore upon him, for
+that he had not tasted food nor drunk water since he parted from his sire. So
+he said within himself, "Surely the like of this palace will not lack of
+victual;" and, leaving the horse above, went down in search of somewhat to eat.
+Presently, he came to a staircase and descending it to the bottom, found
+himself in a court paved with white marble and alabaster, which shone in the
+light of the moon. He marvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion,
+but sensed no sound of speaker and saw no living soul and stood in perplexed
+surprise, looking right and left and knowing not whither he should wend. Then
+said he to himself, "I may not do better than return to where I left my horse
+and pass the night by it; and as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride
+away."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the king's son to
+himself, "I may not do better than pass the night by my horse; and as soon as
+day shall dawn I will mount and ride away." However, as he tarried talking to
+himself, he espied a light within the palace, and making towards it, found that
+it came from a candle that stood before a door of the Harim, at the head of a
+sleeping eunuch, as he were one of the Ifrits of Solomon or a tribesman of the
+Jinn, longer than lumber and broader than a bench. He lay before the door, with
+the pommel of his sword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head
+was a bag of leather[FN#11] hanging from a column of granite. When the Prince
+saw this, he was affrighted and said, "I crave help from Allah the Supreme! O
+mine Holy One, even as Thou hast already delivered me from destruction, so
+vouchsafe me strength to quit myself of the adventure of this palace!" So
+saying, he put out his hand to the budget and taking it, carried it aside and
+opened it and found in it food of the best. He ate his fill and refreshed
+himself and drank water, after which he hung up the provision-bag in its place
+and drawing the eunuch's sword from its sheath, took it, whilst the slave slept
+on, knowing not whence destiny should come to him. Then the Prince fared
+forwards into the palace and ceased not till he came to a second door, with a
+curtain drawn before it; so he raised the curtain and behold, on entering he
+saw a couch of the whitest ivory, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels,
+and four slave-girls sleeping about it. He went up to the couch, to see what
+was thereon, and found a young lady lying asleep, chemised with her hair[FN#12]
+as she were the full moon rising[FN#13] over the Eastern horizon, with
+flower-white brow and shining hair-paring and cheeks like blood-red anemones
+and dainty moles thereon. He was amazed at her as she lay in her beauty and
+loveliness, her symmetry and grace, and he recked no more of death. So he went
+up to her, trembling in every nerve and, shuddering with pleasure, kissed her
+on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke forthright and opened her eyes, and
+seeing the Prince standing at her head, said to him, "Who art thou and whence
+comest thou?" Quoth he, "I am thy slave and thy lover." Asked she, "And who
+brought thee hither?" and he answered, "My Lord and my fortune." Then said
+Shams al-Nahαr[FN#14] (for such was her name), "Haply thou art he who demanded
+me yesterday of my father in marriage and he rejected thee, pretending that
+thou wast foul of favour. By Allah, my sire lied in his throat when he spoke
+this thing, for thou art not other than beautiful." Now the son of the King of
+Hind had sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him, for that he
+was ugly and uncouth, and she thought the Prince was he. So, when she saw his
+beauty and grace (for indeed he was like the radiant moon) the syntheism[FN#15]
+of love gat hold of her heart as it were a flaming fire, and they fell to talk
+and converse. Suddenly, her waiting-women awoke and, seeing the Prince with
+their mistress, said to her, "Oh my lady, who is this with thee?" Quoth she, "I
+know not; I found him sitting by me, when I woke up: haply 'tis he who seeketh
+me in marriage of my sire." Quoth they, "O my lady, by Allah the All-Father,
+this is not he who seeketh thee in marriage, for he is hideous and this man is
+handsome and of high degree. Indeed, the other is not fit to be his
+servant."[FN#16] Then the handmaidens went out to the eunuch, and finding him
+slumbering awoke him, and he started up in alarm. Said they, "How happeth it
+that thou art on guard at the palace and yet men come in to us, whilst we are
+asleep?" When the black heard this, he sprang in haste to his sword, but found
+it not; and fear took him and trembling. Then he went in, confounded, to his
+mistress and seeing the Prince sitting at talk with her, said to him, "O my
+lord, art thou man or Jinni?" Replied the Prince, "Woe to thee, O unluckiest of
+slaves: how darest thou even the sons of the royal Chosroes[FN#17] with one of
+the unbelieving Satans?" And he was as a raging lion. Then he took the sword in
+his hand and said to the slave, "I am the King's son-in-law, and he hath
+married me to his daughter and bidden me go in to her." And when the eunuch
+heard these words he replied, "O my lord, if thou be indeed of kind a man as
+thou avouchest, she is fit for none but for thee, and thou art worthier of her
+than any other." Thereupon the eunuch ran to the King, shrieking loud and
+rending his raiment and heaving dust upon his head; and when the King heard his
+outcry, he said to him, "What hath befallen thee?: speak quickly and be brief;
+for thou hast fluttered my heart." Answered the eunuch, "O King, come to thy
+daughter's succour; for a devil of the Jinn, in the likeness of a King's son,
+hath got possession of her; so up and at him!" When the King heard this, he
+thought to kill him and said, "How camest thou to be careless of my daughter
+and let this demon come at her?" Then he betook himself to the Princess's
+palace, where he found her slave-women standing to await him and asked them,
+"What is come to my daughter?" "O King," answered they, "slumber overcame us
+and, when we awoke, we found a young man sitting upon her couch in talk with
+her, as he were the full moon; never saw we aught fairer of favour than he. So
+we questioned him of his case and he declared that thou hadst given him thy
+daughter in marriage. More than this we know not, nor do we know if he be a man
+or a Jinni; but he is modest and well bred, and doth nothing unseemly or which
+leadeth to disgrace." Now when the King heard these words, his wrath cooled and
+he raised the curtain little by little and looking in, saw sitting at talk with
+his daughter a Prince of the goodliest with a face like the full moon for
+sheen. At this sight he could not contain himself, of his jealousy for his
+daughter's honour; and, putting aside the curtain, rushed in upon them drawn
+sword in hand like a furious Ghul. Now when the Prince saw him he asked the
+Princess, "Is this thy sire?"; and she answered, "Yes."—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Price saw the
+King rushing in upon them, drawn sword in hand, like a furious Ghul he asked
+the Princess, "Is this thy sire?"; and she answered, "Yes." Whereupon he sprang
+to his feet and, seizing his sword, cried out at the King with so terrible a
+cry that he was confounded. Then the youth would have fallen on him with the
+sword; but the King seeing that the Prince was doughtier than he, sheathed his
+scymitar and stood till the young man came up to him, when he accosted him
+courteously and said to him, "O youth, art thou a man or a Jinni?" Quoth the
+Prince, "Did I not respect thy right as mine host and thy daughter's honour, I
+would spill thy blood! How darest thou fellow me with devils, me that am a
+Prince of the sons of the royal Chosroes who, had they wished to take thy
+kingdom, could shake thee like an earthquake from thy glory and thy dominions
+and spoil thee of all thy possessions?" Now when the King heard his words, he
+was confounded with awe and bodily fear of him and rejoined, "If thou indeed be
+of the sons of the Kings, as thou pretendest, how cometh it that thou enterest
+my palace without my permission, and smirchest mine honour, making thy way to
+my daughter and feigning that thou art her husband and claiming that I have
+given her to thee to wife, I that have slain Kings and Kings' sons, who sought
+her of me in marriage? And now who shall save thee from my might and majesty
+when, if I cried out to my slaves and servants and bade them put thee to the
+vilest of deaths they would slay thee forthright? Who shall deliver thee out of
+my hand?" When the Prince heard this speech of the King he answered, "Verily, I
+wonder at thee and at the shortness and denseness of thy wit! Say me, canst
+covet for thy daughter a mate comelier than myself, and hast ever seen a
+stouter hearted man or one better fitted for a Sultan or a more glorious in
+rank and dominion than I?" Rejoined the King, "Nay, by Allah! but I would have
+had thee, O youth, act after the custom of Kings and demand her from me to wife
+before witnesses, that I might have married her to thee publicly; and now, even
+were I to marry her to thee privily, yet hast thou dishonoured me in her
+person." Rejoined the Prince, "Thou sayest sooth, O King, but if thou summon
+thy slaves and thy soldiers and they fall upon me and slay me, as thou
+pretendest, thou wouldst but publish thine own disgrace, and the folk would be
+divided between belief in thee and disbelief in thee. Wherefore, O King, thou
+wilt do well, meseemeth, to turn from this thought to that which I shall
+counsel thee." Quoth the King, "Let me hear what thou hast to advise;" and
+quoth the Prince, "What I have to propose to thee is this: either do thou meet
+me in combat singular, I and thou; and he who slayeth his adversary shall be
+held the worthier and having a better title to the kingdom; or else, let me be
+this night and, whenas dawns the morn, draw out against me thy horsemen and
+footmen and servants; but first tell me their number." Said the King, "They are
+forty thousand horse, beside my own slaves and their followers,[FN#18] who are
+the like of them in number." Thereupon said the Prince, "When the day shall
+break, do thou array them against me and say to them"—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Prince,
+"When day shall break, do thou array them against me and say to them: 'This man
+is a suitor to me for my daughter's hand, on condition that he shall do battle
+single-handed against you all; for he pretendeth that he will overcome you and
+put you to the rout, and indeed that ye cannot prevail against him.' After
+which, leave me to do battle with them: if they slay me, then is thy secret
+surer guarded and thine honour the better warded; and if I overcome them and
+see their backs, then is it the like of me a King should covet to his
+son-in-law." So the King approved of his opinion and accepted his proposition,
+despite his awe at the boldness of his speech and amaze at the pretensions of
+the Prince to meet in fight his whole host, such as he had described to him,
+being at heart assured that he would perish in the fray and so he should be
+quit of him and freed from the fear of dishonour. Thereupon he called the
+eunuch and bade him go to his Wazir without stay and delay and command him to
+assemble the whole of the army and cause them don their arms and armour and
+mount their steeds. So the eunuch carried the King's order to the Minister, who
+straightaway summoned the Captains of the host and the Lords of the realm and
+bade them don their harness of derring-do and mount horse and sally forth in
+battle array. Such was their case; but as regards the King, he sat a long while
+conversing with the young Prince, being pleased with his wise speech and good
+sense and fine breeding. And when it was day-break he returned to his palace
+and, seating himself on his throne, commanded his merry men to mount and bade
+them saddle one of the best of the royal steeds with handsome selle and
+housings and trappings and bring it to the Prince. But the youth said, "O King,
+I will not mount horse, till I come in view of the troops and review them." "Be
+it as thou wilt," replied the King. Then the two repaired to the parade-ground,
+where the troops were drawn up, and the young Prince looked upon them and noted
+their great number; after which the King cried out to them, saying, "Ho, all ye
+men, there is come to me a youth who seeketh my daughter in marriage; and in
+very sooth never have I seen a goodlier than he; no, nor a stouter of heart nor
+a doughtier of arm, for he pretendeth that he can overcome you, single-handed,
+and force you to flight and that, were ye an hundred thousand in number, yet
+for him would ye be but few. Now when he chargeth down on you, do ye receive
+him upon point of pike and sharp of sabre; for, indeed, he hath undertaken a
+mighty matter." Then quoth the King to the Prince, "Up, O my son, and do thy
+devoir on them." Answered he, "O King, thou dealest not justly and fairly by
+me: how shall I go forth against them, seeing that I am afoot and the men be
+mounted?" The King retorted, "I bade thee mount, and thou refusedst; but choose
+thou which of my horses thou wilt." Then he said, "Not one of thy horses
+pleaseth me, and I will ride none but that on which I came." Asked the King,
+"And where is thy horse?" "Atop of thy palace." "In what part of my palace?"
+"On the roof." Now when the King heard these words, he cried, "Out on thee!
+this is the first sign thou hast given of madness. How can the horse be on the
+roof? But we shall at once see if thou speak the truth or lies." Then he turned
+to one of his chief officers and said to him, "Go to my palace and bring me
+what thou findest on the roof." So all the people marvelled at the young
+Prince's words, saying one to other, "How can a horse come down the steps from
+the roof? Verily this is a thing whose like we never heard." In the meantime
+the King's messenger repaired to the palace and mounting to the roof, found the
+horse standing there and never had he looked on a handsomer; but when he drew
+near and examined it, he saw that it was made of ebony and ivory. Now the
+officer was accompanied by other high officers, who also looked on and they
+laughed to one another, saying, "Was it of the like of this horse that the
+youth spake? We cannot deem him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the
+truth of his case."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high officials
+looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other and said, "Was it of the like
+of his horse that the youth spake? We cannot deem him other than mad; however,
+we shall soon see the truth of his case. Peradventure herein is some mighty
+matter, and he is a man of high degree." Then they lifted up the horse bodily
+and, carrying it to the King, set it down before him, and all the lieges
+flocked round to look at it, marvelling at the beauty of its proportions and
+the richness of its saddle and bridle. The King also admired it and wondered at
+it with extreme wonder; and he asked the Prince, "O youth, is this thy horse?"
+He answered, "Yes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see the marvel
+it showeth." Rejoined the King, "Then take and mount it," and the Prince
+retorted, "I will not mount till the troops withdraw afar from it." So the King
+bade them retire a bowshot from the horse; whereupon quoth its owner, "O King,
+see thou; I am about to mount my horse and charge upon thy host and scatter
+them right and left and split their hearts asunder." Said the King, "Do as thou
+wilt; and spare not their lives, for they will not spare thine." Then the
+Prince mounted, whilst the troops ranged themselves in ranks before him, and
+one said to another, "When the youth cometh between the ranks, we will take him
+on the points of our pikes and the sharps of our sabres." Quoth another, "By
+Allah, this a mere misfortune: how shall we slay a youth so comely of face and
+shapely of form?" And a third continued, "Ye will have hard work to get the
+better of him; for the youth had not done this, but for what he knew of his own
+prowess and pre- eminence of valour." Meanwhile, having settled himself in his
+saddle, the Prince turned the pin of ascent; whilst all eyes were strained to
+see what he would do, whereupon the horse began to heave and rock and sway to
+and fro and make the strangest of movements steed ever made, till its belly was
+filled with air and it took flight with its rider and soared high into the sky.
+When the King saw this, he cried out to his men, saying, "Woe to you! catch
+him, catch him, ere he 'scape you!" But his Wazirs and Viceroys said to him, "O
+King, can a man overtake the flying bird? This is surely none but some mighty
+magician or Marid of the Jinn or devil, and Allah save thee from him. So praise
+thou the Almighty for deliverance of thee and of all thy host from his hand."
+Then the King returned to his palace after seeing the feat of the Prince and,
+going in to his daughter, acquainted her with what had befallen them both on
+the parade-ground. He found her grievously afflicted for the Prince and
+bewailing her separation from him; wherefore she fell sick with violent
+sickness and took to her pillow. Now when her father saw her on this wise, he
+pressed her to his breast and kissing her between the eyes, said to her, "O my
+daughter, praise Allah Almighty and thank Him for that He hath delivered us
+from this crafty enchanter, this villain, this low fellow, this thief who
+thought only of seducing thee!" And he repeated to her the story of the Prince
+and how he had disappeared in the firmament; and he abused him and cursed him
+knowing not how dearly his daughter loved him. But she paid no heed to his
+words and did but redouble in her tears and wails, saying to herself, "By
+Allah, I will neither eat meat nor drain drink, till Allah reunite me with
+him!" Her father was greatly concerned for her case and mourned much over her
+plight; but, for all he could do to soother her, love-longing only increased on
+her.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King mourned much
+over his daughter's plight but, for all he could do to soothe her, love-longing
+only increased on her. Thus far concerning the King and Princess Shams
+al-Nahαr; but as regards Prince Kamar al-Akmar, when he had risen high in air,
+he turned his horse's head towards his native land, and being alone mused upon
+the beauty of the Princess and her loveliness. Now he had enquired of the
+King's people the name of the city and of its King and his daughter; and men
+had told him that it was the city of Sana'α.[FN#19] So he journeyed with all
+speed, till he drew near his father's capital and, making an airy circuit about
+the city, alighted on the roof of the King's palace, where he left his horse,
+whilst he descended into the palace and seeing its threshold strewn with ashes,
+though that one of his family was dead. Then he entered, as of wont, and found
+his father and mother and sisters clad in mourning raiment of black, all pale
+of faces and lean of frames. When his sire descried him and was assured that it
+was indeed his son, he cried out with a great cry and fell down in a fit, but
+after a time coming to himself, threw himself upon him and embraced him,
+clipping him to his bosom and rejoicing in him with exceeding joy and extreme
+gladness. His mother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the
+Prince, fell upon him, kissing him and weeping, and joying with exceeding
+joyance. Then they questioned him of his case; so he told them all that had
+passed from first to last, and his father said to him, "Praised be Allah for
+thy safety, O coolth of my eyes and core of my heart!" Then the King bade hold
+high festival, and the glad tidings flew through the city. So they beat drums
+and cymbals and, doffing the weed of mourning, they donned the gay garb of
+gladness and decorated the streets and markets; whilst the folk vied with one
+another who should be the first to give the King joy, and the King proclaimed a
+general pardon and opening the prisons, released those who were therein
+prisoned. Moreover, he made banquets for the people, with great abundance of
+eating and drinking, for seven days and nights and all creatures were
+gladsomest; and he took horse with his son and rode out with him, that the folk
+might see him and rejoice. After awhile the Prince asked about the maker of the
+horse, saying, "O my father, what hath fortune done with him?"; and the King
+answered, "Allah never bless him nor the hour wherein I set eyes on him! For he
+was the cause of thy separation from us, O my son, and he hath lain in gaol
+since the day of thy disappearance." Then the King bade release him from prison
+and, sending for him, invested him in a dress of satisfaction and entreated him
+with the utmost favour and munificence, save that he would not give him his
+daughter to wife; whereat the Sage raged with sore rage and repented of that
+which he had done, knowing that the Prince had secured the secret of the steed
+and the manner of its motion. Moreover, the King said to his son, "I reck thou
+wilt do will not to go near the horse henceforth and more especially not to
+mount it after this day; for thou knowest not its properties, and belike thou
+art in error about it." Not the Prince had told his father of his adventure
+with the King of Sana'a and his daughter and he said, "Had the King intended to
+kill thee, he had done so; but thine hour was not yet come." When the
+rejoicings were at an end, the people returned to their places and the King and
+his son to the palace, where they sat down and fell to eating and drinking and
+making merry. Now the King had a handsome handmaiden who was skilled in playing
+the lute; so she took it and began to sweep the strings and sing thereto before
+the King and his son of separation of lovers, and she chanted the following
+verses:—
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Deem not that absence breeds in me aught of forgetfulness; *<br/>
+
+     What should remember I did you fro' my remembrance wane?<br/>
+
+Time dies but never dies the fondest love for you we bear; *<br/>
+
+     And in your love I'll die and in your love I'll arise<br/>
+
+     again."[FN#20]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the Prince heard these verses, the fires of longing flamed up in his heart
+and pine and passion redoubled upon him. Grief and regret were sore upon him
+and his bowels yearned in him for love of the King's daughter of Sana'a; so he
+rose forthright and, escaping his father's notice, went forth the palace to the
+horse and mounting it, turned the pin of ascent, whereupon bird-like it flew
+with him high in air and soared towards the upper regions of the sky. In early
+morning his father missed him and, going up to the pinnacle of the palace, in
+great concern, saw his son rising into the firmament; whereat he was sore
+afflicted and repented in all penitence that he had not taken the horse and
+hidden it; and he said to himself, "By Allah, if but my son return to me, I
+will destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest concerning my son." And he
+fell again to weeping and bewailing himself.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King again fell to
+weeping and bewailing himself for his son. Such was his case; but as regards
+the Prince, he ceased not flying on through air till he came to the city of
+Sana'a and alighted on the roof as before. Then he crept down stealthily and,
+finding the eunuch asleep, as of wont, raised the curtain and went on little by
+little, till he came to the door of the Princess's alcove-[FN#21]chamber and
+stopped to listen; when lo! he heard her shedding plenteous tears and reciting
+verses, whilst her women slept round her. Presently, overhearing her weeping
+and wailing quoth they, "O our mistress, why wilt thou mourn for one who
+mourneth not for thee?" Quoth she, "O ye little of wit, is he for whom I mourn
+of those who forget or who are forgotten?" And she fell again to wailing and
+weeping, till sleep overcame her. Hereat the Prince's heart melted for her and
+his gall-bladder was like to burst, so he entered and, seeing her lying asleep
+without covering,[FN#22] touched her with his hand; whereupon she opened her
+eyes and espied him standing by her. Said he, "Why all this crying and
+mourning?" And when she knew him, she threw herself upon him, and took him
+around the neck and kissed him and answered, "For thy sake and because of my
+separation from thee." Said he, "O my lady, I have been made desolate by thee
+all this long time!" But she replied, "'Tis thou who hast desolated me; and
+hadst thou tarried longer, I had surely died!" Rejoined he, "O my lady, what
+thinkest thou of my case with thy father and how he dealt with me? Were it not
+for my love of thee, O temptation and seduction of the Three Worlds, I had
+certainly slain him and made him a warning to all beholders; but, even as I
+love thee, so I love him for thy sake." Quoth she, "How couldst thou leave me:
+can my life be sweet to me after thee?" Quoth he, "Let what hath happened
+suffice: I am now hungry, and thirsty." So she bade her maidens make ready meat
+and drink, and they sat eating and drinking and conversing till night was well
+nigh ended; and when day broke he rose to take leave of her and depart, ere the
+eunuch should awake. Shams al-Nahar asked him, "Whither goest thou?"; and he
+answered, "To my father's house, and I plight thee my troth that I will come to
+thee once in every week." But she wept and said, "I conjure thee, by Allah the
+Almighty, take me with thee whereso thou wendest and make me not taste anew the
+bittergourd[FN#23] of separation from thee." Quoth he, "Wilt thou indeed go
+with me?" and quoth she, "Yes." "Then," said he, "arise that we depart." So she
+rose forthright and going to a chest, arrayed herself in what was richest and
+dearest to her of her trinkets of gold and jewels of price, and she fared
+forth, her handmaids recking naught. So he carried her up to the roof of the
+palace and, mounting the ebony horse, took her up behind him and made her fast
+to himself, binding her with strong bonds; after which he turned the
+shoulder-pin of ascent, and the horse rose with him high in air. When her
+slave-women saw this, they shrieked aloud and told her father and mother, who
+in hot haste ran to the palace-roof and looking up, saw the magical horse
+flying away with the Prince and Princess. At this the King was troubled with
+ever-increasing trouble and cried out, saying, "O King's son, I conjure thee,
+by Allah, have ruth on me and my wife and bereave us not of our daughter!" The
+Prince made him no reply; but, thinking in himself that the maiden repented of
+leaving father and mother, asked her, "O ravishment of the age, say me, wilt
+thou that I restore thee to thy mother and father?": whereupon she answered,
+"By Allah, O my lord, that is not my desire: my only wish is to be with thee,
+wherever thou art; for I am distracted by the love of thee from all else, even
+from my father and mother." Hearing these words the Prince joyed with great
+joy, and made the horse fly and fare softly with them, so as not to disquiet
+her; nor did they stay their flight till they came in sight of a green meadow,
+wherein was a spring of running water. Here they alighted and ate and drank;
+after which the Prince took horse again and set her behind him, binding her in
+his fear for her safety; after which they fared on till they came in sight of
+his father's capital. At this, the Prince was filled with joy and bethought
+himself to show his beloved the seat of his dominion and his father's power and
+dignity and give her to know that it was greater than that of her sire. So he
+set her down in one of his father's gardens without the city where his parent
+was wont to take his pleasure; and, carrying her into a domed summer-house
+prepared there for the King, left the ebony horse at the door and charged the
+damsel keep watch over it, saying, "Sit here, till my messenger come to thee;
+for I go now to my father, to make ready a palace for thee and show thee my
+royal estate." She was delighted when she heard these words and said to him,
+"Do as thou wilt;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maiden was delighted
+when she heard these words and said to him, "Do as thou wilt;" for she thereby
+understood that she should not enter the city but with due honour and worship,
+as became her rank. Then the Prince left her and betook himself to the palace
+of the King his father, who rejoiced in his return and met him and welcomed
+him; and the Prince said to him, "Know that I have brought with me the King's
+daughter of whom I told thee; and have left her without the city in such a
+garden and come to tell thee, that thou mayst make ready the procession of
+estate and go forth to meet her and show her thy royal dignity and troops and
+guards." Answered the King, "With joy and gladness"; and straightaway bade
+decorate the town with the goodliest adornment. Then he took horse and rode out
+in all magnificence and majesty, he and his host, high officers and household,
+with drums and kettle-drums, fifes and clarions and all manner instruments;
+whilst the Prince drew forth of his treasuries jewellery and apparel and what
+else of the things which Kings hoards and made a rare display of wealth and
+splendour: moreover he got ready for the Princess a canopied litter of
+brocades, green, red and yellow, wherein he set Indian and Greek and Abyssinian
+slave- girls. Then he left the litter and those who were therein and preceded
+them to the pavilion where he had set her down; and searched but found naught,
+neither Princess nor horse. When he saw this, he beat his face, and rent his
+raiment and began to wander round about the garden, as he had lost his wits;
+after which he came to his senses and said to himself, "How could she have come
+at the secret of this horse, seeing I told her nothing of it? Maybe the Persian
+sage who made the horse hath chanced upon her and stolen her away, in revenge
+for my father's treatment of him." Then he sought the guardians of the garden
+and asked them if they had seen any pass the precincts; and said, "Hath any one
+come in here? Tell me the truth and the whole truth or I will at once strike
+off your heads." They were terrified by his threats; but they answered with one
+voice, "We have seen no man enter save the Persian sage, who came to gather
+healing herbs." So the Prince was certified that it was indeed he that had
+taken away the maiden,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince heard
+their answer, he was certified that the Sage had taken away the maiden and
+abode confounded and perplexed concerning his case. And he was abashed before
+the folk and, turning to his sire, told him what had happened and said to him,
+"Take the troops and march them back to the city. As for me, I will never
+return till I have cleared up this affair." When the King heard this, he wept
+and beat his breast and said to him, "O my son, calm thy choler and master thy
+chagrin and come home with us and look what King's daughter thou wouldst fain
+have, that I may marry thee to her." But the Prince paid no heed to his words
+and farewelling him departed, whilst the King returned to the city and their
+joy was changed into sore annoy. Now, as Destiny issued her decree, when the
+Prince left the Princess in the garden-house and betook himself to his father's
+palace, for the ordering of his affair, the Persian entered the garden to pluck
+certain simples and, scenting the sweet savour of musk and perfumes that
+exhaled from the Princess and impregnated the whole place, followed it till he
+came to the pavilion and saw standing at the door the horse which he had made
+with his own hands. His heart was filled with joy and gladness, for he had
+bemourned its loss much since it had gone out of his hand: so he went up to it
+and, examining its every part, found it whole and sound; whereupon he was about
+to mount and ride away, when he bethought himself and said, "Needs must I first
+look what the Prince hath brought and left here with the horse." So he entered
+the pavilion and, seeing the Princess sitting there, as she were the sun
+shining sheen in the sky serene, knew her at the first glance to be some
+high-born lady and doubted not but the Prince had brought her thither on the
+horse and left her in the pavilion, whilst he went to the city, to make ready
+for her entry in state procession with all splendor. Then he went up to her and
+kissed the earth between her hands, whereupon she raised her eyes to him and,
+finding him exceedingly foul of face and favour, asked, "Who art thou?"; and he
+answered, "O my lady, I am a messenger sent by the Prince who hath bidden me
+bring thee to another pleasance nearer the city; for that my lady the Queen
+cannot walk so far and is unwilling, of her joy in thee, that another should
+forestall her with thee." Quoth she, "Where is the Prince?"; and quoth the
+Persian, "He is in the city, with his sire and forthwith he shall come for thee
+in great state." Said she, "O thou! say me, could he find none handsomer to
+send to me?"; whereat loud laughed the Sage and said, "Yea verily, he hath not
+a Mameluke as ugly as I am; but, O my lady, let not the ill-favour of my face
+and the foulness of my form deceive thee. Hadst thou profited of me as hath the
+Prince, verily thou wouldst praise my affair. Indeed, he chose me as his
+messenger to thee, because of my uncomeliness and loathsomeness in his jealous
+love of thee; else hath he Mamelukes and negro slaves, pages, eunuchs and
+attendants out of number, each goodlier than other." Whenas she heard this, it
+commended itself to her reason and she believed him; so she rose
+forthright;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Persian sage
+acquainted the Princess with the case of the King's son, she believed him; so
+she rose forthright; and, putting her hand in his, said, "O my father, what
+hast thou brought me to ride?" He replied, "O my lady, thou shalt ride the
+horse thou camest on;" and she, "I cannot ride it by myself." Whereupon he
+smiled and knew that he was her master and said, "I will ride with thee
+myself." So he mounted and, taking her up behind him bound her to himself with
+firm bonds, while she knew not what he would with her. Then he turned the
+ascent-pin, whereupon the belly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed
+to and fro like a wave of the sea, and rose with them high in air nor slackened
+in its flight, till it was out of sight of the city. Now when Shams al-Nahir
+saw this, she asked him, "Ho thou! what is become of that thou toldest me of my
+Prince, making me believe that he sent thee to me?" Answered the Persian,
+"Allah damn the Prince! he is a mean and skin-flint knave." She cried, "Woe to
+thee! How darest thou disobey thy lord's commandment?" Whereto the Persian
+replied, "He is no lord of mine: knowest thou who I am?" Rejoined the Princess,
+"I know nothing of thee save what thou toldest me;" and retorted he, "What I
+told thee was a trick of mine against thee and the King's son: I have long
+lamented the loss of this horse which is under us; for I constructed it and
+made myself master of it. But now I have gotten firm hold of it and of thee
+too, and I will burn his heart even as he hath burnt mine; nor shall he ever
+have the horse again; no, never! So be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool
+and clear; for I can be of more use to thee than he; and I am generous as I am
+wealthy; my servants and slaves shall obey thee as their mistress; I will robe
+thee in finest raiment and thine every wish shall be at thy will." When she
+heard this, she buffeted her face and cried out, saying, "Ah, well-away! I have
+not won my beloved and I have lost my father and mother!" And she wept bitter
+tears over what had befallen her, whilst the Sage fared on with her, without
+ceasing, till he came to the land of the Greeks[FN#24] and alighted in a
+verdant mead, abounding in streams and trees. Now this meadow lay near a city
+wherein was a King of high puissance, and it chanced that he went forth that
+day to hunt and divert himself. As he passed by the meadow, he saw the Persian
+standing there, with the damsel and the horse by his side; and, before the Sage
+was ware, the King's slaves fell upon him and carried him and the lady and the
+horse to their master who, noting the foulness of the man's favour and his
+loathsomeness and the beauty of the girl and her loveliness, said, "O my lady,
+what kin is this oldster to thee?" The Persian made haste to reply, saying,
+"She is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother." But the lady at once
+gave him the lie and said, "O King, by Allah, I know him not, nor is he my
+husband; nay, he is a wicked magician who hath stolen me away by force and
+fraud." Thereupon the King bade bastinado the Persian and they beat him till he
+was well-nigh dead; after which the King commanded to carry him to the city and
+cast him into jail; and, taking from him the damsel and the ebony horse (though
+he knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion), set the girl in his
+serraglio and the horse amongst his hoards. Such was the case with the Sage and
+the lady; but as regards Prince Kamar al-Akmar, he garbed himself in travelling
+gear and taking what he needed of money, set out tracking their trail in very
+sorry plight; and journeyed from country to country and city to city seeking
+the Princess and enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst all who heard him
+marvelled at him and deemed his talk extravagant. Thus he continued doing a
+long while; but, for all his enquiry and quest, he could hit on no new news of
+her. At last he came to her father's city of Sana'a and there asked for her,
+but could get no tidings of her and found her father mourning her loss. So he
+turned back and made for the land of the Greeks, continuing to enquire
+concerning the twain as he went,— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's son made for
+the land of the Greeks, continuing to enquire concerning the two as he went
+along, till, as chance would have it, he alighted at a certain Khan and saw a
+company of merchants sitting at talk. So he sat down near them and heard one
+say, "O my friends, I lately witnessed a wonder of wonders." They asked, "What
+was that?" and he answered, "I was visiting such a district in such a city
+(naming the city wherein was the Princess), and I heard its people chatting of
+a strange thing which had lately befallen. It was that their King went out one
+day hunting and coursing with a company of his courtiers and the lords of his
+realm; and, issuing from the city, they came to a green meadow where they
+espied an old man standing, with a woman sitting hard by a horse of ebony. The
+man was foulest-foul of face and loathly of form, but the woman was a marvel of
+beauty and loveliness and elegance and perfect grace; and as for the wooden
+horse, it was a miracle, never saw eyes aught goodlier than it nor more
+gracious than its make." Asked the others, "And what did the King with them?";
+and the merchant answered, "As for the man the King seized him and questioned
+him of the damsel and he pretended that she was his wife and the daughter of
+his paternal uncle; but she gave him the lie forthright and declared that he
+was a sorcerer and a villain. So the King took her from the old man and bade
+beat him and cast him into the trunk-house. As for the ebony horse, I know not
+what became of it." When the Prince heard these words, he drew near to the
+merchant and began questioning him discreetly and courteously touching the name
+of the city and of its King; which when he knew, he passed the night full of
+joy. And as soon as dawned the day he set out and travelled sans surcease till
+he reached that city; but, when he would have entered, the gate-keepers laid
+hands on him, that they might bring him before the King to question him of his
+condition and the craft in which he was skilled and the cause of his coming
+thither-such being the usage and custom of their ruler. Now it was supper-time
+when he entered the city, and it was then impossible to go in to the King or
+take counsel with him respecting the stranger. So the guards carried him to the
+jail, thinking to lay him by the heels there for the night; but, when the
+warders saw his beauty and loveliness, they could not find it in their hearts
+to imprison him: they made him sit with them without the walls; and, when food
+came to them, he ate with them what sufficed him. As soon as they had made an
+end of eating, they turned to the Prince and said, "What countryman art thou?"
+"I come from Fars," answered he, "the land of the Chosroλs." When they heard
+this they laughed and one of them said, "O Chosroan,[FN#25] I have heard the
+talk of men and their histories and I have looked into their conditions; but
+never saw I or heard I a bigger liar than the Chosroan which is with us in the
+jail." Quoth another, "And never did I see aught fouler than his favour or more
+hideous than his visnomy." Asked the Prince. "What have ye seen of his lying?";
+and they answered, "He pretendeth that he is one of the wise! Now the King came
+upon him, as he went a- hunting, and found with him a most beautiful woman and
+a horse of the blackest ebony, never saw I a handsomer. As for the damsel, she
+is with the King, who is enamoured of her and would fain marry her; but she is
+mad, and were this man a leach as he claimeth to be, he would have healed her,
+for the King doth his utmost to discover a cure for her case and a remedy for
+her disease, and this whole year past hath he spent treasure upon physicians
+and astrologers, on her account; but none can avail to cure her. As for the
+horse, it is in the royal hoard-house, and the ugly man is here with us in
+prison; and as soon as night falleth, he weepeth and bemoaneth himself and will
+not let us sleep."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the warders had
+recounted the case of the Persian egromancer they held in prison and his
+weeping and wailing, the Prince at once devised a device whereby he might
+compass his desire; and presently the guards of the gate, being minded to
+sleep, led him into the jail and locked the door. So he overheard the Persian
+weeping and bemoaning himself, in his own tongue, and saying, "Alack, and alas
+for my sin, that I sinned against myself and against the King's son, in that
+which I did with the damsel; for I neither left her nor won my will of her! All
+this cometh of my lack of sense, in that I sought for myself that which I
+deserved not and which befitted not the like of me; for whoso seeketh what
+suiteth him not at all, falleth with the like of my fall." Now when the King's
+son heard this, he accosted him in Persian, saying, "How long will this weeping
+and wailing last? Say me, thinkest thou that hath befallen thee that which
+never befel other than thou?" Now when the Persian heard this, he made friends
+with him and began to complain to him of his case and misfortunes. And as soon
+as the morning morrowed, the warders took the Prince and carried him before
+their King, informing him that he had entered the city on the previous night,
+at a time when audience was impossible. Quoth the King to the Prince, "Whence
+comest thou and what is thy name and trade and why hast thou travelled hither?"
+He replied, "As to my name I am called in Persian Harjah;[FN#26] as to my
+country I come from the land of Fars; and I am of the men of art and especially
+of the art of medicine and healing the sick and those whom the Jinns drive mad.
+For this I go round about all countries and cities, to profit by adding
+knowledge to my knowledge, and whenever I see a patient I heal him and this is
+my craft."[FN#27] Now when the King heard this, he rejoiced with exceeding joy
+and said, "O excellent Sage, thou hast indeed come to us at a time when we need
+thee." Then he acquainted him with the case of the Princess, adding, "If thou
+cure her and recover her from her madness, thou shalt have of me everything
+thou seekest." Replied the Prince, "Allah save and favour the King: describe to
+me all thou hast seen of her insanity and tell me how long it is since the
+access attacked her; also how thou camest by her and the horse and the Sage."
+So the King told him the whole story, from first to last, adding, "The Sage is
+in goal." Quoth the Prince, "O auspicious King, and what hast thou done with
+the horse?" Quoth the King, "O youth, it is with me yet, laid up in one of my
+treasure-chambers," whereupon said the Prince within himself, "The best thing I
+can do is first to see the horse and assure myself of its condition. If it be
+whole and sound, all will be well and end well; but, if its motor-works be
+destroyed, I must find some other way of delivering my beloved." Thereupon he
+turned to the King and said to him, "O King, I must see the horse in question:
+haply I may find in it somewhat that will serve me for the recovery of the
+damsel." "With all my heart," replied the King, and taking him by the hand,
+showed him into the place where the horse was. The Prince went round about it,
+examining its condition, and found it whole and sound, whereat he rejoiced
+greatly and said to the King, "Allah save and exalt the King! I would fain go
+in to the damsel, that I may see how it is with her; for I hope in Allah to
+heal her by my healing hand through means of the horse." Then he bade them take
+care of the horse and the King carried him to the Princess's apartment where
+her lover found her wringing her hands and writhing and beating herself against
+the ground, and tearing her garments to tatters as was her wont; but there was
+no madness of Jinn in her, and she did this but that none might approach her.
+When the Prince saw her thus, he said to her, "No harm shall betide thee, O
+ravishment of the three worlds;" and went on to soothe her and speak her fair,
+till he managed to whisper, "I am Kamar al-Akmar;" whereupon she cried out with
+a loud cry and fell down fainting for excess of joy; but the King thought this
+was epilepsy[FN#28] brought on by her fear of him, and by her suddenly being
+startled. Then the Prince put his mouth to her ear and said to her, "O Shams
+al-Nahar, O seduction of the universe, have a care for thy life and mine and be
+patient and constant; for this our position needeth sufferance and skilful
+contrivance to make shift for our delivery from the tyrannical King. My first
+move will be now to go out to him and tell him that thou art possessed of a
+Jinn and hence thy madness; but that I will engage to heal thee and drive away
+the evil spirit, if he will at once unbind thy bonds. So when he cometh in to
+thee, do thou speak him smooth words, that he may think I have cured thee, and
+all will be done for us as we desire." Quoth she, "Hearkening and obedience;"
+and he went out to the King in joy and gladness, and said to him, "O august
+King, I have, by thy good fortune, discovered her disease and its remedy, and
+have cured her for thee. So now do thou go in to her and speak her softly and
+treat her kindly, and promise her what may please her; so shall all thou
+desirest of her be accomplished to thee."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince feigned
+himself a leach and went in to the damsel and made himself known to her and
+told her how he purposed to deliver her, she cried "Hearkening and obedience!"
+He then fared forth from her and sought the King and said, "Go thou in to her
+and speak her softly and promise her what may please her; so shall all thou
+desirest of her be accomplished to thee." Thereupon the King went in to her and
+when she saw him, she rose and kissing the ground before him, bade him welcome
+and said, "I admire how thou hast come to visit thy handmaid this day;" whereat
+he was ready to fly for joy and bade the waiting-women and the eunuchs attend
+her and carry her to the Hammam and make ready for her dresses and adornment.
+So they went in to her and saluted her, and she returned their salams with the
+goodliest language and after the pleasantest fashion; whereupon they clad her
+in royal apparel and, clasping a collar of jewels about her neck, carried her
+to the bath and served her there. Then they brought her forth, as she were the
+full moon; and, when she came into the King's presence, she saluted him and
+kissed ground before him; whereupon he joyed in her with joy exceeding and said
+to the Prince, "O Sage, O philosopher, all this is of thy blessing. Allah
+increase to us the benefit of thy healing breath!"[FN#29] The Prince replied,
+"O King, for the completion of her cure it behoveth that thou go forth, thou
+and all thy troops and guards, to the place where thou foundest her, not
+forgetting the beast of black wood which was with her; for therein is a devil;
+and, unless I exorcise him, he will return to her and afflict her at the head
+of every month." "With love and gladness," cried the King, "O thou Prince of
+all philosophers and most learned of all who see the light of day." Then he
+brought out the ebony horse to the meadow in question and rode thither with all
+his troops and the Princess, little weeting the purpose of the Prince. Now when
+they came to the appointed place, the Prince, still habited as a leach, bade
+them set the Princess and the steed as far as eye could reach from the King and
+his troops, and said to him, "With thy leave, and at thy word, I will now
+proceed to the fumigations and conjurations, and here imprison the adversary of
+mankind, that he may never more return to her. After this, I shall mount this
+wooden horse which seemeth to be made of ebony, and take the damsel up behind
+me; whereupon it will shake and sway to and fro and fare forwards, till it come
+to thee, when the affair will be at an end; and after this thou mayst do with
+her as thou wilt." When the King heard his words, he rejoiced with extreme joy;
+so the Prince mounted the horse and, taking the damsel up behind him, whilst
+the King and his troops watched him, bound her fast to him. Then he turned the
+ascending-pin and the horse took flight and soared with them high in air, till
+they disappeared from every eye. After this the King abode half the day,
+expecting their return; but they returned not. So when he despaired of them,
+repenting him greatly of that which he had done and grieving sore for the loss
+of the damsel, he went back to the city with his troops. He then sent for the
+Persian who was in prison and said to him, "O thou traitor, O thou villian, why
+didst thou hide from me the mystery of the ebony horse? And now a sharper hath
+come to me and hath carried it off, together with a slave-girl whose ornaments
+are worth a mint of money, and I shall never see anyone or anything of them
+again!" So the Persian related to him all his past, first and last, and the
+King was seized with a fit of fury which well-nigh ended his life. He shut
+himself up in his palace for a while, mourning and afflicted; but at last his
+Wazirs came in to him and applied themselves to comfort him, saying, "Verily,
+he who took the damsel is an enchanter, and praised be Allah who hath delivered
+thee from his craft and sorcery!" And they ceased not from him, till he was
+comforted for her loss. Thus far concerning the King; but as for the Prince, he
+continued his career towards his father's capital in joy and cheer, and stayed
+not till he alighted on his own palace, where he set the lady in safety; after
+which he went in to his father and mother and saluted them and acquainted them
+with her coming, whereat they were filled with solace and gladness. Then he
+spread great banquets for the towns-folk,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King's son spread
+great banquets for the towns-folk and they held high festival a whole month, at
+the end of which time he went in to the Princess and they took their joy of
+each other with exceeding joy. But his father brake the ebony horse in pieces
+and destroyed its mechanism for flight; moreover the Prince wrote a letter to
+the Princess's father, advising him of all that had befallen her and informing
+him how she was now married to him and in all health and happiness, and sent it
+by a messenger, together with costly presents and curious rarities. And when
+the messenger arrived at the city which was Sana'a and delivered the letter and
+the presents to the King, he read the missive and rejoiced greatly thereat and
+accepted the presents, honouring and rewarding the bearer handsomely. Moreover,
+he forwarded rich gifts to his son-in-law by the same messenger, who returned
+to his master and acquainted him with what had passed; whereat he was much
+cheered. And after this the Prince wrote a letter every year to his
+father-in-law and sent him presents till, in course of time, his sire King
+Sabur deceased and he reigned in his stead, ruling justly over his lieges and
+conducting himself well and righteously towards them, so that the land
+submitted to him and his subjects did him loyal service; and Kamar al-Akmar and
+his wife Shams al-Nahar abode in the enjoyment of all satisfaction and solace
+of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of deligights and Sunderer of
+societies; the Plunderer of palaces, the Caterer for cemeteries and the
+Garnerer of graves. And now glory be to the Living One who dieth not and in
+whose hand is the dominion of the worlds visible and invisible! Moreover I have
+heard tell the tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap02"></a>UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR'S DAUGHTER AL-WARD
+FI'L-AKMAM OR ROSE-IN-HOOD.[FN#30]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before, a King
+of great power and lord of glory and dominion galore; who had a Wazir Ibrahim
+hight, and this Wazir's daughter was a damsel of extraordinary beauty and
+loveliness, gifted with passing brilliancy and the perfection of grace,
+possessed of abundant wit, and in all good breeding complete. But she loved
+wassail and wine and the human face divine and choice verses and rare stories;
+and the delicacy of her inner gifts invited all hearts to love, even as saith
+the poet, describing her,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Like moon she shines amid the starry sky, *<br/>
+
+          Robing in tresses blackest ink outvie.<br/>
+
+     The morning-breezes give her boughs fair drink, *<br/>
+
+          And like a branch she sways with supple ply:<br/>
+
+     She smiles in passing us. O thou that art *<br/>
+
+          Fairest in yellow robed, or cramoisie,<br/>
+
+     Thou playest with my wit in love, as though *<br/>
+
+          Sparrow in hand of playful boy were I."[FN#31]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her name was Rose-in-Hood and she was so named for her young and tender beauty
+and the freshness of her brilliancy; and the King loved her in his cups because
+of her accomplishments and fine manners. Now it was the King's custom yearly to
+gather together all the nobles of his realm and play with the ball.[FN#32] So
+when the day came round whereon the folk assembled for ballplay, the Minister's
+daughter seated herself at her lattice, to divert herself by looking on at the
+game; and, as they were at play, her glance fell upon a youth among the guards
+than whom never was seen a comelier face nor a goodlier form; for he was bright
+of favour showing white teeth when he smiled, tall-statured and
+broad-shouldered. She looked at him again and again and could not take her fill
+of gazing; and presently said to her nurse, "What is the name of yonder
+handsome young man among the troops?" Replied the nurse, "O my daughter, the
+dear fellows are all handsome. Which of them dost thou mean?" Said
+Rose-in-Hood, "Wait till he come past and I will point him out to thee." So she
+took an apple and as he rode by dropped it on him, whereupon he raised his
+head, to see who did this, and espied the Wazir's daughter at the window, as
+she were the moon of fullest light in the darkness of the night; nor did he
+withdraw his eyes, till his heart was utterly lost to her, and he recited these
+lines,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Was't archer shot me, or was't thine eyes *<br/>
+
+          Ruined lover's heart that thy charms espies?<br/>
+
+     Was the notched shaft[FN#33] from a host outshot, *<br/>
+
+          Or from latticed window in sudden guise?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the game was at an end, and all had left the ground, she asked her nurse,
+"What is the name of that youth I showed thee?"; and the good woman answered,
+"His name is Uns al-Wujud;" whereat Rose-in-Hood shook her head and lay down on
+her couch, with thoughts a-fire for love. Then, sighing deeply, she improvised
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "He missed not who dubbed thee, 'World's delight,' *<br/>
+
+          A world's love conjoining to bounty's light:[FN#34]<br/>
+
+     O thou, whose favour the full moon favours, *<br/>
+
+          Whose charms make life and the living bright!<br/>
+
+     Thou hast none equal among mankind; *<br/>
+
+          Sultan of Beauty, and proof I'll cite:<br/>
+
+     Thine eye-brows are likest a well-formed Nϊn,[FN#35] *<br/>
+
+          And thine eyes a Sαd,[FN#36] by His hand indite;<br/>
+
+     Thy shape is the soft, green bough that gives *<br/>
+
+          When asked to all with all-gracious sprite:<br/>
+
+     Thou excellest knights of the world in stowre, *<br/>
+
+          With delight and beauty and bounty dight."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When she had finished her verses, she wrote them on a sheet of paper, which she
+folded in a piece of golf-embroidered silk and placed under her pillow. Now one
+of her nurses had seen her; so she came up to her and held her in talk till she
+slept, when she stole the scroll from under her pillow; and, after reading it,
+knew that she had fallen in love with Uns al-Wujud. Then she returned the
+scroll to its place and when her mistress awoke, she said to her, "O my lady,
+indeed I am to thee a true counsellor and am tenderly anxious on thy account.
+Know that love is a tyrant and the hiding it melteth iron and entaileth
+sickness and unease; nor for whoso confesseth it is there aught of reproach."
+Rejoined Rose-in-Hood, "And what is the medicine of passion, O nurse mine?"
+Answered the nurse, "The medicine of passion is enjoyment" Quoth she, "And how
+may one come by enjoyment?" Quoth the other, "By letters and messages, my lady;
+by whispered words of compliment and by greetings before the world;[FN#37] all
+this bringeth lovers together and makes hard matters easy. So if thou have
+aught at heart, mistress mine, I am the fittest to keep thy secret and do thy
+desires and carry thy letters." Now when the damsel heard this, her reason flew
+and fled for joy; but she restrained herself from speech till she should see
+the issue of the matter, saying within herself, "None knoweth this thing of me,
+nor will I trust this one with my secret, till I have tried her." Then said the
+woman, "O my lady, I saw in my sleep as though a man came to me and said: 'Thy
+mistress and Uns al-Wujud love each other; so do thou serve their case by
+carrying their messages and doing their desires and keeping their secrets; and
+much good shall befal thee.' So now I have told thee my vision and it is thine
+to decide." Quoth Rose-in-Hood, after she heard of the dream,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Rose-in- Hood asked her
+nurse after hearing of the dream, "Tell me, canst thou keep a secret, O my
+nurse?"; whereto she answered, "And how should I not keep secrecy, I that am of
+the flower of the free?"[FN#38] Then the maiden pulled out the scroll, whereon
+she had written the verses and said, "Carry me this my letter to Uns al-Wujud
+and bring me his reply." The nurse took the letter and, repairing to Uns
+al-Wujud, kissed his hands and greeted him right courteously, then gave him the
+paper; and he read it and, comprehending the contents, wrote on the back these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I soothe my heart and my love repel; *<br/>
+
+          But my state interprets my love too well:<br/>
+
+     When tears flow I tell them mine eyes are ill, *<br/>
+
+          Lest the censor see and my case fortell,<br/>
+
+     I was fancy-free and unknew I Love; *<br/>
+
+          But I fell in love and in madness fell.<br/>
+
+     I show you my case and complain of pain, *<br/>
+
+          Pine and ecstasy that your ruth compel:<br/>
+
+     I write you with tears of eyes, so belike *<br/>
+
+          They explain the love come my heart to quell;<br/>
+
+     Allah guard a face that is veiled with charms, *<br/>
+
+          Whose thrall is Moon and the Stars as well:<br/>
+
+     In her beauty I never beheld the like; *<br/>
+
+          From her sway the branches learn sway and swell:<br/>
+
+     I beg you, an 'tis not too much of pains, *<br/>
+
+          To call;[FN#39] 'twere boon without parallel.<br/>
+
+     I give you a soul you will haply take. *<br/>
+
+          To which Union is Heaven, Disunion Hell."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he folded the letter and kissing it, gave it to the go- between and said
+to her, "O nurse, incline the lady's heart to me." "To hear is to obey,"
+answered she and carried the script to her mistress, who kissed it and laid it
+on her head, then she opened it and read it and understood it and wrote at the
+foot of it these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "O whose heart by our beauty is captive ta'en, *<br/>
+
+          Have patience and all thou shalt haply gain!<br/>
+
+     When we knew that thy love was a true affect, *<br/>
+
+          And what pained our heart to thy heart gave pain,<br/>
+
+     We had granted thee wished-for call and more; *<br/>
+
+          But hindered so doing the chamberlain.<br/>
+
+     When the night grows dark, through our love's excess *<br/>
+
+          Fire burns our vitals with might and main:<br/>
+
+     And sleep from our beds is driven afar, *<br/>
+
+          And our bodies are tortured by passion-bane.<br/>
+
+     'Hide Love!' in Love's code is the first command; *<br/>
+
+          And from raising his veil thy hand restrain:<br/>
+
+     I fell love-fulfilled by yon gazelle: *<br/>
+
+          Would he never wander from where I dwell!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then she folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and went out
+from her mistress to seek the young man; but, as she would fare forth, the
+chamberlain met her and said to her, "Whither away?" "To the bath," answered
+she; but in her fear and confusion, she dropped the letter, without knowing it,
+and went off unrecking what she had done; when one of the eunuchs, seeing it
+lying in the way, picked it up. When the nurse came without the door, she
+sought for it, but found it not, so turned back to her mistress and told her of
+this and what had befallen her. Meanwhile, the Wazir came out of the Harim and
+seated himself on his couch; whereupon behold, the eunuch, who had picked up
+the letter, came in to him, hending it in hand and said, "O my lord, I found
+this paper lying upon the floor and picked it up." So the Minister took it from
+his hand, folded as it was, and opening it, read the verses as above set down.
+Then, after mastering the meaning, he examined the writing and knew it for his
+daughter's hand; whereupon he went to her mother, weeping so abundant tears
+that his beard was wetted. His wife asked him, "What maketh thee weep, O my
+lord?"; and he answered, "Take this letter and see what is therein." So she
+took it and found it to be a love-letter from her daughter Rose-in-Hood to Uns
+al-Wujud: whereupon the ready drops sprang to her eyes; but she composed her
+mind, and, gulping down her tears, said to her husband, "O my lord, there is no
+profit in weeping: the right course is to cast about for a means of keeping
+thine honour and concealing the affair of thy daughter." And she went on to
+comfort him and lighten his trouble; but he said, "I am fearful for my daughter
+by reason of this new passion. Knowest thou not that the Sultan loveth Uns al-
+Wujud with exceeding love? And my fear hath two causes. The first concerneth
+myself; it is, that she is my daughter: the second is on account of the King;
+for that Uns al-Wujud is a favourite with the Sultan and peradventure great
+troubles shall come out of this affair. What deemest thou should be done?"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir, after
+recounting the affair of his daughter, asked his wife, "What deemest thou
+should be done?" And she answered, "Have patience whilst I pray the prayer for
+right direction." So she prayed a two-bow prayer according to the
+prophetic[FN#40] ordinance for seeking divine guidance; after which she said to
+her husband, "In the midst of the Sea of Treasures[FN#41] standeth a mountain
+named the Mount of the Bereaved Mother (the cause of which being so called
+shall presently follow in its place, Inshallah!); and thither can none have
+access, save with pains and difficulty and distress: do thou make that same her
+abiding-place." Accordingly the Minister and his wife agreed to build on that
+mountain a virgin castle and lodge their daughter therein with the necessary
+provision to be renewed year by year and attendants to cheer and to serve her.
+Accordingly he collected carpenters, builders and architects and despatched
+them to the mountain, where they builded her an impregnable castle, never saw
+eyes the like thereof. Then he made ready vivers and carriage for the journey
+and, going in to his daughter by night, bade her prepare to set out on a
+pleasure-excursion. Thereupon her heart presaged the sorrows of separation and,
+when she went forth and saw the preparations for the journey, she wept with
+sore weeping and wrote that upon the door which might acquaint her lover with
+what had passed and with the transports of passion and grief that were upon
+her, transports such as would make the flesh to shiver and hair to stare, and
+melt the hardest stone with care, and tear from every eye a tear. And what she
+wrote were these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "By Allah, O thou house, if my beloved a morn go by, *<br/>
+
+      And greet with signs and signals lover e'er is wont to fly,<br/>
+
+   I pray thee give him our salams in pure and fragrant guise, *<br/>
+
+      For he indeed may never know where we this eve shall lie.<br/>
+
+   I wot not whither they have fared, thus bearing us afar *<br/>
+
+      At speed, and lightly-quipt, the lighter from one love to<br/>
+
+      fly:<br/>
+
+   When starkens night, the birds in brake or branches snugly<br/>
+
+      perched * Wail for our sorrow and announce our hapless<br/>
+
+      destiny:<br/>
+
+   The tongue of their condition saith, 'Alas, alas for woe, *<br/>
+
+      And heavy brunt of parting-blow two lovers must aby':<br/>
+
+   When viewed I separation-cups were filled to the brim *<br/>
+
+      And us with merest sorrow-wine Fate came so fast to ply,<br/>
+
+   I mixed them with becoming share of patience self to excuse, *<br/>
+
+      But Patience for the loss of you her solace doth refuse."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when she ended her lines, she mounted and they set forward with her,
+crossing and cutting over wold and wild and riant dale and rugged hill, till
+they came to the shore of the Sea of Treasures; here they pitched their tents
+and built her a great ship, wherein they went down with her and her suite and
+carried them over to the mountain. The Minister had ordered them, on reaching
+the journey's end, to set her in the castle and to make their way back to the
+shore, where they were to break up the vessel. So they did his bidding and
+returned home, weeping over what had befallen. Such was their case; but as
+regards Uns al- Wujud, he arose from sleep and prayed the dawn-prayer, after
+which he took horse and rode forth to attend upon the Sultan. On his way, he
+passed by the Wazir's house, thinking perchance to see some of his followers as
+of wont; but he saw no one and, looking upon the door, he read written thereon
+the verses aforesaid. At this sight, his senses failed him; fire was kindled in
+his vitals and he returned to his lodging, where he passed the day in trouble
+and transports of grief, without finding ease or patience, till night darkened
+upon him, when his yearning and love-longing redoubled. Thereupon, by way of
+concealment, he disguised himself in the ragged garb of a Fakir,[FN#42] and set
+out wandering at random through the glooms of night, distracted and knowing not
+whither he went. So he wandered on all that night and next day, till the heat
+of the sun waxed fierce and the mountains flamed like fire and thirst was
+grievous upon him. Presently, he espied a tree, by whose side was a thin thread
+of running water; so he made towards it and sitting down in the shade, on the
+bank of the rivulet, essayed to drink, but found that the water had no taste in
+his mouth;[FN#43] and, indeed his colour had changed and his face had yellowed,
+and his feet were swollen with travel and travail. So he shed copious tears and
+repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "The lover is drunken with love of friend; *<br/>
+
+      On a longing that groweth his joys depend:<br/>
+
+   Love-distracted, ardent, bewildered, lost *<br/>
+
+      From home, nor may food aught of pleasure lend:<br/>
+
+   How can life be delightsome to one in love, *<br/>
+
+      And from lover parted, 'twere strange, unkenned!<br/>
+
+   I melt with the fire of my pine for them, *<br/>
+
+      And the tears down my cheek in a stream descend.<br/>
+
+   Shall I see them, say me, or one that comes *<br/>
+
+      From the camp, who th' afflicted heart shall tend?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And after thus reciting he wept till he wetted the hard dry ground; but anon
+without loss of time he rose and fared on again over waste and wold, till there
+came out upon him a lion, with a neck buried in tangled mane, a head the
+bigness of a dome, a mouth wider than the door thereof and teeth like
+elephants' tusks. Now when Uns al-Wujud saw him, he gave himself up for lost,
+and turning[FN#44] towards the Temple of Meccah, pronounced the professions of
+the faith and prepared for death. He had read in books that whoso will flatter
+the lion, beguileth him,[FN#45] for that he is readily duped by smooth speech
+and gentled by being glorified; so he began and said, "O Lion of the forest! O
+Lord of the waste! O terrible Leo! O father of fighters! O Sultan of wild
+beasts! Behold, I am a lover in longing, whom passion and severance have been
+wronging; since I parted from my dear, I have lost my reasoning gear;
+wherefore, to my speech do thou give ear and have ruth on my passion and hope
+and fear." When the lion heard this, he drew back from him and sitting down on
+his hindquarters, raised his head to him and began to frisk tail and paws;
+which when Uns al-Wujud saw, he recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "Lion of the wold wilt thou murther me, *<br/>
+
+      Ere I meet her who doomed me to slavery?<br/>
+
+    I am not game and I bear no fat; *<br/>
+
+      For the loss of my love makes me sickness dree;<br/>
+
+   And estrangement from her hath so worn me down *<br/>
+
+      I am like a shape in a shroud we see.<br/>
+
+   O thou sire of spoils,[FN#46] O thou lion of war, *<br/>
+
+      Give not my pains to the blamer's gree.<br/>
+
+   I burn with love, I am drowned in tears *<br/>
+
+      For a parting from lover, sore misery!<br/>
+
+   And my thoughts of her in the murk of night *<br/>
+
+      For love hath make my being unbe."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As he had finished his lines the lion rose,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as Uns al- Wujud ended
+his lines, the lion arose and stalked slowly up to him, with eyes tear-railing
+and licked him with his tongue, then walked on before him, signing to him as
+though saying, "Follow me." So he followed him, and the beast ceased not
+leading him on for a while till he brought him up a mountain, and guided him to
+the farther side, where he came upon the track of a caravan over the desert,
+and knew it to be that of Rose-in-Hood and her company. Then he took the trail
+and, when the lion saw that he knew the track for that of the party which
+escorted her, he turned back and went his way; whilst Uns al-Wujud walked along
+the foot-marks day and night, till they brought him to a dashing sea, swollen
+with clashing surge. The trail led down to the sandy shore and there broke off;
+whereby he knew that they had taken ship and had continued their journey by
+water. So he lost hope of finding his lover and with hot tears he repeated
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "Far is the fane and patience faileth me; *<br/>
+
+      How can I seek them[FN#47] o'er the abyssmal sea;<br/>
+
+   Or how be patient, when my vitals burn *<br/>
+
+      For love of them, and sleep waxed insomny?<br/>
+
+   Since the sad day they left the home and fled, *<br/>
+
+      My heart's consumed by love's ardency:<br/>
+
+   Sayhun, Jayhun,[FN#48] Euphrates-like my tears, *<br/>
+
+      Make flood no deluged rain its like can see:<br/>
+
+   Mine eyelids chafed with running tears remain, *<br/>
+
+      My heart from fiery sparks is never free;<br/>
+
+   The hosts of love and longing pressed me *<br/>
+
+      And made the hosts of patience break and flee.<br/>
+
+   I've risked my life too freely for their love; *<br/>
+
+      And risk of life the least of ills shall be.<br/>
+
+   Allah ne'er punish eye that saw those charms *<br/>
+
+      Enshrined, and passing full moon's brilliancy!<br/>
+
+   I found me felled by fair wide-opened eyes, *<br/>
+
+      Which pierced my heart with stringless archery:<br/>
+
+   And soft, lithe, swaying shape enraptured me *<br/>
+
+      As sway the branches of the willow-tree:<br/>
+
+   Wi' them I covet union that I win, *<br/>
+
+      O'er love-pains cark and care, a mastery.<br/>
+
+   For love of them aye, morn and eve I pine, *<br/>
+
+      And doubt all came to me from evil eyne."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when his lines were ended he wept, till he swooned away, and abode in his
+swoon a long while; but as soon as he came to himself, he looked right and left
+and seeing no one in the desert, he became fearful of the wild beasts; so he
+clomb to the top of a high mountain, where he heard the voice of a son of Adam
+speaking within a cave. He listened and lo! they were the accents of a devotee,
+who had forsworn the world and given himself up to pious works and worship. He
+knocked thrice at the cavern-door, but the hermit made him no answer, neither
+came forth to him; wherefore he groaned aloud and recited these couplets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "What pathway find I my desire t'obtain, *<br/>
+
+      How 'scape from care and cark and pain and bane?<br/>
+
+   All terrors join to make me old and hoar *<br/>
+
+      Of head and heart, ere youth from me is ta'en:<br/>
+
+   Nor find I any aid my passion, nor *<br/>
+
+      A friend to lighten load of bane and pain.<br/>
+
+   How great and many troubles I've endured! *<br/>
+
+      Fortune hath turned her back I see unfain.<br/>
+
+   Ah mercy, mercy on the lover's heart, *<br/>
+
+      Doomed cup of parting and desertion drain!<br/>
+
+   A fire is in his heart, his vitals waste, *<br/>
+
+      And severance made his reason vainest vain.<br/>
+
+   How dread the day I came to her abode *<br/>
+
+      And saw the writ they wrote on doorway lain!<br/>
+
+   I wept, till gave I earth to drink my grief; *<br/>
+
+      But still to near and far[FN#49] I did but feign:<br/>
+
+   Then strayed I till in waste a lion sprang *<br/>
+
+      On me, and but for flattering words had slain:<br/>
+
+   I soothed him: so he spared me and lent me aid, *<br/>
+
+      He too might haply of love's taste complain.<br/>
+
+   O devotee, that idlest in thy cave, *<br/>
+
+      Meseems eke thou hast learned Love's might and main;<br/>
+
+   But if, at end of woes, with them I league, *<br/>
+
+      Straight I'll forget all suffering and fatigue."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold! the door of the cavern
+opened and he heard one say, "Alas, the pity of it!"[FN#50] So he entered and
+saluted the devotee, who returned his salam and asked him, "What is thy name?"
+Answered the young man, "Uns al-Wujud." "And what caused thee to come hither?"
+quoth the hermit. So he told him his story in its entirety, omitting naught of
+his misfortunes; whereat he wept and said, "O Uns al- Wujud, these twenty years
+have I passed in this place, but never beheld I any man here, until yesterday,
+when I heard a noise of weeping and lamentation and, looking forth in the
+direction of the sound, saw many people and tents pitched on the sea-shore; and
+the party at once proceeded to build a ship, in which certain of them embarked
+and sailed over the waters. Then some of the crew returned with the ship and
+breaking it up, went their way; and I suspect that those who embarked in the
+ship and returned not, are they whom thou seekest. In that case, O Uns
+al-Wujud, thy grief must needs be great and sore and thou art excusable, though
+never yet was lover but suffered love-longing." Then he recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "Uns al-Wujud, dost deem me fancy-free, *<br/>
+
+      When pine and longing slay and quicken me?<br/>
+
+   I have known love and yearning from the years *<br/>
+
+      Since mother-milk I drank, nor e'er was free.<br/>
+
+    Long struggled I with Love, till learnt his might; *<br/>
+
+      Ask thou of him, he'll tell with willing gree.<br/>
+
+   Love-sick and pining drank I passion-cup, *<br/>
+
+      And well-nigh perished in mine agony.<br/>
+
+   Strong was I, but my strength to weakness turned, *<br/>
+
+      And eye-sword brake through Patience armoury:<br/>
+
+   Hope not to win love-joys, without annoy; *<br/>
+
+      Contrary ever links with contrary.<br/>
+
+   But fear not change from lover true; be true *<br/>
+
+      Unto thy wish, some day thine own 'twill be.<br/>
+
+   Love hath forbidden to his votaries *<br/>
+
+      Relinquishment as deadliest heresy."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The eremite, having ended his verse, rose and, coming up to Uns al-Wujud,
+embraced him,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eremite having ended
+his verse, rose and coming up to Uns al-Wujud embraced him, and they wept
+together, till the hills rang with their cries and they fell down fainting.
+When they revived, they swore brotherhood[FN#51] in Allah Almighty; after which
+said Uns al-Wujud, "This very night will I pray to God and seek of Him
+direction[FN#52] anent what thou shouldst do to attain thy desire." Thus it was
+with them; but as regards Rose-in-Hood, when they brought her to the mountain
+and set her in the castle and she beheld its ordering, she wept and exclaimed,
+"By Allah, thou art a goodly place, save that thou lackest in thee the presence
+of the beloved!"[FN#53] Then seeing birds in the island, she bade her people
+set snares for them and put all they caught in cages within the castle; and
+they did so. But she sat at a lattice and bethought her of what had passed, and
+desire and passion and distraction redoubled upon her, till she burst into
+tears and repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "O to whom now, of my desire complaining sore, shall I *<br/>
+
+      Bewail my parting from my fere compellθd thus to fly?<br/>
+
+   Flames rage within what underlies my ribs, yet hide them I *<br/>
+
+      In deepest secret dreading aye the jealous hostile spy:<br/>
+
+   I am grown as lean, attenuate as any pick of tooth,[FN#54] *<br/>
+
+      By sore estrangement, absence, ardour, ceaseless sob and<br/>
+
+      sigh.<br/>
+
+   Where is the eye of my beloved to see how I'm become *<br/>
+
+      Like tree stripped bare of leafage left to linger and to<br/>
+
+      die.<br/>
+
+   They tyrannised over me whom they confined in place *<br/>
+
+      Whereto the lover of my heart may never draw him nigh:<br/>
+
+   I beg the Sun for me to give greetings a thousandfold, *<br/>
+
+      At time of rising and again when setting from the sky,<br/>
+
+   To the beloved one who shames a full moon's loveliness, *<br/>
+
+      When shows that slender form that doth the willow-branch<br/>
+
+      outvie.<br/>
+
+   If Rose herself would even with his cheek, I say of her *<br/>
+
+      'Thou art not like it if to me my portion thou<br/>
+
+      deny:'[FN#55]<br/>
+
+   His honey-dew of lips is like the grateful water draught *<br/>
+
+      Would cool me when a fire in heart upflameth fierce and<br/>
+
+      high:<br/>
+
+   How shall I give him up who is my heart and soul of me, *<br/>
+
+      My malady my wasting cause, my love, sole leach of me?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, as the glooms of night closed around her, her yearning increased and she
+called to mind the past and recited also these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "'Tis dark: my transport and unease now gather might and main,<br/>
+
+      * And love-desire provoketh me to wake my wonted pain:<br/>
+
+   The pang of parting takes for ever place within my breast, *<br/>
+
+      And pining makes me desolate in destitution lain.<br/>
+
+   Ecstasy sore maltreats my soul and yearning burns my sprite, *<br/>
+
+      And tears betray love's secresy which I would lief contain:<br/>
+
+   I weet no way, I know no case that can make light my load, *<br/>
+
+      Or heal my wasting body or cast out from me this bane.<br/>
+
+   A hell of fire is in my heart upflames with lambent tongue *<br/>
+
+      And Laza's furnace-fires within my liver place have ta'en.<br/>
+
+   O thou, exaggerating blame for what befel, enough *<br/>
+
+      I bear with patience whatsoe'er hath writ for me the Pen!<br/>
+
+   I swear, by Allah, ne'er to find aught comfort for their loss;<br/>
+
+      * "Tis oath of passion's children and their oaths are ne'er<br/>
+
+      in vain.<br/>
+
+   O Night! Salams of me to friends and let to them be known *<br/>
+
+      Of thee true knowledge how I wake and waking ever wone."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, the hermit said to Uns al-Wujud, "Go down to the palm- grove in the
+valley and fetch some fibre."[FN#56] So he went and returned with the
+palm-fibre, which the hermit took and, twisting into ropes, make therewith a
+net,[FN#57] such as is used for carrying straw; after which he said, "O Uns
+al-Wujud, in the heart of the valley groweth a gourd, which springeth up and
+drieth upon its roots. Go down there and fill this sack therewith; then tie it
+together and, casting it into the water, embark thereon and make for the midst
+of the sea, so haply thou shalt win thy wish; for whoso never ventureth shall
+not have what he seeketh." "I hear and obey," answered Uns al-Wujud. Then he
+bade the hermit farewell after the holy man had prayed for him; and, betaking
+himself to the sole of the valley, did as his adviser had counselled him; made
+the sack, launched it upon the water, and pushed from shore. Then there arose a
+wind, which drave him out to sea, till he was lost to the eremite's view; and
+he ceased not to float over the abysses of the ocean, one billow tossing him up
+and another bearing him down (and he beholding the while the dangers and
+marvels of the deep), for the space of three days. At the end of that time Fate
+cast him upon the Mount of the Bereft Mother, where he landed, giddy and
+tottering like a chick unfledged, and at the last of his strength for hunger
+and thirst; but, finding there streams flowing and birds on the branches cooing
+and fruit-laden trees in clusters and singly growing, he ate of the fruits and
+drank of the rills. Then he walked on till he saw some white thing afar off,
+and making for it, found that it was a strongly fortified castle. So he went up
+to the gate and seeing it locked, sat down by it; and there he sat for three
+days when behold, the gate opened and an eunuch came out, who finding Uns
+al-Wujud there seated, said to him, "Whence camest thou and who brought thee
+hither?" Quoth he, "From Ispahan and I was voyaging with merchandise when my
+ship was wrecked and the waves cast me upon the farther side of this island."
+Whereupon the eunuch wept and embraced him, saying, "Allah preserve thee, O
+thou friendly face! Ispahan is mine own country and I have there a cousin, the
+daughter of my father's brother, whom I loved from my childhood and cherished
+with fond affection; but a people stronger than we fell upon us in foray and
+taking me among other booty, cut off my yard[FN#58] and sold me for a castrato,
+whilst I was yet a lad; and this is how I came to be in such case."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch who came forth
+from the castle, where Rose-in-Hood was confined, told Uns al-Wujud all his
+tale and said:—"The raiders who captured me cut off my yard and sold me for a
+castrato; and this is how I came to be in such case."[FN#59] And after saluting
+him and wishing him long life, the eunuch carried him into the courtyard of the
+castle, where he saw a great tank of water, surrounded by trees, on whose
+branches hung cages of silver, with doors of gold, and therein birds were
+warbling and singing the praises of the Requiting King. And when he came to the
+first cage he looked in and lo! a turtle dove, on seeing him, raised her voice
+and cried out, saying, "O Thou Bounty-fraught!" Whereat he fell down fainting
+and after coming to himself, he sighed heavily and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "O turtle dove, like me art thou distraught? *<br/>
+
+      Then pray the Lord and sing 'O Bounty-fraught!'<br/>
+
+   Would I knew an thy moan were sign of joy, *<br/>
+
+      Or cry of love-desire in heart inwrought,—<br/>
+
+   An moan thou pining for a lover gone *<br/>
+
+      Who left thee woe begone to pine in thought,—<br/>
+
+   Or if like me hast lost thy fondest friend, *<br/>
+
+      And severance long desire to memory brought?<br/>
+
+   O Allah, guard a faithful lover's lot *<br/>
+
+      I will not leave her though my bones go rot!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, after ending his verses, he fainted again; and, presently reviving he
+went on to the second cage, wherein he found a ringdove. When it saw him, it
+sang out, "O Eternal, I thank thee!" and he groaned and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "I heard a ringdove chanting plaintively, *<br/>
+
+      'I thank Thee, O Eternal for this misery!'<br/>
+
+   Haply, perchance, may Allah, of His grace, *<br/>
+
+      Send me by this long round my love to see.<br/>
+
+   Full oft[FN#60] she comes with honeyed lips dark red, *<br/>
+
+      And heaps up lowe upon love's ardency.<br/>
+
+   Quoth I (while longing fires flame high and fierce *<br/>
+
+      In heart, and wasting life's vitality,<br/>
+
+   And tears like gouts of blood go railing down *<br/>
+
+      In torrents over cheeks now pale of blee),<br/>
+
+   'None e'er trod earth that was not born to woe, *<br/>
+
+      But I will patient dree mine agony,<br/>
+
+   So help me Allah! till that happy day *<br/>
+
+      When with my mistress I unite shall be:<br/>
+
+   Then will I spend my good on lover-wights, *<br/>
+
+      Who're of my tribe and of the faith of me;<br/>
+
+   And loose the very birds from jail set free, *<br/>
+
+      And change my grief for gladdest gree and glee!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he went on to the third cage, wherein he found a mockingbird[FN#61] which,
+when it saw him, set up a song, and he recited the following couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "Pleaseth me yon Hazar of mocking strain *<br/>
+
+      Like voice of lover pained by love in vain.<br/>
+
+   Woe's me for lovers! Ah how many men *<br/>
+
+      By nights and pine and passion low are lain!<br/>
+
+   As though by stress of love they had been made *<br/>
+
+      Morn-less and sleep-less by their pain and bane.<br/>
+
+   When I went daft for him who conquered me *<br/>
+
+      And pined for him who proved of proudest strain,<br/>
+
+   My tears in streams down trickled and I cried *<br/>
+
+      'These long-linkt tears bind like an adamant-chain:'<br/>
+
+   Grew concupiscence, severance long, and I *<br/>
+
+      Lost Patience' hoards and grief waxed sovereign:<br/>
+
+   If Justice bide in world and me unite *<br/>
+
+      With him I love and Allah veil us deign,<br/>
+
+   I'll strip my clothes that he my form shall sight *<br/>
+
+      With parting, distance, grief, how poor of plight!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he went to the fourth cage, where he found a Bulbul[FN#62] which, at sight
+of him, began to sway to and fro and sing its plaintive descant; and when he
+heard its complaint, he burst into tears and repeated these couplets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "The Bulbul's note, whenas dawn is nigh, *<br/>
+
+      Tells the lover from strains of strings to fly:<br/>
+
+   Complaineth for passion Uns al-Wujud, *<br/>
+
+      For pine that would being to him deny.<br/>
+
+   How many a strain do we hear, whose sound *<br/>
+
+      Softens stones and the rock can mollify:<br/>
+
+   And the breeze of morning that sweetly speaks *<br/>
+
+      Of meadows in flowered greenery.<br/>
+
+   And scents and sounds in the morning-tide *<br/>
+
+      Of birds and zephyrs in fragrance vie;<br/>
+
+   But I think of one, of an absent friend, *<br/>
+
+      And tears rail like rain from a showery sky;<br/>
+
+   And the flamy tongues in my breast uprise *<br/>
+
+      As sparks from gleed that in dark air fly.<br/>
+
+   Allah deign vouchsafe to a lover distraught *<br/>
+
+      Someday the face of his dear to descry!<br/>
+
+   For lovers, indeed, no excuse is clear, *<br/>
+
+      Save excuse of sight and excuse of eye."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he walked on a little and came to a goodly cage, than which was no
+goodlier there, and in it a culver of the forest, that is to say, a
+wood-pigeon,[FN#63] the bird renowned among birds as the minstrel of
+love-longing, with a collar of jewels about its neck marvellous fine and fair.
+He considered it awhile and, seeing it absently brooding in its cage, he shed
+tears and repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "O culver of copse,[FN#64] with salams I greet; *<br/>
+
+      O brother of lovers who woe must weet!<br/>
+
+   I love a gazelle who is slender-slim, *<br/>
+
+      Whose glances for keenness the scymitar beat:<br/>
+
+   For her love are my heart and my vitals a-fire, *<br/>
+
+      And my frame consumes in love's fever-heat.<br/>
+
+   The sweet taste of food is unlawful for me, *<br/>
+
+      And forbidden is slumber, unlawfullest sweet.<br/>
+
+   Endurance and solace have travelled from me, *<br/>
+
+      And love homes in my heart and grief takes firm seat:<br/>
+
+   How shall life deal joy when they flee my sight *<br/>
+
+      Who are joy and gladness and life and sprite?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as Uns al-Wujud
+had ended his verse, the wood-culver awoke from its brooding and cooed a reply
+to his lines and shrilled and trilled with its thrilling notes till it all but
+spake with human speech;[FN#65] and the tongue of the case talked for it and
+recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "O lover, thou bringest to thought a tide *<br/>
+
+      When the strength of my youth first faded and died;<br/>
+
+   And a friend of whose form I was 'namoured, *<br/>
+
+      Seductive and dight with beauty's pride;<br/>
+
+   Whose voice, as he sat on the sandhill-tree, *<br/>
+
+      From the Nay's[FN#66] sweet sound turned my heart aside;<br/>
+
+   A fowler snared him in net, the while *<br/>
+
+      'O that man would leave me at large!' he cried;<br/>
+
+   I had hoped he might somewhat of mercy show *<br/>
+
+      When a hapless lover he so espied;<br/>
+
+   But Allah smite him who tore me away, *<br/>
+
+      In his hardness of heart, from my lover's side;<br/>
+
+   But aye my desire for him groweth more, *<br/>
+
+      And my heart with the fires of disjunction is fried:<br/>
+
+   Allah guard a true lover, who strives with love, *<br/>
+
+      And hath borne the torments I still abide!<br/>
+
+   And, seeing me bound in this cage, with mind *<br/>
+
+      Of ruth, release me my love to find."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Uns al-Wujud turned to his companion, the Ispahahi, and said, "What palace
+is this? Who built it and who abideth in it?" Quoth the eunuch, "The Wazir of a
+certain King built it to guard his daughter, fearing for her the accidents of
+Time and the incidents of Fortune, and lodged her herein, her and her
+attendants; nor do we open it save once in every year, when their provision
+cometh to them." And Uns al-Wujud said to himself, "I have gained my end,
+though I may have long to wait." Such was his case; but as regards
+Rose-in-Hood, of a truth she took no pleasure in eating or drinking, sitting or
+sleeping; but her desire and passion and distraction redoubled on her, and she
+went wandering about the castle-corners, but could find no issue; wherefore she
+shed tears and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "They have cruelly ta'en me from him, my beloved, *<br/>
+
+      And made me taste anguish in prison ta'en:<br/>
+
+   They have fired my heart with the flames of love, *<br/>
+
+      Barred all sight of him whom to see I'm fain:<br/>
+
+   In a lofty palace they prisoned me *<br/>
+
+      On a mountain placed in the middle main.<br/>
+
+   If they'd have me forget him, right vain's their wish, *<br/>
+
+      For my love is grown of a stronger strain.<br/>
+
+   How can I forget him whose face was cause *<br/>
+
+      Of all I suffer, of all I 'plain?<br/>
+
+   The whole of my days in sorrow's spent, *<br/>
+
+      And in thought of him through the night I'm lain.<br/>
+
+   Remembrance of him cheers my solitude, *<br/>
+
+      While I lorn of his presence and lone remain.<br/>
+
+   Would I knew if, after this all, my fate *<br/>
+
+      To oblige the desire of my hear will deign."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When her verses were ended, she ascended to the terrace-roof of the castle
+after donning her richest clothes and trinkets and throwing a necklace of
+jewels around her neck. Then binding together some dresses of Ba'albak[FN#67]
+stuff by way of rope, she tied them to the crenelles and let herself down
+thereby to the ground. And she fared on over wastes and waterless wilds, till
+she came to the shore, where she saw a fisherman plying here and there over the
+sea, for the wind had driven him on to the island. When he saw her, he was
+affrighted[FN#68] and pushed off again, flying from her; but she cried out and
+made pressing signs to him to return, versifying with these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "O fisherman no care hast thou to fear, *<br/>
+
+      I'm but an earth-born maid in mortal sphere;<br/>
+
+   I pray thee linger and my prayer grant *<br/>
+
+      And to my true unhappy tale give ear:<br/>
+
+   Pity (so Allah spare thee!) warmest love; *<br/>
+
+      Say, hast thou seen him-my beloved fere?<br/>
+
+   I love a lovely youth whose face excels *<br/>
+
+      Sunlight, and passes moon when clearest clear:<br/>
+
+   The fawn, that sees his glance, is fain to cry *<br/>
+
+      'I am his thrall' and own himself no peer:<br/>
+
+   Beauty hath written, on his winsome cheek, *<br/>
+
+      Rare lines of pregnant sense for every seer;<br/>
+
+   Who sights the light of love his soul is saved; *<br/>
+
+      Who strays is Infidel to Hell anear:<br/>
+
+   An thou in mercy show his sight, O rare![FN#69] *<br/>
+
+      Thou shalt have every wish, the dearest dear,<br/>
+
+   Of rubies and what likest are to them *<br/>
+
+      Fresh pearls and unions new, the seashell's tear:<br/>
+
+   My friend, thou wilt forsure grant my desire *<br/>
+
+      Whose heart is melted in love's hottest fire.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the fisherman heard her words, he wept and made moan and lamented; then,
+recalling what had betided himself in the days of his youth, when love had the
+mastery over him and longing and desire and distraction were sore upon him and
+the fires of passion consumed him, replied with these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+   "What fair excuse is this my pining plight, *<br/>
+
+      With wasted limbs and tears' unceasing blight;<br/>
+
+   And eyelids open in the nightly murk, *<br/>
+
+      And heart like fire-stick[FN#70] ready fire to smite;<br/>
+
+   Indeed love burdened us in early youth, *<br/>
+
+      And true from false coin soon we learned aright:<br/>
+
+   Then did we sell our soul on way of love, *<br/>
+
+      And drunk of many a well[FN#71] to win her sight;<br/>
+
+   Venturing very life to gain her grace, *<br/>
+
+      And make high profit perilling a mite.<br/>
+
+   'Tis Love's religion whoso buys with life *<br/>
+
+      His lover's grace, with highest gain is dight."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when he ended his verse, he moored his boat to the beach and said to her,
+"Embark, so may I carry thee whither thou wilt." Thereupon she embarked and he
+put off with her; but they had not gone far from land, before there came out a
+stern-wind upon the boat and drove it swiftly out of sight of shore. Now the
+fisherman knew not whither he went, and the strong wind blew without ceasing
+three days, when it fell by leave of Allah Almighty, and they sailed on and
+ceased not sailing till they came in sight of a city sitting upon the
+sea-shore,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the fisherman's
+craft, carrying Rose-in-Hood, made the city sitting upon the sea-shore, the man
+set about making fast to the land. Now the King of the city was a Prince of
+pith and puissance named Dirbas, the Lion; and he chanced at that moment to be
+seated, with his son, at a window in the royal palace giving upon the sea; and
+happening to look out seawards, they saw the fishing- boat make the land. They
+observed it narrowly and espied therein a young lady, as she were the full moon
+overhanging the horizon- edge, with pendants in her ears of costly
+balass-rubies and a collar of precious stones about her throat. Hereby the King
+knew that this must indeed be the daughter of some King or great noble and,
+going forth of the sea-gate of the palace, went down to the boat, where he
+found the lady asleep and the fisherman busied in making fast to shore. So he
+went up to her and aroused her, whereupon she awoke, weeping; and he asked her,
+"Whence comest thou and whose daughter art thou and what be the cause of thy
+coming hither?"; and she answered, "I am the daughter of Ibrahim, Wazir to King
+Shamikh; and the manner of my coming hither is wondrous and the cause thereof
+marvellous." And she told him her whole story first and last, hiding naught
+from him; then she groaned aloud and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Tear-drops have chafed mine eyelids and rail down in wondrous<br/>
+
+     wise, * For parting pain that fills my sprite and turns to<br/>
+
+     springs mine eyes,<br/>
+
+For sake of friend who ever dwells within my vitals homed, * And<br/>
+
+     I may never win my wish of him in any guise.<br/>
+
+He hath a favour fair and bright, and brilliant is his face, *<br/>
+
+     Which every Turk and Arab wight in loveliness outvies:<br/>
+
+The Sun and fullest Moon lout low whenas his charms they sight, *<br/>
+
+     And lover-like they bend to him whene'er he deigneth rise.<br/>
+
+A wondrous spell of gramarye like Kohl bedecks his eyne, * And<br/>
+
+     shows thee bow with shaft on string make ready ere it flies:<br/>
+
+O thou, to whom I told my case expecting all excuse, * Pity a<br/>
+
+     lover-wight for whom Love-shafts such fate devise!<br/>
+
+Verily, Love hath cast me on your coast despite of me * Of will<br/>
+
+     now weak, and fain I trust mine honour thou wilt prize:<br/>
+
+For noble men, whenas perchance alight upon their bounds, *<br/>
+
+     Grace-worthy guests, confess their worth and raise to<br/>
+
+     dignities. Then,<br/>
+
+O thou hope of me, to lovers' folly veil afford * And be to them<br/>
+
+     reunion cause, thou only liefest lord!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when she had ended her verses, she again told the King her sad tale and
+shed plenteous tears and recited these couplets bearing on her case,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"We lived till saw we all the marvels Love can bear; * Each month<br/>
+
+     to thee we hope shall fare as Rajab[FN#72] fare:<br/>
+
+Is it not wondrous, when I saw them march amorn * That I with<br/>
+
+     water o' eyes in heart lit flames that flare?<br/>
+
+That these mine eyelids rain fast dropping gouts of blood? * That<br/>
+
+     now my cheek grows gold where rose and lily were?<br/>
+
+As though the safflower hue, that overspread my cheeks, * Were<br/>
+
+     Joseph's coat made stain of lying blood to wear."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when the King heard her words he was certified of her love and longing and
+was moved to ruth for her; so he said to her, "Fear nothing and be not
+troubled; thou hast come to the term of thy wishes; for there is no help but
+that I win for thee thy will and bring thee to thy desire." And he improvised
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Daughter of nobles, who thine aim shalt gain; *<br/>
+
+          Hear gladdest news nor fear aught hurt of bane!<br/>
+
+     This day I'll pack up wealth, and send it on *<br/>
+
+          To Shαmikh, guarded by a champion-train;<br/>
+
+     Fresh pods of musk I'll send him and brocades, *<br/>
+
+          And silver white and gold of yellow vein:<br/>
+
+     Yes, and a letter shall inform him eke *<br/>
+
+          That I of kinship with that King am fain:<br/>
+
+     And I this day will lend thee bestest aid, *<br/>
+
+          That all thou covetest thy soul assain.<br/>
+
+     I, too, have tasted love and know its taste *<br/>
+
+          And can excuse whoso the same cup drain."[FN#73]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, ending his verse, he went forth to his troops and summoned his Wazir;
+and, causing him to pack up countless treasure, commanded him carry it to King
+Shamikh and say to him, "Needs must thou send me a person named Uns al-Wujud;"
+and say moreover "The King is minded to ally himself with thee by marrying his
+daughter to Uns al-Wujud, thine officer. So there is no help but thou despatch
+him to me, that the marriage may be solemnized in her father's kingdom." And he
+wrote a letter to King Shamikh to this effect, and gave it to the Minister,
+charging him strictly to bring back Uns al-Wujud and warning him, "An thou fail
+thou shalt be deposed and degraded." Answered the Wazir, "I hear and obey;"
+and, setting out forthright with the treasures, in due course arrived at the
+court of King Shamikh whom he saluted in the name of King Dirbas and delivered
+the letter and the presents. Now when King Shamikh read the letter and saw the
+name of Uns al-Wujud, he burst into tears and said to the Wazir "And where, or
+where, is Uns al-Wujud?; he went from us and we know not his place of abiding;
+only bring him to me, and I will give thee double the presents thou hast
+brought me." And he wept and groaned and lamented, saying these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "To me restore my dear; * I want not wealth untold:<br/>
+
+     Nor crave I gifts of pearls * Or gems or store of gold:<br/>
+
+     He was to us a moon * In beauty's heavenly fold.<br/>
+
+     Passing in form and soul; * With roe compare withhold!<br/>
+
+     His form a willow-wand, * His fruit, lures manifold;<br/>
+
+     But willow lacketh power * Men's hearts to have and hold.<br/>
+
+     I reared him from a babe * On cot of coaxing roll'd;<br/>
+
+     And now I mourn for him * With woe in soul ensoul'd."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, turning to the Wazir who had brought the presents and the missive, he
+said, "Go back to thy liege and acquaint him that Uns al-Wujud hath been
+missing this year past, and his lord knoweth not whither he is gone nor hath
+any tidings of him." Answered the Minister of King Dirbas, "O my lord, my
+master said to me, 'An thou fail to bring him back, thou shalt be degraded from
+the Wazirate and shall not enter my city. How then can I return without him?'"
+So King Shamikh said to his Wazir Ibrahim, "Take a company and go with him and
+make ye search for Uns al-Wujud everywhere." He replied, "Hearkening and
+obedience;" and, taking a body of his own retainers, set out accompanied by the
+Wazir of King Dirbas seeking Uns al-Wujud.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim, Wazir to King
+Shamikh, took him a body of his retainers and, accompanied by the Minister of
+King Dirbas, set out seeking Uns al-Wujud. And as often as they fell in with
+wild Arabs or others they asked of the youth, saying, "Tell us have ye seen a
+man whose name is so and so and his semblance thus and thus?" But they all
+answered, "We know him not." Still they continued their quest, enquiring in
+city and hamlet and seeking in fertile plain and stony hall and in the wild and
+in the wold, till they made the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother; and the Wazir
+of King Dirbas said to Ibrahim, "Why is this mountain thus called?" He
+answered, "Once of old time, here sojourned a Jinniyah, of the Jinn of China,
+who loved a mortal with passionate love; and, being in fear of her life from
+her own people, searched all the earth over for a place, where she might hide
+him from them, till she happened on this mountain and, finding it cut off from
+both men and Jinn, there being no access to it, carried off her beloved and
+lodged him therein. There, when she could escape notice of her kith and kin,
+she used privily to visit him, and continued so doing till she had borne him a
+number of children; and the merchants, sailing by the mountain, in their
+voyages over the main, heard the weeping of the children, as it were the
+wailing of a woman bereft of her babes, and said, 'Is there here a mother
+bereaved of her children?' For which reason the place was named the Mountain of
+the Bereaved Mother." And the Wazir of King Dirbas marvelled at his words. Then
+they landed and, making for the castle, knocked at the gate which was opened to
+them by an eunuch, who knew the Wazir Ibrahim and kissed his hands. The
+Minister entered and found in the courtyard, among the serving- men, a Fakir,
+which was Uns al-Wujud, but he knew him not and said, "Whence cometh yonder
+wight?" Quoth they, "He is a merchant, who hath lost his goods, but saved
+himself; and he is an ecstatic."[FN#74] So the Wazir left him and went on into
+the castle, where he found no trace of his daughter and questioned her women,
+who answered, "We wot not how or whither she went; this place misliked her and
+she tarried in it but a short time." Whereupon he wept sore and repeated these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Ho thou, the house, whose birds were singing gay, *<br/>
+
+          Whose sills their wealth and pride were wont display!<br/>
+
+     Till came the lover wailing for his love, *<br/>
+
+          And found thy doors wide open to the way;<br/>
+
+     Would Heaven I knew where is my soul that erst *<br/>
+
+          Was homed in house, whose owners fared away!<br/>
+
+     'Twas stored with all things bright and beautiful, *<br/>
+
+          And showed its porters ranged in fair array:<br/>
+
+     They clothed it with brocades a bride become;[FN#75] *<br/>
+
+          Would I knew whither went its lords, ah, say!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After ending his verses he again shed tears, and groaned and bemoaned himself,
+exclaiming, "There is no deliverance from the destiny decreed by Allah; nor is
+there any escape from that which He hath predestined!" Then he went up to the
+roof and found the strips of Ba'albak stuff tied to the crenelles and hanging
+down to the ground, and thus it was he knew that she had descended thence and
+had fled forth, as one distracted and demented with desire and passion.
+Presently, he turned and seeing there two birds, a gor-crow and an owl he
+justly deemed this an omen of ill; so he groaned and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I came to my dear friends' door, of my hopes the goal, *<br/>
+
+          Whose sight mote assuage my sorrow and woes of soul:<br/>
+
+     No friends found I there, nor was there another thing *<br/>
+
+          To find, save a corby-crow and an ill-omened owl.<br/>
+
+     And the tongue o' the case to me seemed to say, *<br/>
+
+          'Indeed This parting two lovers fond was cruel and<br/>
+
+          foul!<br/>
+
+     So taste thou the sorrow thou madest them taste and live *<br/>
+
+          In grief: wend thy ways and now in thy sorrow prowl!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he descended from the castle-roof, weeping, and bade the servants fare
+forth and search the mount for their mistress; so they sought for her, but
+found her not. Such was their case; but as regards Uns al-Wujud, when he was
+certified that Rose-in-Hood was indeed gone, he cried with a great cry and fell
+down in a fainting-fit, nor came to himself for a long time, whilst the folk
+deemed that his spirit had been withdrawn by the Compassionating One; and that
+he was absorbed in contemplation of the splendour, majesty and beauty of the
+Requiting One. Then, despairing of finding Uns al-Wujud, and seeing that the
+Wazir Ibrahim was distracted for the loss of his daughter, the Minister of King
+Dirbas addressed himself to return to his own country, albeit he had not
+attained the object of his journey, and while bidding his companion adieu, said
+to him, "I have a mind to take the Fakir with me; it may be Allah Almighty will
+incline the King's heart to me by his blessing, for that he is a holy man; and
+thereafter, I will send him to Ispahan, which is near our country." "Do as thou
+wilt," answered Ibrahim. So they took leave of each other and departed, each
+for his own mother land, the Wazir of King Dirbas carrying with him Uns
+al-Wujud,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir of King Dirbas
+carried with him Uns al-Wujud who was still insensible. They bore him with them
+on mule-back (he unknowing if he were carried or not) for three days, when he
+came to himself and said, "Where am I?" "Thou art in company with the Minister
+of King Dirbas," replied they and went and gave news of his recovering to the
+Wazir, who sent him rose-water and sherbet of sugar, of which they gave him to
+drink and restored him. Then they ceased not faring on till they drew near King
+Dirbas's capital and the King, being advised of his Wazir's coming, wrote to
+him, saying, "If Uns al-Wujud be not with thee, come not to me ever." Now when
+the Wazir read the royal mandate, it was grievous to him, for he knew not that
+Rose-in-Hood was with the King, nor why he had been sent in quest of Uns
+al-Wujud, nor the King's reason for desiring the alliance; whilst Uns al-Wujud
+also knew not whither they were bearing him or that the Wazir had been sent in
+quest of him; nor did the Wazir know that the Fakir he had with him was Uns
+al-Wujud himself. And when the Minister saw that the sick man was whole, he
+said to him, "I was despatched by the King on an errand, which I have not been
+able to accomplish. So, when he heard of my return, he wrote to me, saying,
+'Except thou have fulfilled my need enter not my city.'" "And what is the
+King's need?" asked Uns al-Wujud. So the Wazir told him the whole tale, and he
+said, "Fear nothing, but go boldly to the King and take me with thee; and I
+will be surety to thee for the coming of Uns al-Wujud." At this the Wazir
+rejoiced and cried, "Is this true which thou sayest?" "Yes," replied he;
+whereupon the Wazir mounted and carried him to King Dirbas who, after receiving
+their salutations said to him, "Where is Uns al-Wujud?" Answered the young man,
+"O King, I know where he is." So the King called him to him and said, "Where?"
+Returned Uns al-Wujud, "He is near-hand and very near; but tell me what thou
+wouldst with him, and I will fetch him into thy presence." The King replied,
+"With joy and good gree, but the case calleth for privacy." So he ordered the
+folk to withdraw and, carrying Uns al-Wujud into his cabinet, told him the
+whole story; whereupon quoth the youth, "Robe me in rich raiment, and I will
+forthright bring Uns al-Wujud to thee." So they brought him a sumptuous dress,
+and he donned it and said, "I am Uns al-Wujud, the World's Delight, and to the
+envious a despite"; and presently he smote with his glances every sprite, and
+began these couplets to recite,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"My loved one's name in cheerless solitude aye cheereth me * And<br/>
+
+     driveth off my desperance and despondency:<br/>
+
+I have no helper[FN#76] but my tears that ever flow in fount, *<br/>
+
+     And as they flow, they lighten woe and force my grief to<br/>
+
+     flee.<br/>
+
+My longing is so violent naught like it ere was seen; * My love-<br/>
+
+     tale is a marvel and my love a sight to see:<br/>
+
+I spend the night with lids of eye that never close in sleep, *<br/>
+
+     And pass in passion twixt the Hells and Edens heavenly.<br/>
+
+I had of patience fairish store, but now no more have I; * And<br/>
+
+     love's sole gift to me hath been aye-growing misery:<br/>
+
+My frame is wasted by the pain of parting from my own, * And<br/>
+
+     longing changed my shape and form and made me other be.<br/>
+
+Mine eyelids by my torrent tears are chafed, and ulcerate, * The<br/>
+
+      tears, whose flow to stay is mere impossibility.<br/>
+
+My manly strength is sore impaired for I have lost my heart; *<br/>
+
+     How many griefs upon my griefs have I been doomed to dree!<br/>
+
+My heart and head are like in age with similar hoariness * By<br/>
+
+     loss of Beauty's lord,[FN#77] of lords the galaxy:<br/>
+
+Despite our wills they parted us and doomed us parted wone, *<br/>
+
+     While they (our lords) desire no more than love in unity.<br/>
+
+Then ah, would Heaven that I wot if stress of parting done, *<br/>
+
+     The world will grant me sight of them in union fain and<br/>
+
+     free—<br/>
+
+Roll up the scroll of severance which others would unroll— *<br/>
+
+     Efface my trouble by the grace of meeting's jubilee!<br/>
+
+And shall I see them homed with me in cup-company, * And change<br/>
+
+     my melancholic mood for joy and jollity?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when he had ended his verses the King cried aloud, "By Allah, ye are indeed
+a pair of lovers true and fain and in Beauty's heaven of shining stars a twain:
+your story is wondrous and your case marvellous." Then he told him all that had
+befalled Rose-in- Hood; and Uns al-Wujud said, "Where is she, O King of the
+age?" "She is with me now," answered Dirbas and, sending for the Kazi and the
+witnesses, drew up the contract of marriage between her and him. Then he
+honoured Uns al-Wujud with favours and bounties and sent to King Shamikh
+acquainting him with what had befallen, whereat this King joyed with exceeding
+joy and wrote back the following purport. "Since the ceremony of contract hath
+been performed at thy court, it behoveth that the marriage and its consummation
+be at mine." Then he made ready camels, horses and men and sent them in quest
+of the pair; and when the embassy reached King Dirbas, he gave the lovers much
+treasure and despatched them to King Shamikh's court with a company of his own
+troops. The day of their arrival was a notable day, never was seen a grander;
+for the King gathered together all the singing- women and players on
+instruments of music and made wedding banquets and held high festival seven
+days; and on each day he gave largesse to the folk and bestowed on them
+sumptuous robes of honour. Then Uns al-Wujud went in to Rose-in-Hood and they
+embraced and sat weeping for excess of joy and gladness, whilst she recited
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Joyance is come, dispelling cark and care; *<br/>
+
+          We are united, enviers may despair.<br/>
+
+     The breeze of union blows, enquickening *<br/>
+
+          Forms, hearts and vitals, fresh with fragrant air:<br/>
+
+     The splendour of delight with scents appears, *<br/>
+
+          And round us[FN#78] flags and drums show gladness rare.<br/>
+
+     Deem not we're weeping for our stress of grief;*<br/>
+
+          It is for joy our tears as torrents fare:<br/>
+
+     How many fears we've seen that now are past! *<br/>
+
+          And bore we patient what was sore to bear:<br/>
+
+     One hour of joyance made us both forget *<br/>
+
+          What from excess of terror grey'd our hair."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when the verses were ended, they again embraced and ceased not from their
+embrace, till they fell down in a swoon,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Uns al- Wujud and
+Rose-in-Hood embraced when they foregathered and ceased not from their embrace,
+till they fell down in a swoon for the delight of reunion; and when they came
+to themselves, Uns al- Wujud recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "How joyously sweet are the nights that unite, *<br/>
+
+          When my dearling deigns keep me the troth she did<br/>
+
+          plight;<br/>
+
+     When union conjoins us in all that we have, *<br/>
+
+          And parting is severed and sundered from sight,<br/>
+
+     To us comes the world with her favour so fair, *<br/>
+
+          After frown and aversion and might despight!<br/>
+
+     Hath planted her banner Good Fortune for us, *<br/>
+
+          And we drink of her cup in the purest delight.<br/>
+
+     We have met and complained of the pitiful Past, *<br/>
+
+          And of nights a full many that doomed us to blight.<br/>
+
+     But now, O my lady, the Past is forgot; *<br/>
+
+          The Compassionate pardon the Past for unright!<br/>
+
+     How sweet is existence, how glad is to be! *<br/>
+
+          This union my passion doth only incite."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when he ended his verses they once more embraced, drowned in the sea of
+passion; and lay down together in the private apartment carousing and
+conversing and quoting verses and telling pleasant tales and anecdotes. On this
+wise seven days passed over them whilst they knew not night from day and it was
+to them, for very stress of gaiety and gladness, pleasure and possession, as if
+the seven days were but one day with ne'er a morrow. Not did they know the
+seventh day,[FN#79] but by the coming of the singers and players on instruments
+of music; whereat Rose-in-Hood beyond measure wondered and improvised these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "In spite of enviers' jealousy, at end *<br/>
+
+          We have won all we hoped of the friend:<br/>
+
+     We've crowned our meeting with a close embrace *<br/>
+
+          On quilts where new brocades with sendal blend;<br/>
+
+     On bed of perfumed leather, which the spoils *<br/>
+
+          Of downy birds luxuriously distend.<br/>
+
+     But I abstain me from unneeded wine, *<br/>
+
+          When honey-dews of lips sweet musk can lend:<br/>
+
+     Now from the sweets of union we unknow *<br/>
+
+          Time near and far, if slow or fast it wend,<br/>
+
+     The seventh night hath come and gone, O strange! *<br/>
+
+          How went the nights we never reckt or kenned;<br/>
+
+     Till, on the seventh wishing joy they said, *<br/>
+
+          'Allah prolong the meet of friend with friend!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When she had finished her song, Uns al-Wujud kissed her, more than an hundred
+times, and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "O day of joys to either lover fain! *<br/>
+
+          The loved one came and freed from lonely pain:<br/>
+
+     She blest me with all inner charms she hath; *<br/>
+
+          And companied with inner grace deep lain:<br/>
+
+     She made me drain the wine of love till I, *<br/>
+
+          Was faint with joys her love had made me drain:<br/>
+
+     We toyed and joyed and on each other lay; *<br/>
+
+          Then fell to wine and soft melodious strain:<br/>
+
+     And for excess of joyance never knew, *<br/>
+
+          How went the day and how it came again.<br/>
+
+     Fair fall each lover, may he union win *<br/>
+
+          And gain of joy like me the amplest gain;<br/>
+
+     Nor weet the taste of severance' bitter fruit *<br/>
+
+          And joys assain them as they us assain!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then they went forth and distributed to the folk alms and presents of money and
+raiment and rare gifts and other tokens of generosity; after which Rose-in-Hood
+bade clear the bath for her[FN#80] and, turning to Uns al-Wujud said to him, "O
+coolth of my eyes, I have a mind to see thee in the Hammam, and therein we will
+be alone together." He joyfully consented to this, and she let scent the Hammam
+with all sorts of perfumed woods and essences, and light the wax-candles. Then
+of the excess of her contentment she recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "O who didst win my love in other date *<br/>
+
+          (And Present e'er must speak of past estate);<br/>
+
+     And, oh! who art my sole sufficiency, *<br/>
+
+          Nor want I other friends with me to mate:<br/>
+
+     Come to the Hammam, O my light of eyes, *<br/>
+
+          And enter Eden through Gehenna-gate!<br/>
+
+     We'll scent with ambergris and aloes-wood *<br/>
+
+          Till float the heavy clouds with fragrant freight;<br/>
+
+     And to the World we'll pardon all her sins *<br/>
+
+          And sue for mercy the Compassionate;<br/>
+
+     And I will cry, when I descry thee there, *<br/>
+
+          'Good cheer, sweet love, all blessings on thee<br/>
+
+          wait!'"[FN#81]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whereupon they arose and fared to the bath and took their pleasure therein;
+after which they returned to their palace and there abode in the fulness of
+enjoyment, till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer
+of societies; and glory be to Him who changeth not neither ceaseth, and to whom
+everything returneth! And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap03"></a>ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE CALIPH HARUN
+AL-RASHID[FN#82]</h3>
+
+<p>
+Abu Nowas one day shut himself up and, making ready a richly-furnished feast,
+collected for it meats of all kinds and of every colour that lips and tongue
+can desire. Then he went forth, to seek a minion worthy of such entertainment,
+saying, "Allah, my Lord and my Master, I beseech Thee to send me one who
+befitteth this banquet and who is fit to carouse with me this day!" Hardly had
+he made an end of speaking when he espied three youths handsome and beardless,
+as they were of the boys of Paradise,[FN#83] differing in complexion but
+fellows in incomparable beauty; and all hearts yearned with desire to the
+swaying of their bending shapes, even to what saith the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I passed a beardless pair without compare *<br/>
+
+          And cried, 'I love you, both you ferly fir!'<br/>
+
+     'Money'd?' quoth one: quoth I, 'And lavish too;' *<br/>
+
+          Then said the fair pair, 'Pere, c'est notre affaire.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now Abu Nowas was given to these joys and loved to sport and make merry with
+fair boys and cull the rose from every brightly blooming check, even as saith
+the bard,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Full many a reverend Shaykh feels sting of flesh, *<br/>
+
+          Loves pretty faces, shows at Pleasure's depot:<br/>
+
+     Awakes in Mosul,[FN#84] land of purity; *<br/>
+
+          And all the day dreams only of Aleppo.[FN#85]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So he accosted them with the salutation, and they returned his greeting with
+civility and all honour and would have gone their several ways, but he stayed
+them, repeating these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+    "Steer ye your steps to none but me *<br/>
+
+         Who hath a mine of luxury:-<br/>
+
+    Old wine that shines with brightest blee *<br/>
+
+         Made by the monk in monastery;<br/>
+
+    And mutton-meat the toothsomest *<br/>
+
+         And birds of all variety.<br/>
+
+    Then eat of these and drink of those *<br/>
+
+         Old wines that bring you jollity:<br/>
+
+    And have each other, turn by turn, *<br/>
+
+         Shampooing this my tool you see."[FN#86]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thereupon the youths were beguiled by his verses and consented to his
+wishes,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu Nowas beguiled
+the youths with his wishes, saying, "We hear and obey;" and accompanied him to
+his lodging, where they found all ready that he had set forth in his couplets. 
+They sat down and ate and drank and made merry awhile, after which they
+appealed to Abu Nowas to decide which of them was handsometh of face and
+shapliest of form. So he pointed to one of them and, having kissed him twice
+over, recited the following verses,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I'll ransom that beauty-spot with my soup; *<br/>
+
+          Where's it and where is a money-dole?[FN#87]<br/>
+
+     Praise Him who hairless hath made that cheek *<br/>
+
+          And bid Beauty bide in that mole, that mole!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he pointed to another and, kissing his lips, repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "And loveling weareth on his cheek a mole *<br/>
+
+          Like musk, which virgin camphor ne'er lets off it:<br/>
+
+     My peepers marvel such a contrast seeing; *<br/>
+
+          And cried the Mole to me, 'Now bless the<br/>
+
+          Prophet.'"[FN#88]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he pointed to the third and, after kissing him half a score times repeated
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Melted pure gold in silvern bowl to drain *<br/>
+
+          The youth, whose fingers wore a winey stain:<br/>
+
+     He with the drawers[FN#89] served one cup of wine, *<br/>
+
+          And served his wandering eyes the other twain.<br/>
+
+     A loveling, of the sons of Turks,[FN#90] a fawn *<br/>
+
+          Whose waist conjoins the double Mounts Honayn.[FN#91]<br/>
+
+     Could Eve's corrupting daughers[FN#92] tempt my heart *<br/>
+
+          Content with two-fold lure 'twould bear the bane.<br/>
+
+     Unto Diyar-I-Bakr ('maid-land '[FN#93] this one lures; *<br/>
+
+          That lures to two-mosqued cities of the plain."[FN#94]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now each of the youths had drunk two cups, and when it came to the turn of Abu
+Nowas, he took the goblet and repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Drink not strong wine save at the slender dearling's hand; *<br/>
+
+     Each like to other in all gifts the spirt grace:<br/>
+
+For wine can never gladden toper's heart and soul, *<br/>
+
+     Unless the cup-boy show a bright and sparkling face."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he drank off his cup and the bowl went round, and when it came to Abu
+Nowas again, joyance got the mastery of him and he repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "For cup-friends cup succeeding cup assign, *<br/>
+
+          Brimming with grape-juice, brought in endliess line,<br/>
+
+     By hand of brown-lipped[FN#95] Beauty who is sweet *<br/>
+
+          At wake as apple or musk finest fine.[FN#96]<br/>
+
+     Drink not the wine except from hand of fawn *<br/>
+
+          Whose cheek to kiss is sweeter than the wine."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Presently the drink got into his noddle, drunkenness mastered him and he knew
+not hand from head, so that he lolled from side to side in joy and inclined to
+the youths one and all, anon kissing them and anon embracing them leg overlying
+leg. And he showed no sense of sin or shame, but recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "None wotteth best joyance but generous youth *<br/>
+
+          When the pretty ones deign with him company keep:<br/>
+
+     This sings to him, sings to him that, when he wants *<br/>
+
+          A pick-me-up[FN#97] lying there all of a heap:<br/>
+
+     And when of a loveling he needeth a kiss, *<br/>
+
+          He takes from his lips or a draught or a nip;<br/>
+
+     Heaven bless them! How sweetly my day with them sped; *<br/>
+
+          A wonderful harvest of pleasure I reap:<br/>
+
+     Let us drink our good liquor both watered and pure, *<br/>
+
+          And agree to swive all who dare slumber and sleep."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While they were in this deboshed state behold, there came a knocking at the
+door; so they bade him who knocked enter, and behold, it was the Commander of
+the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid. When they saw him, they all rose and kissed
+ground before him; and Abu Nowas threw off the fumes of the wine for awe of the
+Caliph, who said to him, "Holla, Abu Nowas!" He replied, "Adsum, at thy
+service, O Commander of the Faithful, whom Allah preserve!" The Caliph asked,
+"What state is this?" and the poet answered, "O Prince of True Believers, my
+state indubitably dispenseth with questions." Quoth the Caliph, "O Abu Nowas,
+I have sought direction of Allah Almighty and have appointed thee Kazi of pimps
+and panders." Asked he, "Dost thou indeed invest me with that high office, O
+Commander of the Faithful?"; and the Caliph answered "I do;" whereupon Abu
+Nowas rejoined, "O Commander of the Faithful, hast thou any suit to prefer to
+me?" Hereat the Caliph was wroth and presently turned away and left them, full
+of rage, and passed the night sore an-angered against Abu Nowas, who amid the
+party he had invited spent the merriest of nights and the jolliest and
+joyousest. And when day-break dawned and the star of morn appeared in sheen
+and shone, he broke up the sitting and, dismissing the youths, donned his
+court-dress and leaving his house set out for the palace of the Caliph. Now it
+was the custom of the Commander of the Faithful, when the Divan broke up, to
+withdraw to his sitting-saloon and summon thither his poets and cup-companions
+and musicians, each having his own place, which he might not overpass. So it
+happened that day, he retired to his saloom, and the friends and familiars came
+and seated themselves, each in his rank and degree. Presently, in walked Abu
+Nowas and was about to take his usual seat, when the Caliph cried to Masrur,
+the sworder, and bade him strip the poet of his clothes and bind an ass's
+packsaddle on his back and a halter about his head and a crupper under his rump
+and lead him round to all the lodgings of the slave-girls, —And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph commanded
+Masrur, the sworder, to strip Abu Nowas of his court-suit and bind an ass's
+packsaddle on his back and a halter about his head, and a crupper under his
+rump and lead him round to all the lodgings of the slave-girls, and the
+chambers of the Harim, that the women might make mock of him; then cut off his
+head and bring it to him. "Hearkening and obedience," replied Masrur and,
+doing with Abu Nowas as the Caliph had bidden him, led him round all the
+chambers whose number equalled the days of the year; but Abu Nowas was a funny
+fellow, so he made all the girls laugh with his buffooneries and each gave him
+something whereby he returned not save with a pocketful of money. And while
+this was going on behold, Ja'afar the Barmecide, who had been absent on an
+important business for the Commander of the Faithful, entered and recognising
+the poet, albeit in this plight, said to him, "Holla, Abu Nowas!" He said,
+"Here at thy service, O our lord." Ja'afar asked, "What offence hast thou
+committed to bring this punishment on thee?" Thereupon he answered, "None
+whatsoever, except that I made our lord the Caliph a present of the best of my
+poetry and he presented me, in return, with the best of his raiment." When the
+Prince of True Believers head this, he laughed, from a heart full of
+wrath,[FN#98] and pardoned Abu Nowas, and also gave him a myriad of money. And
+they also recount the tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap04"></a>ABDALLAH BIN MA'AMAR WITH THE MAN OF BASSORAH AND HIS
+SLAVE-GIRL.</h3>
+
+<p>
+A certain man of Bassorah once bought a slave-girl and reared and educated her
+right well. Moreover, he loved her very dearly and spent all his substance in
+pleasuring and merry-making with her, til he had naught left and extreme
+poverty was sore upon him. So she said to him, "O my master, sell me; for thou
+needest my price and it maketh my heart ache to see thy sorry and want-full
+plight. If thou vend me and make use of my value, 'twill be better for thee
+than keeping me by thee, and haply Almighty Allah will ample thee and amend thy
+fortune." He agreed to this for the straitness of his case, and carried her to
+the bazar, where the broker offered her for sale to the Governor of Bassorah,
+by name Abdallah bin Ma'amar al-Taymi, and she pleased him. So he bought her,
+for five hundred dinars and paid the sum to her master; but when he book the
+money and was about to go away, the girl burst into tears and repeated these
+two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "May coins though gainest joy in heart instil; *<br/>
+
+          For me remaineth naught save saddest ill:<br/>
+
+     I say unto my soul which sorely grieves, *<br/>
+
+          'Thy friend departeth an thou will nor nill.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when her master heard this, he groaned and replied in these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Albeit this thy case lack all resource, *<br/>
+
+          Nor findeth aught but death's doom, pardon still;<br/>
+
+     Evening and morning, thoughts of thee will dole *<br/>
+
+          Comfort to heart all woes and griefs full fill:<br/>
+
+     Peace be upon thee! Meet we now no more *<br/>
+
+          Nor pair except at Ibn Ma'amar's will."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when Abdullah bin Ma'amar heard these verses and saw their affection, he
+exclaimed, "By Allah, I will not assist fate in separating you; for it is
+evident to me that ye two indeed love each other. So take the money and the
+damsel, O man, and Allah bless thee in both; for verily parting be grievous to
+lovers." So they kissed his hand and going away, ceased not to dwell together,
+till death did them part; and glory be to Him whom death over-taketh not! And
+amonst stories is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap05"></a>THE LOVERS OF THE BANU[FN#99] OZRAH</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, among the Banu Ozrah, a handsome and accomplished man, who was
+never a single day out of love, and it chanced that he became enamoured of a
+beauty of his own tribe and sent her many messages; but she ceased not to
+entreat him with cruelty and disdain; till, for stress of love and longing and
+desire and distraction, he fell sick of a sore sickness and took to his pillow
+and murdered sleep. His malady redoubled on him and his torments increased and
+he was well nigh dead when his case became known among the folk and his passion
+notorious;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took to his
+pillow and murdered sleep. So his case became known and his passion notorious;
+and his infirmity grew upon him and his pains redoubled until he was well nigh
+dead. His family and hers were urgent with her to visit him, but she refused,
+till he was at the point of death when, being told of this, she relented
+towards him and vouchsafed him a visit. As soon as he saw her, his eyes ran
+over with tears and he repeated from a broken heart,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, *<br/>
+
+          A bier upborne upon the necks of four,<br/>
+
+     Wilt thou not follow it, and greet the grave *<br/>
+
+          Where shall my corpse be graved for evermore?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hearing this, she wept with sore weeping and said to him, "By Allah, I
+suspected not that passion had come to such a pass with thee, as to cast thee
+into the arms of death! Had I wist of this, I had been favourable to thy wish,
+and thou shouldst have had thy will." At this his tears streamed down even as
+the clouds rail rain, and he repeated this verse,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "She drew near whenas death was departing us, *<br/>
+
+          And deigned union grant when twas useless all."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he groaned one groan and died. So she fell on him, kissing him and
+weeping and ceased not weeping until she swooned away; and when she came to
+herself, she charged her people to bury her in his grave and with streaming
+eyes recited these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "We lived on earth a life of fair content; *<br/>
+
+          And tribe and house and home of us were proud;<br/>
+
+     But Time in whirling flight departed us, *<br/>
+
+          To join us now in womb of earth and shroud.[FN#100]"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then she fell again to weeping, nor gave over shedding tears and lamenting till
+she fainted away; and she lay three days, senseless. Then she died and was
+buried in his grave. This is one of the strange chances of love.[FN#101] And
+I have heard related a tale of the
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap06"></a>WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is said that Badr al-Din, Wazir of Al-Yaman, had a young brother of singular
+beauty and kept strait watch over him; so he applied himself to seek a tutor
+for him and, coming upon a Shaykh of dignified and reverend aspect, chaste and
+religious, lodged him in a house next his own. This lasted a long time, and he
+used to come daily from his dwelling to that of Sαhib[FN#102] Badr al-Din and
+teach the young brother. After a while, the old man's heart was taken with
+love for the youth, and longing grew upon him and his vitals were troubled,
+till one day, he bemoaned his case to the boy, who said, "What can I do, seeing
+that I may not leave my brother night or day? and thou thyself seest how
+careful he is over me." Quoth the Shaykh, "My lodging adjoineth thine; so
+there will be no difficulty, when thy brother sleepeth, to rise and, entering
+the privy, feign thyself asleep. Then come to the parapet[FN#103] of the
+terrace-roof and I will receive thee on the other side of the wall; so shalt
+thou sit with me an eye-twinkling and return without thy brother's knowledge." 
+"I hear and obey," answered the lad; and the tutor began to prepare gifts
+suitable to his degree. Now when a while of the night was past, he entered the
+water-closet and waited until his brother lay down on his bed and took patience
+till he was drowned in sleep, when he rose and going to the parapet of the
+terrace-roof, found standing there to await him the old man, who gave him his
+hand and carried him to the sitting-chamber, where he had made ready various
+dainties for his entertainment, and they sat down to carouse. Now it was the
+night of the full moon and, as they sat with the wine-cup going round, her rays
+shone upon them, and the governor fell to singing. But, whilst they were thus
+in joy and jollity and mirth and merriment, such as confoundeth the wit and the
+sight and defieth description, lo! the Wazir awoke and, missing his brother,
+arose in affright and found the door open. So he went up to the roof and
+hearing a noise of talk, climbed over the parapet to the adjoining terrace and
+saw a light shining from the lodging. He looked in from behind the wall, and
+espied his brother and his tutor sitting at carouse; but the Shaykh became
+aware of him and sang cup in hand, to a lively measure these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "He made me drain his wine of honeyed lips, *<br/>
+
+          Toasting with cheeks which rose and myrtle smother:<br/>
+
+     Then nighted in embrace, cheek to my cheek, *<br/>
+
+          A loveling midst mankind without another.<br/>
+
+     When the full moon arose on us and shone *<br/>
+
+          Pray she traduce us not to the big brother."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And it proved the perfect politeness of the Wazir Badr al-Din that, when he
+heard this, he said, "By Allah, I will not betray you!" And he went away and
+left them to their diversions. They also tell a tale concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap07"></a>THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL</h3>
+
+<p>
+A free boy and a slave-girl once learnt together in school, and the boy fell
+passionately in love with the girl.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-Fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lad fell passionately
+in love with the slave-lass: so one day, when the other boys were heedless, he
+took her tablet[FN#104] and wrote on it these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "What sayest thou of him by sickness waste, *<br/>
+
+          Until he's clean distraught for love of thee?<br/>
+
+     Who in the transport of his pain complains, *<br/>
+
+          Nor can bear load of heart in secrecy?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses written thereon and
+understanding them, wept for ruth of him; then she wrote thereunder these two
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "An if we behold a lover love-fordone *<br/>
+
+          Desiring us, our favours he shall see:<br/>
+
+     Yea, what he wills of us he shall obtain, *<br/>
+
+          And so befal us what befalling be."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the tablet,
+unnoticed, read what was written thereon. So he was moved to pity of their
+case and wrote on the tablet beneath those already written these two couplets
+addressed to the girl,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Console thy lover, fear no consequence; *<br/>
+
+          He is daft with loving lowe's insanity;<br/>
+
+     But for the teacher fear not aught from him; *<br/>
+
+          Love-pain he learned long before learnt ye."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Presently it so happened that the girl's owner entered the school about the
+same time and, finding the tablet, read the above verses indited by the boy,
+the girl and the schoolmaster; and wrote under them these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "May Allah never make you parting dree *<br/>
+
+          And be your censurer shamed wearily!<br/>
+
+     But for the teacher ne'er, by Allah, eye *<br/>
+
+          Of mine beheld a bigger pimp than he!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he sent for the Kazi and witnesses and married them on the spot. 
+Moreover, he made them a wedding-feast and treated them with exceeding
+munificence; and they ceased not abiding together in joy and happiness, till
+there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies. And
+equally pleasant is the story of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap08"></a>AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is related Al-Mutalammis[FN#105] once fled from Al-Nu'uman bin
+Munzir[FN#106] and was absent so long that folk deemed him dead. Now he had a
+beautiful wife, Umaymah by name, and her family urged her to marry again; but
+she refused, for that she loved her husband Al-Mutalammis very dearly. 
+However, they were urgent with her, because of the multitude of her suitors,
+and importuned with her till at last she consented, albe reluctantly; and they
+espoused her to a man of her own tribe. Now on the night of the wedding,
+Al-Mutalammis came back and, hearing in the camp a noise of pipes and tabrets
+and seeing signs of a wedding festival, asked some of the children what was the
+merry-making, to which they replied, "They have married Umaymah wife of
+Al-Mutalammis, to such an one, and he goes in to her this night." When he
+heard this, he planned to enter the house amongst the mob of women and saw the
+twain seated on the bridal couch.[FN#107] By and by, the bridegroom came up to
+her, whereupon she sighed heavily and weeping, recited this couplet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Would Heaven I knew (but many are the shifts of joy and woe) *<br/>
+
+     In what far distant land thou art, my Mutalammis, oh!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now Al-Mutalammis was a renowned poet; so he answered her saying;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Right near at hand, Umaymah mine! when'er the caravan *<br/>
+
+     Halted, I never ceased for thee to pine, I would thou know."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the bridegroom heard this, he guess how the case stood and went forth from
+them in hast improvising,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I was in bestest luck, but now my luck goes contrary: *<br/>
+
+     A hospitable house and room contain your loves, you two!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he returned not but left the twain to their privacy. So Al- Mutalammis and
+his wife abode together in all comfort and solace of life and in all its joys
+and jollities till death parted them. And glory be to Him at whose command the
+earth and the heavens shall arise! And among other tales is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap09"></a>THE CALIPH HARUM AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid loved the Lady Zubaydah with exceeding love and laid
+out for her a pleasaunce, wherein he made a great tank and set thereabouts a
+screen of trees and led thither water from all sides; hence the trees grew and
+interlaced over the basin so densely, that one could go in and wash, without
+being seen of any, for the thickness of the leafage. It chanced, one day, that
+Queen Zubaydah entered the garden and, coming to the swimming-bath,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, "O auspicious King, that Queen Zubaydah entered
+the garden one day and, coming to the swimming- bath, gazed upon its
+goodliness; and the sheen of the water and the overshading of the trees pleased
+her. Now it was a day of exceeding heat; so she doffed her clothes and,
+entering the tank, which was not deep enough to cover the whole person, fell to
+pouring the water over herself from an ewer of silver. It also happened that
+the Caliph heard she was in the pool; so he left his palace and came down to
+spy upon her through the screen of the foliage. He stood behind the trees and
+espied her mother- nude, showing everything that is kept hidden. Presently,
+she became aware of him and turning, saw him behind the trees and was ashamed
+that he should see her naked. So she laid her hands on her parts, but the
+Mount of Venus escaped from between them, by reason of its greatness and
+plumpness; and the Caliph at once turned and went away, wondering and reciting
+this couplet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I looked on her with loving eyne *<br/>
+
+          And grew anew my old repine:"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But he knew not what to say next; so he sent for Abu Nowas and said to him,
+"Make me a piece of verse commencing with this line." "I hear and obey,"
+replied the poet and in an eye- twinkling extemporised these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I looked on her with longing eyne *<br/>
+
+          And grew anew my old repine<br/>
+
+     For the gazelle, who captured me *<br/>
+
+          Where the two lotus-trees incline:<br/>
+
+     There was the water poured on it *<br/>
+
+          From ewer of the silvern mine;<br/>
+
+     And seen me she had hidden it *<br/>
+
+          But twas too plump for fingers fine.<br/>
+
+     Would Heaven that I were on it, *<br/>
+
+          An hour, or better two hours, li'en."[FN#108]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful smiled and made him a handsome present
+and he went away rejoicing. And I have heard another story of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap10"></a>HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Prince of True Believers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was exceeding restless
+one night; so he rose and walked about his palace, till he happened upon a
+handmaid overcome with wine. Now he was prodigiously enamoured of this damsel;
+so he played with her and pulled her to him, whereupon her zone fell down and
+her petticoat-trousers were loosed and he besought her of amorous favour. But
+she said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful wait till to-morrow night, for I
+am unprepared for thee, knowing not of thy coming." So he left her and went
+away. But, when the morrow showed its light and the sun shone bright, he sent
+a page to her saying, "The Commander of the Faithful is about to visit thine
+apartment;" but she replied, "Day doth away with the promise of night." So he
+said to his courtiers, "Make me somewhat of verse, introducing these words, The
+Promise of Night is effaced by Day.'" Answered they, "We hear and obey," and
+Al- Rakαshi[FN#109] came forward and recited the following couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "By Allah, couldst thou but feel my pain, *<br/>
+
+          Thy rest had turned and had fled away.<br/>
+
+     Hath left me in sorrow and love distraught, *<br/>
+
+          Unseen and unseeing, that fairest may:<br/>
+
+     She promised me grace, then jilted and said, *<br/>
+
+          The promise of night is effaced by day!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Abu Mus'ab came forward and recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "When wilt thou be wise and love-heat allay *<br/>
+
+          That from food and sleeping so leads astray?<br/>
+
+     Suffices thee not ever weeping eye, *<br/>
+
+          And vitals on fire when thy name they say?<br/>
+
+     He must smile and laugh and in pride must cry *<br/>
+
+          The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Last came Abu Nowas and recited the following couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "As love waxt longer less met we tway *<br/>
+
+          And fell out, but ended the useless fray;<br/>
+
+     One night in the palace I found her fou'; *<br/>
+
+          Yet of modesty still there was some display:<br/>
+
+     The veil from her shoulders had slipt; and showed *<br/>
+
+          Her loosened trousers Love's seat and stay:<br/>
+
+     And rattled the breezes her huge hind cheeks *<br/>
+
+          And the branch where two little pomegranates lay:<br/>
+
+     Quoth I, Give me tryst;' whereto quoth she *<br/>
+
+          To-morrow the fane shall wear best array:'<br/>
+
+     Next day I asked her, Thy word?' Said she *<br/>
+
+          The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph bade give a myriad of money each to Al-Rakashi and Abu Mus'ab, but
+bade strike off the head of Abu Nowas, saying, "Thou wast with us yesternight
+in the palace." Said he, "By Allah, I slept not but in my own house! I was
+directed to what I said by thine own words as to the subject of the verse; and
+indeed quoth Almighty Allah (and He is the truest of all speakers): As for
+poets (devils pursue them!) dost thou not see that they rove as bereft of their
+senses through every valley and that they say that which they do not?'"[FN#110]
+So the Caliph forgave him and gave him two myriads of money. And another tale
+is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap11"></a>MUS'AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is told of Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr[FN#111] that he met in Al- Medinah Izzah,
+who was one of the shrewdest of women, and said to her, "I have a mind to marry
+Ayishah[FN#112] daughter of Talhah, and I should like thee to go herwards and
+spy out for me how she is made." So she went away and returning to Mus'ab,
+said, "I have seen her, and her face is fairer than health; she hath large and
+well-opened eyes and under them a nose straight and smooth as a cane; oval
+cheeks and a mouth like a cleft pomegranate, a neck as a silver ewer and below
+it a bosom with two breasts like twin- pomegranates and further down a slim
+waist and a slender stomach with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory,
+and back parts like a hummock of sand; and plumply rounded thighs and calves
+like columns of alabaster; but I saw her feet to be large, and thou wilt fall
+short with her in time of need." Upon this report he married her,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Day
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Izzah this wise
+reported of Ayishah bint Talhah, Mus'ab married her and went in to her. And
+presently Izzah invited Ayishah and the women of the tribe Kuraysh to her
+house, when Ayishah sang these two couplets with Mus'ab standing by,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "And the lips of girls, that are perfume sweet; *<br/>
+
+          So nice to kiss when with smiles they greet:<br/>
+
+     Yet ne'er tasted I them, but in thought of him; *<br/>
+
+          And by thought the Ruler rules worldly seat."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The night of Mus'ab's going in unto her, he departed not from her, till after
+seven bouts; and on the morrow, a freewoman of his met him and said to him,
+"May I be thy sacrifice! Thou art perfect, even in this." And a certain woman
+said, "I was with Ayishah, when her husband came in to her, and she lusted for
+him; so he fell upon her and she snarked and snorted and made use of all wonder
+of movements and marvellous new inventions, and I the while within hearing. 
+So, when he came out from her, I said to her, How canst thou do thus with thy
+rank and nobility and condition, and I in thy house?' Quoth she, Verily a
+woman should bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of
+excitement and rare buckings and wrigglings and motitations.[FN#113] What
+dislikest thou of this?' And I answered I would have this by nights.' 
+Rejoined she, Thus is it by day and by night I do more than this; for when he
+seeth me, desire stirreth him up and he falleth in heat; so he putteth it out
+to me and I obey him, and it is as thou seest.'" And there also hath reached
+me an account of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap12"></a>ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL</h3>
+
+<p>
+Abu al-Aswad bought a native-born slave-girl, who was blind of an eye, and she
+pleased him; but his people decried her to him; whereat he wondered and,
+turning the palms of his hands upwards,[FN#114] recited these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "They find me fault with her where I default ne'er find, *<br/>
+
+          Save haply that a speck in either eye may show:<br/>
+
+     But if her eyes have fault, of fault her form hath none, *<br/>
+
+          Slim-built above the waist and heavily made below."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And this is also told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap13"></a>HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls, one from
+Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed his hands, whilst the
+Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern[FN#115] stand up. Quoth the
+Cufite, "I see thou wouldst keep the whole of the stock-in-trade to thyself;
+give me my share of it." And the other answered, "I have been told by Mαlik,
+on the authority of Hishαm ibn Orwah,[FN#116] who had it of his (grand) father,
+that the Prophet said, Whoso quickeneth the dead, the dead belongeth to him and
+is his.' But the Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all
+in her own hand and said, "Al-A'amash telleth us, on the authority of
+Khaysamah, who had it of Abdallah bin Mas'ud, that the Prophet declared, Game
+belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth it.'" And this is also
+related of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap14"></a>THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a Meccan, a
+Medinite and an Irakite. The Medinah girl put her hand to his yard and handled
+it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan sprang up and drew it to herself. Quoth
+the other, "What is this unjust aggression? A tradition was related to me by
+Mαlik[FN#117] after Al-Zuhri, after Abdallah ibn Sαlim, after Sa'νd bin Zayd,
+that the Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and keep!) said: Whoso
+enquickeneth a dead land, it is his.' And the Meccan answered, "It is related
+to us by Sufyαn, from Abu Zanαd, from Al-A'araj, from Abu Horayrah, that the
+Apostle of Allah said: The quarry is his who catcheth it, not his who starteth
+it.'" But the Irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said,
+"This is mine, till your contention be decided." And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap15"></a>THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married to a
+wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him because she was sweet upon a
+neighbour, who misliked her and held aloof from her. One night, the miller
+saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, "Dig in such a spot of the ass's round
+in the mill, and thou shalt find a hoard." When he awoke, he told his wife the
+vision and bade her keep the secret; but she told her neighbour,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the miller's wife told
+the secret to the neighbour whom she loved, thinking to win his favour; and he
+agreed with her to come to her by night. So he came and they dug in the mill
+and found the treasure and took it forth. Then he asked her, "How shall we do
+with this?" and she answered; "We will divide it into two halves and will share
+it equally between us, and do thou leave thy wife and I will cast about to rid
+me of my husband. Then shalt thou marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will
+join the two halves of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our
+hands." Quoth he, "I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other man
+other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world. I reck,
+therefore, it were right that the money be all in my hands, so thou give thy
+whole mind to getting free of thy husband and coming to me." Quoth she, "I
+fear even as thou fearest, nor will I yield up my part to thee; for it was I
+directed thee to it." When he heard this, greed of gain prompted him to kill
+her; so he slew her and threw her body into the empty hoard-hole; but day
+overtook him and hindered him from covering it up; he therefore took the money
+and went his way. Now after a while the miller awoke and, missing his wife,
+went into the mill, where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. 
+It went on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but the
+more he bashed it, the more it drew back; for it was affrighted at the dead
+woman and could not go forward. Thereupon the Miller, unknowing what hindered
+the donkey, took out a knife and goaded it again and again, but still it would
+not budge. Then he was wroth with it, knowing not the cause of its obstinacy,
+and drove the knife into its flanks, and it fell down dead. But when the sun
+rose, he saw his donkey lying dead and likewise his wife in the place of the
+treasure, and great was his rage and sore his wrath for the loss of his hoard
+and the death of his wife and his ass. All this came of his letting his wife
+into his secret and not keeping it to himself.[FN#118] And I have heard this
+tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap16"></a>THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER</h3>
+
+<p>
+A certain simpleton was once walking along, haling his ass after him by the
+halter, when a pair of sharpers saw him and one said to his fellow, "I will
+take that ass from yonder wight." Asked the other, "How wilt thou do that?" 
+"Follow me and I will show thee how," answered the first. So the cony-catcher
+went up to the ass and, loosing it from the halter, gave the beast to his
+fellow; then he haltered his own head and followed Tom Fool till he knew the
+other had got clean off with the ass, when he stood still. The oaf haled at
+the halter, but the rascal stirred not; so he turned and seeing the halter on a
+man's neck, said to him, "What art thou?" Quoth the sharper, "I am thine ass
+and my story is a wonderous one and tis this. Know that I have a pious old
+mother and come in to her one day, drunk; and she said to me: O my son, repent
+to the Almighty of these thy transgressions.' But I took my staff and beat
+her, whereupon she cursed me and Allah changed me into an ass and caused me
+fall into thy hands, where I have remained till this moment. However, to-day,
+my mother called me to mind and her heart yearned towards me; so she prayed for
+me and the Lord restored me to my former shape amongst the sons of Adam." 
+Cried the silly one, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
+the Glorious, the Great! Allah upon thee, O my brother, acquit me of what I
+have done with thee in the way of riding and so forth." Then he let the
+cony-catcher go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern as with
+wine. His wife asked him, "What aileth thee and where is the donkey?"; and he
+answered, "Thou knowest not what was this ass; but I will tell thee." So he
+told her the story, and she exclaimed, "Alack and alas for the punishment we
+shall receive from Almighty Allah! How could we have used a man as a beast of
+burden, all this while? And she gave alms by way of atonement and prayed
+pardon of Heaven.[FN#119] Then the man abode awhile at home, idle and
+feckless, till she said to him, "How long wilt thou sit at home doing naught? 
+Go to the market and buy us an ass and ply thy work with it." Accordingly, he
+went to the market and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own
+ass for sale. So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear, said to
+it, "Woe to thee, thou ne'er-do-well! Doubtless thou hast been getting drunk
+again and beating thy mother! But, by Allah, I will never buy thee
+more."[FN#120] and he left it and went away. And they tell a tale concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap17"></a>THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph Harun al-Rashid went up one noon-tide to his couch, to lie down; and
+mounting, found upon the bed-clothes semen freshly emitted; whereat he was
+startled and troubled with sore trouble. So he called the Lady Zubaydah and
+said to her, "What is that spilt on the bed?" She looked at it and replied, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, it is semen." Quoth he, "Tell me truly what this
+meaneth or I will lay violent hands on thee forthright." Quoth she, "By Allah,
+O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I know not how it came there and I am
+guiltless of that whereof you suspectest me." So he sent for the Kazi AbÏŠ
+YÏŠsuf and acquainted him of the case. The Judge raised his eyes to the ceiling
+and, seeing a crack therein, said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful,
+in very sooth the bat hath seed like that of a man,[FN#121] and this is bat's
+semen." Then he called for a spear and thrust it into the crevice, whereupon
+down fell the bat. In this manner the Caliph's suspicions were dispelled,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-ninth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Kazi Abu Yusuf
+took the spear and thrust it into the crevice, down fell the bat, and thus the
+Caliph's suspicions were dispelled and the innocence of Zubaydah was made
+manifest; whereat she gave loud and liberal vent to her joy and promised Abu
+Yusuf a magnificent reward. Now there were with her certain delicious fruits,
+out of their season, and she knew of others in the garden; so she asked Abu
+Yusuf, "O Imam of the Faith, which wouldst thou rather have of the two kinds of
+fruits, those that are here or those that are not here?" And he answered, "Our
+code forbiddeth us to pronounce judgement on the absent; whenas they are
+present, we will give our decision." So she let bring the two kinds of fruits
+before him; and he ate of both. Quoth she, "What is the difference between
+them?" and quoth he, "As often as I think to praise one kind, the adversary
+putteth in its claim." The Caliph laughed at his answer[FN#122] and made him a
+rich present; and Zubaydah also gave him what she had promised him, and he went
+away, rejoicing. See, then the virtues of this Imαm and how his hands were
+manifest the truth and the innocence of the Lady Zubaydah. And amongst other
+stories is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap18"></a>THE CALIPH AL-HAKIM[FN#123] AND THE MERCHANT</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph Al-Hαkim bi-Amri'llah was riding out in state procession one day,
+when he passed along a garden, wherein he saw a man, surrounded by negro-slaves
+and eunuchs. He asked him for a draught of water, and the man gave him to
+drink, saying, "Belike, the Commander of the Faithful will honour me by
+alighting in this my garden." So the Caliph dismounted and with his suite
+entered the garden; whereupon the said man brought out to them an hundred rugs
+and an hundred leather mats and an hundred cushions; and set before them an
+hundred dishes of fruits, an hundred bowls of sweetmeats and an hundred jars of
+sugared sherbets; at which the Caliph marvelled with much amaze and said to his
+host, "O man, verily this thy case is wondrous: didst thou know of our coming
+and make this preparation for us?" He replied, "No by Allah, O Commander of the
+Faithful, I knew not of thy coming and I am a merchant of the rest of thy
+subjects; but I have an hundred concubines; so, when the Commander of the
+Faithful honoured me by alighting with me, I sent to each of them, bidding her
+send me her morning-meal in the garden. So they sent me each of her furniture
+and the surplus of her meat and drink: and every day each sendeth me a dish of
+meat and another of cooling marinades, also a platter of fruits and a bowl of
+sweetmeats and a jar of sherbet. This is my noon-day dinner, nor have I added
+aught thereto for thee." Then the Commander of the Faithful, Al-Hakim
+bi-Amri'llah prostrated himself in thanksgiving to the Almighty (extolled and
+exalted be His name!) and said, "Praise be Allah, who hath been so bountiful to
+one of our lieges, that he entertaineth the Caliph and his host, without making
+ready for them; nay, he feedeth them with the surplusage of his day's
+provision!" Then he sent for all the dirhams in the treasury, that had been
+struck that year (and they were in number three thousand and seven hundred
+thousand); nor did he mount until the money came, when he gave it to the
+merchant, saying, "Use this as thy state may require; and thy generosity
+deserveth more than this." Then he took horse and rode away. And I have heard
+a story concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap19"></a>KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN[FN#124] AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Just King, Kisrα Anϊshirwαn, one day rode forth to the chase and, in
+pursuit of a deer, became separated from his suite. Presently, he caught sight
+of a hamlet near hand and being sore athirst, he made for it and presenting
+himself at the door of a house that lay by the wayside, asked for a draught of
+water. So a damsel came out and looked at him; then, going back into the
+house, pressed the juice from a single sugar-cane into a bowl and mixed it with
+water; after which she strewed on the top some scented stuff, as it were dust,
+and carried it tot he King. Thereupon he seeing in it what resembled dust,
+drank it, little by little, till he came to the end; when said he to her, "O
+damsel, the drink is good, and how sweet it had been but for this dust in it
+that troubleth it." Answered she, "O guest, I put in that powder for a
+purpose;" and he asked, "And why didst thou thus?"; so she replied, "I saw thee
+exceedingly thirsty and feared that thou wouldst drain the whole at one draught
+and that this would thee mischief; and but for this dust that troubled the
+drink so hadst thou done." The Just King wondered at her words, knowing that
+they came of her wit and good sense, and said to her, "From how many sugar
+canes didst thou express this draught?" "One," answered she; whereat Anushirwan
+marvelled and, calling for the register of the village taxes, saw that its
+assessment was but little and bethought him to increase it, on his return to
+his palace, saying in himself, "A village where they get this much juice out of
+one sugar-cane, why is it so lightly taxed?" He then left the village and
+pursued his chase; and, as he came back at the end of the day, he passed alone
+by the same door and called again for drink; whereupon the same damsel came out
+and, knowing him at a look, went in to fetch him water. It was some time
+before she returned and Anushirwan wondered thereat and said to her, "Why hast
+thou tarried?"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Ninetieth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Anushirwan hurried
+the damsel and asked her, "Why hast thou tarried?" she answered, "Because a
+single sugar-cane gave not enough for thy need; so I pressed three; but they
+yielded not to much as one did before." Rejoined he, "What is the cause of
+that?"; and she replied, "The cause of it is that when the Sultan's[FN#125]
+mind is changed against a folk, their prosperity ceaseth and their good waxeth
+less." So Anushirwan laughed and dismissed from his mind that which he had
+purposed against the villagers. Moreover, he took the damsel to wife then and
+there, being pleased with her much wit and acuteness and the excellence of her
+speech. And they tell another tale of the
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap20"></a>WATER-CARRIER[FN#126] AND THE GOLDSMITH'S WIFE</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, in the city of Bokhara, a water-carrier, who used to carry
+water to the house of a goldsmith and had done this thirty years. Now that
+goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty and loveliness, brilliancy and perfect
+grace; and she was withal renowned for piety, chastity and modesty. One day
+the water- carrier came, as of custom, and poured the water into the cisterns. 
+Now the woman was standing in the midst of the court; so he went close up to
+her and taking her hand, stroked it and pressed it, then went away and left
+her. When her husband came home from the bazar, she said to him, "I would have
+thee tell me what thing thou hast done in the market this day, to anger
+Almighty Allah." Quoth he, "I have done nothing to offend the Lord." "Nay,"
+rejoined she, "but, by Allah, thou hast indeed done something to anger Him; and
+unless thou tell me the whole truth, I will not abide in thy house, and thou
+shalt not see me, nor will I see thee." So he confessed, "I will tell thee the
+truth of what I did this day. It so chanced that, as I was sitting in my shop,
+as of wont, a woman came up to me and bade me make her a bracelet of gold. 
+Then she went away and I wrought her a bracelet and laid it aside. But when
+she returned and I brought her out the bracelet, she put forth her hand and I
+clasped the bracelet on her wrist; and I wondered at the whiteness of her hand
+and the beauty of her wrist, which would captivate any beholder; and I recalled
+what the poet saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Her fore-arms, dight with their bangles, show *<br/>
+
+          Like fire ablaze on the waves a-flow;<br/>
+
+     As by purest gold were the water girt, *<br/>
+
+          And belted around by a living lowe.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So I took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it." Said the woman, "Great
+God! Why didst thou this ill thing? Know that the water-carrier, who hath
+come to our house these thirty years, nor sawst thou ever any treason in him
+took my hand this day and pressed and squeezed it." Said her husband, "O
+woman, let us crave pardon of Allah! Verily, I repent of what I did, and do
+thou ask forgiveness of the Lord for me." She cried, "Allah pardon me and
+thee, and receive us into his holy keeping."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the goldsmith's wife
+cried out, "Allah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy keeping!" 
+And on the next day, the water-carrier came in to the jeweller's wife and,
+throwing himself at her feet, grovelled in the dust and besought pardon of her,
+saying, "O my lady, acquit me of that which Satan deluded me to do; for it was
+he that seduced me and led me astray." She answered, "Go thy ways, the sin was
+not in thee, but in my husband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and
+Allah hath retaliated upon him in this world." And it related that the
+goldsmith, when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used her, said,
+"Tit for tat, and blow for blow!; had I done more the water-carrier had done
+more";—which became a current byword among the folk. Therefore it behoveth a
+wife to be both outward and inward with her husband; contenting herself with
+little from him, if he cannot give her much, and taking pattern by Ayishah the
+Truthful and Fatimah the virgin mother (Allah Almighty accept of them the
+twain!), that she may be of the company of the righteous ancestry.[FN#127] And
+I have heard the following tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap21"></a>KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN</h3>
+
+<p>
+King Khusrau[FN#128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one day, as he sat in
+his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came a fisherman, with a great fish,
+and he laid it before the King, who was pleased and ordered the man four
+thousand dirhams.[FN#129] Thereupon Shirin said to the King, "Thou hast done
+ill." Asked he, "And why?", and she answered, "Because if, after this, though
+give one of thy courtiers a like sum, he will disdain it and say, He hath but
+given me the like of what he gave the fisherman.' And if thou give him less,
+the same will say, He despiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the
+fisherman.'" Rejoined Khusrau, "Thou art right, but it would dishonour a king
+to go back on his gift; and the thing is done." Quoth Shirin, "If thou wilt, I
+will contrive thee a means to get it back from him." Quoth he, "How so?"; and
+she said, "Call back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him if the fish
+be male or female. If he say, Male,' say thou, We want a female,' and if he
+say, Female,' say, We want a male.'" So the King sent for the fisherman, who
+was a man of wit and astuteness, and said to him, "Is this fish male or
+female?" whereupon the fisherman kissed the ground and answered, "This fish is
+an hermaphrodite,[FN#130] neither male nor female." Khusrau laughed at his
+clever reply and ordered him other four thousand dirhams. So the fisherman went
+to the treasurer and, taking his eight thousand dirhams, put them in a sack he
+had with him. Then, throwing it over his shoulder, he was going away, when he
+dropped a dirham; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped down to pick it
+up. Now the King and Shirin were looking on, and the Queen said, "O King,
+didst thou note the meanness of the man, in that he must needs stoop down to
+pick up the one dirham, and could not bring himself to leave it for any of the
+King's servants?" When the King heard these words, he was exceeding wroth with
+the fisherman and said, "Thou art right, O Shirin!" So he called the man back
+and said to him, "Thou low-minded carle! Thou art no man! How couldst thou
+put the bag with all this money off thy back and bend thee groundwards to pick
+up the one dirham and grudge to leave it where it fell?" Thereupon the
+fisherman kissed the earth before him and answered, "May Allah prolong the
+King's life! Indeed, I did not pick up the dirham off the ground because of
+its value in my eyes; but I raised it off the earth because on one of its faces
+is the likeness of the King and on the other his name; and I feared lest any
+should unwittingly set foot upon it, thus dishonouring the name and presentment
+of the King, and I be blamed for this offence." The King wondered at his words
+and approved of his wit and shrewdness, and ordered him yet another four
+thousand dirhams. Moreover, he bade cry abroad in his kingdom, saying, "It
+behoveth none to be guided by women's counsel; for whoso followeth their
+advice, loseth, with his one dirham, other twain."[FN#131] And here is the
+tale they tell of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap22"></a>YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE AND THE POOR MAN</h3>
+
+<p>
+Yahya bin Khαlid the Barmecide was returning home, one day, from the Caliph's
+palace, when he saw, at the gate of his mansion, a man who rose as he drew near
+and saluted him, saying, "O Yahya, I am in sore need of that which is in they
+hand, and I make Allah my intermediary with thee." So Yahya caused a place to
+be set aside for him in his house and bade his treasurer carry him a thousand
+dirhams every day and ordered that his diet be of the choicest of his own meat.
+The man abode in this case a whole month, at the end of which time, having
+received in all thirty thousand dirhams and fearing lest Yahya should take the
+money from him, because of the greatness of the sum, he departed by
+stealth.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man, taking with him
+the money, departed by stealth. But when they told Yahya of this, he said, "By
+Allah, though he had tarried with me to the end of his days, yet had I not
+stinted him of my largesse nor cut off from him the bounties of my
+hospitality!" For, indeed, the excellences of the Barmecides were past count
+nor can their virtues be committed to description, especially those of Yahya
+bin Khalid, for he was an ocean[FN#132] of noble qualities, even as saith the
+poet of him,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I asked of Bounty, Art thou free?' Quoth she, *<br/>
+
+          No, I am slave to Yahyα Khαlid-son!'<br/>
+
+     Boughten?' asked I. Allah forfend,' quoth she, *<br/>
+
+          By heirship, sire to sire's transmission!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the following is related of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap23"></a>MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL</h3>
+
+<p>
+Ja'afar bin Musα al-Hαdi[FN#133] once had a slave-girl, a lutist, called
+Al-Badr al-Kabνr, than whom there was not in her time a fairer of face nor
+shapelier of shape nor a more elegant of manners nor a more accomplished in the
+art of singing and striking the strings; she was indeed perfect in beauty and
+extreme in every charm. Now Mohammed al-Amνn,[FN#134] son of Zubaydah, heard
+of her and was urgent with Ja'afar to sell her to him; but he replied, "Thou
+knowest it beseemeth not one of my rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on
+concubines; but were she not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift,
+not grudge her to thee." And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this went to
+Ja'afar's house, to make merry; and the host set before him that which it
+behoveth to set before true friends and bade the damsel Al-Badr al-Kabir sing
+to him and gladden him. So she tuned the lute and sang with a ravishing
+melody; whilst Mohammed al-Amin fell to drinking and jollity and bade the
+cupbearers ply Ja'afar with much wine, till they made him drunken, when he took
+the damsel and carried her to his own house, but laid not a finger on her. And
+when the morrow dawned he bade invite Ja'afar; and when he came, he set wine
+before him and made the girl sing to him, from behind the curtain. Ja'afar
+knew her voice and was angered at this, but, of the nobleness of his nature and
+the magnanimity of his mind he showed no change. Now when the carousal was at
+an end, Al-Amin commanded one of his servants to fill the boat, wherein Ja'afar
+had come, with dirhams and dinars and all manner of jewels and jacinths and
+rich raiment and goods galore. So he laid therein a thousand myriads of money
+and a thousand fine pearls, each worth twenty thousand dirhams; nor did he give
+over loading the barge with all manner of things precious and rare, till the
+boatmen cried out for help, saying, "The boat can't hold any more;" whereupon
+he bade them carry all this to Ja'afar's palace. Such are the exploits of the
+magnanimous, Allah have mercy on them! And a tale is related of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap24"></a>THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SA'ID BIN SALIM AL-BAHILI</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Sa'νd bin Sαlim al'Bαhilν,[FN#135] I was once in very narrow case, during
+the days of Harun al-Rashid, and debts accumulated upon me, burdening my back,
+and these I had no means of discharging. I was at my wits' end what to do, for
+my doors were blocking up with creditors and I was without cease importuned for
+payment by claimants, who dunned me in crowds till at last I was sore perplexed
+and troubled. So I betook myself to Abdallah bin Mαlik al-Khuza'ν[FN#136] and
+besought him to extend the hand of aid with his judgement and direct me of his
+good counsel to the door of relief; and he said, None can save thee from this
+thy strait and sorrowful state save the Barmecides.' Quoth I, Who can brook
+their pride and put up patiently with their arrogant pretensions?' and quoth
+he, Thou wilt put up with all this for the bettering of thy case.'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-third Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah ibn Malik
+al-Khuza'i said to Sa'id bin Salim, "Thou wilt put up with all this for the
+bettering of thy case." "So I left him suddenly (continued Sa'id) and went
+straight to Al-Fazl and Ja'afar, sons of Yahyα bin Khαlid, to whom I related my
+circumstances; whereto they replied, Allah give thee His aid, and render thee
+by His bounties independent of His creatures and vouchsafe thee abundant weal
+and bestow on thee what shall suffice thee, without the need of any but
+Himself; for whatso He willeth that He can, and He is gracious with His
+servants and knoweth their wants.' So I went out from the twain and returned
+to Abdallah, with straitened breast and mind perplexed and heavy of heart, and
+repeated to him what they had said. Quoth he, Thou wouldst do well to abide
+with us this day, that we may see what Allah Almighty will decree.' So I sat
+with him awhile, when lo! up came my servant, who said to me, O my lord, there
+are at our door many laden mules and with them a man, who says he is the agent
+of Al-Fazl and Ja'afar bin Yahya.' Quoth Abdallah, I trust that relief is come
+to thee: rise up and go see what is the matter.' So I left him and, hastening
+to my house, found at the door a man who gave me a note wherein was written the
+following: After thou hadst been with us and we heard thy case, we betook
+ourselves to the Caliph and informed him that ill condition had reduced thee to
+the humiliation of begging; where upon he ordered us to supply thee with a
+thousand thousand dirhams from the Treasury. We represented to him: The debtor
+will spend this money in paying off creditors and wiping off debt; whence then
+shall he provide for his subsistence? So he ordered thee other three hundred
+thousand, and each of us hath also sent thee, of his proper wealth, a thousand
+thousand dirhams: so that thou hast now three thousand thousand and three
+hundred thousand dirhams wherewithal to order and amend thine estate.'" See,
+then, the munificence of these magnificos: Almighty Allah have mercy on them! 
+And a tale is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap25"></a>THE WOMAN'S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND</h3>
+
+<p>
+A man brought his wife a fish one Friday and, bidding her to cook it against
+the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his craft and business. 
+Meanwhile in came her friend who bade her to a wedding at his house; so she
+agreed and, laying the fish in a jar of water, went off with him and was absent
+a whole week till the Friday following;[FN#137] whilst her husband sought her
+from house to house and enquired after her; but none could give him any tidings
+of her. Now on the next Friday she came home and he fell foul of her; but she
+brought out to him the fish alive from the jar and assembled the folk against
+him and told them her tale.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman brought out the
+fish alive from the water-jar and assembled the folk against her husband, and
+told them her tale. He also told his; but they credited him not and said, "It
+cannot be that the fish should have remained alive all this while." So they
+proved him mad and imprisoned him and mocked at him, where upon he shed tears
+in floods and recited these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Old hag, of high degree in filthy life, *<br/>
+
+          Whose face her monstrous lewdness witnesses.<br/>
+
+     When menstuous she bawds; when clean she whores; *<br/>
+
+          And all her time bawd or adulteress is."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And a tale is related of the
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap26"></a>THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS[FN#138]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was in times of yore and in ages long gone before, a virtuous woman among
+the children of Israel, who was pious and devout and used every day to go out
+to the place of prayer, first entering a garden, which adjoined thereto, and
+there making the minor ablution. Now there were in this garden two old men,
+its keepers, and both Shaykhs fell in love with her and sought her favours; but
+she refused, whereupon said they, "Unless thou yield thy body to us, we will
+bear witness against thee of fornication." Quoth she, "Allah will preserve me
+from your frowardness!" Then they opened the garden-gate and cried out, and
+the folk came to them from all places, saying "What aileth you?" Quoth they,
+"We found this damsel in company with a youth who was doing lewdness with her;
+but he escaped from our hands." Now it was the wont of the people in those days
+to expose adulterer and adulteress to public reproach for three days, and after
+stone them. So they cried her name in the public streets for three days, while
+the two elders came up to her daily and, laying their hands on her head, said,
+"Praised be Allah who hath sent down on thee His righteous indignation!" Now
+on the fourth day, when they bore her away to stone her, they were followed by
+a lad named Daniel, who was then only twelve years old, and this was to be the
+first of his miracles (upon our Prophet and upon him the blessing and peace!). 
+And he ceased not following them to the place of execution, till he came up
+with them and said to them, "Hasten not to stone her, till I judge between
+them." So they set him a chair and he sat down and summoned the old men
+separately. (Now he was the first ever separated witnesses.) Then said he to
+the first, "What sawest thou?"[FN#139] So he repeated to him his story, and
+Daniel asked, "In what part of the garden did this befal?" and he answered, "On
+the eastern side, under a pear-tree." Then he called the other old man and
+asked him the same question, and he replied, "On the western side of the
+garden, under an apple-tree." Meanwhile the damsel stood by, with her hands
+and eyes raised heavenwards, imploring the Lord for deliverance. Then Allah
+Almighty sent down His blasting leven-fire upon the elders and consumed them,
+and on this wise the Lord made manifest the innocence of the damsel. Such was
+the first of the miracles of the Prophet Daniel, on whom be blessing and peace!
+And they relate a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap27"></a>JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWL</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, went out one day, with Abu
+Ya'KÏŠb the cup-companion[FN#140] and Ja'afar the Barmecide and Abu Nowas, into
+the desert, where they fell in with an old man, propt against his ass. The
+Caliph bade Ja'afar learn of him whence he came; so he asked him, "Whence
+comest thou?" and he answered, "From Bassorah."—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ja'afar asked the
+man, "Whence comest thou?"; he answered "From Bassorah." Quoth Ja'afar, "And
+whither goest thou?" Quoth the other, "To Baghdad." Then Ja'afar enquired
+"And what wilt thou do there?" and the old man replied, "I go to seek medicine
+for my eye." Said the Caliph, "O Ja'afar, make thou sport with him," and
+answered Ja'afar, "I shall hear what I shall exceedingly mislike."[FN#141] But
+Al-Rashid rejoined, "I charge thee on my authority, jest with him." Thereupon
+Ja'afar said to the Badawi, "If I prescribe thee a medicine that shall profit
+thee, what wilt thou give me in return?" Quoth the other, "Allah Almighty will
+requite the kindness with what is better for thee than any requital of mine." 
+Continued Ja'afar, "Now lend me an ear and I will give thee a prescription,
+which I have given to none but thee." "What is that?" asked the Badawi; and
+Ja'afar answered, "Take three ounces of wind-breaths and the like of sunbeams
+and the same of moonshine and as much of lamp-light; mix them well together and
+let them lie in the wind three months. Then place them three months in a
+mortar without a bottom and pound them to a fine powder and after trituration
+set them in a cleft platter, and let it stand in the wind other three months;
+after which use of this medicine three drachms every night in thy sleep, and,
+Inshallah! thou shalt be healed and whole." Now when the Badawi heard this, he
+stretched himself out to full length on the donkey's back and let fly a
+terrible loud fart[FN#142] and said to Ja'afar, "Take this fart in payment of
+thy prescription. When I have followed it, if Allah grant me recovery, I will
+give thee a slave-girl, who shall serve thee in they lifetime a service,
+wherewith Allah shall cut short thy term; and when thou diest and the Lord
+hurrieth thy soul to hell-fire, she shall blacken thy face with her skite, of
+her mourning for thee, and shall keen and beat her face, saying O frosty-beard,
+what a fool thou wast?'"[FN#143] thereupon Harun al-Rashid laughed till he
+fell backward, and ordered the Badawi three thousand silver pieces. And a tale
+is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap28"></a>THE CALIPH OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE YOUNG BADAWI</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Sharif Husayn bin Rayyαn relateth that the Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattαb was
+sitting one day judging the folk and doing justice between his subjects,
+attended by the best and wisest of his counsellors, when there came up to him a
+youth comely and cleanly attired, upon whom two very handsome youths had laid
+hold and were haling by the collar till they set him in the presence. Whereupon
+the Commander of the Faithful, Omar, looked at him and them and bade them loose
+him; then, calling him near to himself, asked the twain, "What is your case
+with him?" They answered, "O Prince of True Believers, we are two brothers by
+one mother and as followers of verity known are we. We had a father, a very
+old man of good counsel, honoured by the tribes, sound of baseness renowned for
+goodliness, who reared us tenderly in childhood, and loaded us with favours in
+manhood;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two youths said to
+the Commander of the Faithful, Omar son of Al- Khattab, "Our father was a man
+honoured by the tribes, sound of baseness and renowned for goodliness, who
+reared us delicately in childhood and loaded us with favours in manhood; in
+fine, a sea of noble and illustrious qualities, worthy of the poet's praise,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Is Aub's-Sakr of Shaybαn[FN#144]?' they asked; *<br/>
+
+          Quoth I, Nay, by my life, of him's Shaybαn:<br/>
+
+     How many a sire rose high by a noble son, *<br/>
+
+          As Allah's prophet glorified Adnan!'[FN#145]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now he went forth this day to his garden, to refresh himself amongst its trees
+and pluck the ripe fruits, when this young man slew him wrongously and swerved
+from the road of righteousness; wherefore we demand of thee the retribution of
+his crime and call upon thee to pass judgement upon him, according to the
+commandment of Allah." Then Omar cast a terrible look at the accused youth and
+said to him, "Verily thou hearest the complaint these two young men prefer;
+what hast thou in reply to aver?" But he was brave of heart and bold of speech,
+having doffed the robe of pusillanimity and put off the garb of cowardry; so he
+smiled and spake in the most eloquent and elegant words; and, after paying the
+usual ceremonial compliments to the Caliph, said, ""By Allah, O Commander of
+the Faithful, I have indeed given ear to their complaint, and they have told
+the truth in that which they tell, so far as they have set out what befel; and
+the commandment of Allah is a decreed decree.[FN#146] but I will forthright
+state my case between they hands, and it is for thee to give commands. Know
+then, O Prince of the Faithful, that I am a very Arab of the Arabies,[FN#147]
+the noblest of those that are beneath the skies. I grew up in the dwellings of
+the wold and fell, till evil times my tribe befel, when I came to the outskirts
+of this town, with my family and whatso goods I own: and, as I went along one
+of the paths leading to its gardens, orchards and garths, with my she-camels
+highly esteemed and by me most precious deemed, and midst them a stallion of
+noble blood and shape right good, a plenteous getter of brood, by whom the
+females abundantly bore and who walked among them as though a kingly crown he
+wore, one of the she-camels broke away; and, running to the garden of these
+young men's father, where the trees showed above the wall, put forth her lips
+and began to feed as in stall. I ran to her, to drive her away, when behold,
+there appeared, at a breach of the wall, an old man and grey, whose eyes
+sparkled with angry ray, holding in his right a stone to throw and swaying to
+and fro, with a swing like a lion ready for a spring. He cast the stone at my
+stallion, and it killed him for it struck a vital part. When I saw the
+stallion drop dead beside me, I felt live coals of anger kindled in my heart;
+so I took up the very same stone and throwing it at the old man, it was the
+cause of his bane and ban: thus his own wrongful act returned to him anew, and
+the man was slain of that wherewith he slew. When the stone struck him, he
+cried out with a great cry and shrieked out a terrible shriek, whereupon I
+hastened from the spot; but these two young men hurried after me and laid hands
+on me and before thee carried me." Quoth Omar (Almighty Allah accept of him!),
+"Thou hast confessed what thou committedest, and of acquittal there is no
+possible occasion; for urgent is the law of retaliation and they cried for
+mercy but it was not a time to escape."[FN#148] the youth answered, "I hear
+and obey the judgement of the Imam, and I consent to all required by the law of
+Al-Islam; but I have a young brother, whose old father, before his decease,
+appointed to him wealth in great store and gold galore, and committed his
+affair to me before Allah, saying: I give this into thy hand for thy brother;
+keep it for him with all thy might.' So I took the money and buried it; nor
+doth any know of it but I. Now, if thou adjudge me to be justiced forthright,
+the money will lost and thou shalt be the cause of its loss; wherefore the
+child will sue thee for his due on the day when the Creator shall judge between
+His creatures. But, if thou wilt grant me three days' delay, I will appoint
+some guardian to administer the affairs of the boy and return to answer my
+debt; and I have one who will be my surety for the fulfillment of this my
+promise." So the Commander of the Faithful bowed his head awhile, then raised
+it and looking round upon those present, said, "Who will stand surety by me for
+his return to this place?" And the youth looked at the faces of those who were
+in company and pointing to Abu Zarr,[FN#149] in preference to all present,
+said, "This man shall answer for me and be my bail."—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the youth pointed to
+Abu Zarr and said, "This man shall answer for me and be my bail," Omar (Allah
+accept of him!) said, O Abu Zarr, dost thou hear these words and wilt thou be
+surety to me for the return of this youth?" He answered, "Yes, O Commander of
+the Faithful, I will be surety for him for three days." So the Caliph accepted
+his guarantee and let the young man go. Now when the appointed time passed and
+the days of grace were nearly or quite at end yet the youth came not, the
+Caliph took seat in his council, with the Companions surrounding him, like the
+constellations about the moon, Abu Zarr and the plaintiffs being also present;
+and the avengers said, "Where is the defendant, O Abu Zarr, and how shall he
+return, having once fled? But we will not stir from our places till thou
+bring him to us, that we may take of him our blood revenge." Replied Abu Zarr,
+"By the truth of the All-Wise King, if the three days of grace expire and the
+young man returneth not, I will fulfill my warranty and surrender my person to
+the Imam;" and added Omar (whom Allah accept!), "By the Lord, if the young man
+appear not, I will assuredly execute on Abu Zarr that which is prescribed by
+the law of Al-Islam!"[FN#150] thereupon the eyes of the bystanders ran over
+with tears; those who looked on groaned aloud and great was the clamour. Then
+the chiefs of the Companions urged the plaintiffs to accept the blood-wit and
+deserve the thanks of the folk; but they both refused and would accept nothing
+save the talion. However, as the folk were swaying to and fro like waves and
+loudly bemoaning Abu Zarr, behold, up came the young Badawi; and, standing
+before the Imam, saluted him right courteously (with sweat-beaded face and
+shining with the crescent's grace) and said to him, "I have given the lad in
+charge to his mother's brothers and have made them acquainted with all that
+pertaineth to his affairs and let them into the secrets of his monies; after
+which I braved the heats of noon and have kept my word as a free- born man." 
+Thereupon the folk marvelled, seeing his good faith and loyalty and his
+offering himself to death with so stout a heart; and one said to him, "How
+noble a youth art thou and how loyal to thy word of honour and thy devoir!" 
+Rejoined he, "Are ye not convinced that when death presenteth itself, none can
+escape from it? And indeed, I have kept my word, that it be not said, Good
+faith is gone from among mankind.' " Said Abu Zarr, "By Allah, O Commander of
+the Faithful, I became warrant for this young man, without knowing to what
+tribe he belonged, nor had I seen him before that day; but, when he turned away
+from all who were present and singled me out, saying, This man shall answer for
+me and be my bail,' I thought it not right to refuse him, and generosity
+forbade to disappoint his desire, there being no harm in compliance therewith,
+that it be not bruited abroad, Benevolence is gone from among mankind." Then
+said the two young men, "O Commander of the Faithful, we forgive this youth our
+father's blood, seeing that he hath changed desolation into cheerfulness; that
+it be not said, Humanity is gone from among mankind." So the Caliph rejoiced
+in the acquittance of the youth and his truth and good faith; moreover, he
+magnified the generosity of Abu Zarr, extolling it over all his companions, and
+approved the resolve of the two young men for its benevolence, giving them
+praise with thanks and applying to their case the saying of the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; *<br/>
+
+          Ne'er is kindness lost betwixt God and men."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he offered to pay them, from the Treasury, the blood-wit for their father;
+but they refused, saying, "We forgave him only of our desire unto
+Allah,[FN#151] the Bountiful, the Exalted; and he who is thus intentioned
+followeth not his benefits with reproach or with mischief."[FN#152] and
+amongst the tales they relate is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap29"></a>THE CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS[FN#153] OF EGYPT</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is told that the Caliph Al-Maamun, son of Harun al-Rashid, when he entered
+the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull down the Pyramids, that he
+might take what was therein; but, when he went about to do this, he could not
+succeed, albeit his best was done. He expended a mint of money in the
+attempt,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred Ninety-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun attempting to
+pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money, but succeeded only in
+opening up a small tunnel in one of them, where in it is said he found treasure
+to the exact amount of the monies he had spent in the works, neither more nor
+less; whereat he marvelled and taking what he found there, desisted from his
+determination. Now the Pyramids are three, and they are one of the Wonders of
+the World; nor is there on the face of earth aught like them for height and
+fashion and mysteries[FN#154]; for they are built of huge rocks, and the
+builders proceeded by piercing one block of stone and setting therein upright
+rods of iron[FN#155]; after which they pierced a second block of stone and
+lowered it upon the first. Then they poured melted lead upon the clamps and
+set the blocks in geometrical order, till the building was complete. Now the
+height of each pyramid was an hundred cubits, of the normal measure of the day,
+and it had four faces, each three hundred cubits long from the base and thence
+battering upwards to a point. The ancients say that, in the western Pyramid,
+are thirty chambers of parti-coloured syenite, full of precious gems and
+treasures galore and rare images and utensils and costly weapons which are
+anointed with egromantic unguents, so that they may not rust until the day of
+Resurrection.[FN#156] Therein, also, are vessels of glass which bend and break
+not, containing various kinds of compound drugs and sympathetic waters. In the
+second Pyramid are the records of the priests, written on tablets of syenite,
+to each priest his tablet, whereon are engraved the wonders of his craft and
+his feats; and on the walls are the human figures like idols, working with
+their hands at all manner of mechanism and seated on stepped thrones. 
+Moreover, to each Pyramid there is a guardian treasurer who keepeth watch over
+it and wardeth it, to all eternity, against the ravages of time and the shifts
+of events; and indeed the marvels of these Pyramids astound all who have sight
+and insight. Many are the poems that describe them, thou shalt thereby profit
+no small matter, and among the rest, quoth one of them,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "If Kings would see their high emprize preserved, *<br/>
+
+          Twill be by tongues of monuments they laid:<br/>
+
+     Seest not the Pyramids? These two endure *<br/>
+
+          Despite what change Time and Change have made."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth another,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Look on the Pyramids, and hear the twain *<br/>
+
+          Recount their annals of the long-gone Past:<br/>
+
+     Could they but speak, high marvels had they told *<br/>
+
+          Of what Time did to man from first to last."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth a third,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "My friend I prithee tell me, 'neath the sky *<br/>
+
+          Is aught with Egypt's Pyramids can compare?<br/>
+
+     Buildings which frighten Time, albe what dwells *<br/>
+
+          On back of earth in fear of Time must fare:<br/>
+
+     If on their marvels rest my sight no more, *<br/>
+
+          Yet these I ever shall in memory bear."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth a fourth,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Where is the man who built the Pyramids? *<br/>
+
+          What was his tribe, what day and where his tomb?<br/>
+
+     The monuments survive the men who built *<br/>
+
+          Awhile, till overthrown by touch of Doom."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And men also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap30"></a>THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once a thief who repented to Almighty Allah with sincere penitence;
+so he opened himself a shop for the sale of stuffs, where he continued to trade
+awhile. It so chanced one day that he locked his shop and went home, and in the
+night there came to the bazar an artful thief disguised in the habit of the
+merchant, and pulling out keys from his sleeve, said to the watchman of the
+market, "Light me this wax-candle." The watchman took the taper and went to
+light it,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the watchman took the
+taper and went to light it, whilst the thief opened the shop and lit another
+candle he had by him. When the watchman came back, he found him seated in the
+shop, account- books inhand, and reckoning with his fingers; nor did he cease
+to do thus till point of day, when he said to the man, "Fetch me a camel-driver
+and his camel, to carry some goods for me." So the man fetched him a camel,
+and the thief took four bales[FN#157] of stuffs and gave them to the cameleer,
+who loaded them on his beast. Then he gave the watchman two dirhams and went
+away after the camel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the owner
+of the shop. Now when the morning dawned and day broke the merchant came and
+the watchman began greeting him with blessings, because of the two dirhams; but
+the shop-keeper wondered at his words as one not knowing what he meant. When
+he opened his shop, he saw the droppings of the wax and the account-book lying
+on the floor, and looking round, found four bales of stuffs missing. So he
+asked the watchman what had happened and he told him what has passed in the
+night and what had been said to the cameleer, whereupon the merchant bade him
+fetch the man and asked him, "Whither didst thou carry the stuffs this
+morning?" Answered the driver, "To such a landing-place, and I stowed them on
+board such a vessel." Said the merchant, "Come with me thither;" so the
+camel-driver carried him to the landing-place and said to him, "This be the
+barque and this be her owner." Quoth the merchant to the seaman, "Whither
+didst thou carry the merchant and the stuff?" Answered the boat-master, "To
+such a place, where he fetched a camel-driver and, setting the bales on the
+camel, went his ways I know not whither." "Fetch me the cameleer who carried
+the goods," said the merchant; so he fetched him and the merchant said to him,
+"Whither didst thou carry the bales of goods from the ship?" "To such a Khan,"
+answered he; and the merchant rejoined, "Come thither with me and show it to
+me." So the camel-man went with him to a place far distant from the shore and
+showed him the Khan where he had set down the stuffs, and at the same time the
+false merchant's magazine, which he opened and found therein his four bales
+bound up as they had been packed. The thief had laid his cloak over them; so
+the merchant took the cloak as well as the bales and delivered them to the
+camel- driver, who laid them on his camel; after which he locked the magazine
+and went away with the cameleer. On the way, he was confronted with the thief
+who followed him, till he had shipped the bales, when he said to him, "O my
+brother (Allah have thee in His holy keeping!), thou hast indeed recovered thy
+goods and naught of them is lost; so give me back my cloak." The merchant
+laughed and, giving him back his cloak, let him go unhindered; whereupon both
+went their ways. And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap31"></a>MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was exceedingly restless one
+night; so he said to his Wazir Ja'afar, "I am sleepless to-night and my breast
+is straitened and I know not what to do." Now his castrato MasrÏŠr was standing
+before him, and he laughed: whereupon the Caliph said "At whom laughest thou?
+Is it to make mock of me or hath madness seized thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay,
+by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundredth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Harun al- Rashid said to
+Masrur the Sworder, "Dost thou laugh to make mock of me or hath madness seized
+thee?" Answered Masrur, "Nay, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I swear
+by thy kinship to the Prince of Apostles, I did it not of my free will; but I
+went out yesterday to walk within sight of the palace and, coming to the bank
+of the Tigris, saw there the folk collected; so I stopped and found a man, Ibn
+al-Kαribν hight, who was making them laugh; but just now I recalled what he
+said, and laughter got the better of me; and I crave pardon of thee, O
+Commander of the Faithful!" Quoth the Caliph, "Bring him to me forthright;" so
+Masrur repaired in all haste to Ibn al-Karibi and said to him, "Answer the
+summons of the Commander of the Faithful," whereto he replied, "I hear and
+obey." "But on condition," added Masrur, "that, if he give thee aught, thou
+shalt have a quarter and the rest shall be mine." Replied the droll, "Nay,
+thou shalt have half and I half." Rejoined Masrur, "Not so, I will have three-
+quarters." Lastly said Ibn al-Karibi, "Thou shalt have two- thirds and I the
+other third;" to which Masrur agreed, after much higgling and haggling, and
+they returned to the palace together. Now when Ibn al-Karibi came into the
+Caliph's presence he saluted him as men greet the Caliphate, and stood before
+him; whereupon said Al-Rashid to him, "If thou do not make me laugh, I will
+give thee three blows with this bag." Quoth Ibn al-Karibi in his mind, "And a
+small matter were blows with that bag, seeing that beating with whips hurteth
+me not;" for he thought the bag was empty. Then he began to deal out his
+drolleries, such as would make the dismallest jemmy guffaw, and gave vent to
+all manner of buffooneries; but the Caliph laughed not neither smiled, whereat
+Ibn al-Karibi marvelled and was chagrined and affrighted. Then said the
+Commander of the Faithful, "Now hast thou earned the beating," and gave him a
+blow with the bag, wherein were four pebbles each two rotols in weight. The
+blow fell on his neck and he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact
+with Masrur, said, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful! Hear two words from
+me." Quoth the Caliph, "Say on," and quoth Ibn al- Karibi, "Masrur made it a
+condition with me and I a covenant with him, that whatsoever largesse might
+come to me of the bounties of the Commander of the Faithful, one-third thereof
+should be mine and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as one-
+third, save after much higgling and haggling. I have had my share and here
+standeth he, ready to receive his portion; so pay him the two other blows." 
+Now when the Caliph heard this, he laughed until he fell on his back; then
+calling Masrur, he gave him a blow, whereat he cried out and said, "O Commander
+of the Faithful, the one-third sufficeth me: give him the two-thirds."— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and First Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out, "O
+Commander of the Faithful! The one-third sufficeth me; give him the
+two-thirds." So the Caliph laughed at them and ordered them a thousand dinars
+each, and they went away, rejoicing at the largesse. And of the tales they
+tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap32"></a>THE DEVOTEE PRINCE</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, had a son who, from the time he
+attained the age of sixteen, renounced the world and walked in the way[FN#158]
+of ascetics and devotees. He was wont to go out to the graveyards and say, "Ye
+once ruled the world, but that saved you not from death, and now are ye come to
+your sepulchres! Would Heaven I knew what ye said and what is said to
+you!"[FN#159] and he wept as one weepeth who is troubled with fear and
+apprehension, and repeated the worlds of the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Affright me funerals at every time; *<br/>
+
+          And wailing women grieve me to the soul!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now it chanced one day, as he sat among the tombs, according to his custom, his
+father passed by in all his state, surrounded by his Wazirs and Lords of the
+realm and the Officers of his household, who seeing the Caliph's son with a
+gown of woollen stuff on his body and a twist of wool on his head by way of
+turband, said to one another, "Verily this youth dishonoureth the Commander of
+the Faithful among Kings: but, if he reproved him, he would leave his present
+way of life." The Caliph heard these words; so quoth he to his son, "O my
+dear child, of a truth thou disgracest me by thy present way of life." The
+young man looked at him and made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird perched
+on the battlements of the palace, and said to it, "O thou bird, I conjure thee
+by Him who created thee, alight upon my hand." Whereupon straightway it swooped
+down and perched on his finger. Then quoth he, "Return to thy place;" and it
+did so. Presently he said, "Alight on the hand of the Commander of the
+Faithful;" but it refused there to perch, and he cried to his father, "It is
+thou that disgracest me amongst the Holy[FN#160] Ones, by the love of the
+world; and now I am resolved to part from thee, never to return to thee, save
+in the world to come." Then he went down to Bassorah, where he took to working
+with those which wrought in clay,[FN#161] receiving, as his day's hire, but a
+dirham and a danik;[FN#162] and with the danik he fed himself and gave alms of
+the dirham. (Quoth AbÏŠ Amir of Bassorah) "There fell down a wall in my house;
+so I went forth to the station of the artisans to find a man who should repair
+it for me, and my eyes fell on a handsome youth of a radiant countenance. So I
+saluted him and asked him, O my friend, dost thou seek work?' Yes,' answered
+he; and I said, Come with me and build a wall.' He replied, On certain
+conditions I will make with thee.' Quoth I What are they, O my friend?'; and
+quoth he, My wage must be a dirham and a danik, and again when the Mu'ezzin
+calleth to prayer, thou shalt let me go pray with the congregation.' It is
+well,' answered I and carried him to my lace, where he fell to work, such work
+as I never saw the like of. Presented I named to him the morning-meal; but he
+said, No;' and I knew that he was fasting.[FN#163] When he heard the call to
+prayer, he said to me, Thou knowest the condition?' Yes,' answered i. So he
+loosed his girdle and, applying himself to the lesser ablution, made it after a
+fashion than which I never saw a fairer;[FN#164] then he went to the mosque and
+prayed with the congregation and returned to his work. He did the same upon
+the call to mid- afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to work again
+thereafterward, I said to him, O my friend, verily the hours of labour are
+over; a workman's day is but till the time of afternoon-prayer.' But he
+replied, Praise to the Lord, my service is till the night.' And he ceased not
+to work till nightfall, when I gave him two dirhams; whereupon he asked What is
+this!'; and I answered, By Allah, this is but part of thy wage, because of thy
+diligence in my service.' But he threw them back to me saying, I will have no
+more than was agreed upon between us twain.' I urged him to take them, but
+could not prevail upon him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he went
+away. And when morning dawned, I went to the station but found him not; so I
+enquired for him and was told, He cometh thither only on Sabbaths.' 
+Accordingly, when Saturday came, I betook me to the market and finding him
+there, said to him, Bismillah, do me the favour to come and work for me.' Said
+he, Upon the conditions thou wottest;' and I answered Yes!' Then carrying him
+to my house I stood to watch him where he could not see me; and he took a
+handful of puddled clay and laid it on the wall, when, behold, the stones
+ranged themselves one upon other; and I said, On this wise are Allah's holy
+ones.' he worked out his day and did even more than before; and when it was
+night, I gave him his hire, and he took it and walked away. Now when the third
+Saturday came round, I went to the place of standing, but found him not; so I
+asked after him and they told me, He is sick and lying in the shanty of such a
+woman.' Now this was an old wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel of reeds
+in the burial- ground. So I fared thither and found him stretched on the floor
+which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming like the new
+moon with light. I saluted him and he returned my salam; and I sat down at his
+head weeping over his fair young years and absence from home and submission to
+the will of his Lord. Then said I to him, Hast thou any need?' Yes,' answered
+he; and I said, What is it?' He replied, Come hither to-morrow in the forenoon
+and thou wilt find me dead. Wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof:
+but shroud me in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what
+thou shalt find in the bosom-pocket, which keep with thee. Then, when thou
+hast prayed over me and laid me in the dust, go to Baghdad and watch for the
+Caliph Harun al-Rashid, till he come forth, when do thou give him what thou
+shalt find in the breast of my gown and bear him my salutation.' Then he
+ejaculated the profession of the Faith and glorified his God in the most
+eloquent of words, reciting these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Carry the trust of him whom death awaits *<br/>
+
+          To Al-Rashid and God reward thy care!<br/>
+
+     And say An exile who desired thy sight *<br/>
+
+          Long loving, from afar sends greeting fair.<br/>
+
+     Nor hate nor irk (No!) him from thee withdrew, *<br/>
+
+          Kissing thy right to Heaven brought him near.[FN#165]<br/>
+
+     But what estranged his soul, O sire, from thee *<br/>
+
+          Is that thy worldly joys it would not share!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of Allah'—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth then betook
+himself to asking pardon of Allah and to invoking prayer and praise upon the
+Apostle and the Lord of the Just and repeating verses of the Koran; after which
+he recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "O sire, be not deceived by worldly joys; *<br/>
+
+          For life must pass, and joy must learn to mourn;<br/>
+
+     When thou art told of folk in evil plight, *<br/>
+
+          Think thou must answer for all hearts forlorn;<br/>
+
+     And when thou bear thy dead towards the tombs, *<br/>
+
+          Know thou wilt likewise on that way be bourne."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Continued Abu the Basri, "Now when the youth had ended his charge and his
+verses I left him and went home. On the morrow, I returned, at the appointed
+hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of Allah be upon him! So I washed
+him and, unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of gold
+pieces and said to myself, By Allah, this youth was indeed weaned from worldly
+things!' After I had buried him, I made my way to Baghdad and, going to the
+Caliph's palace, waited till he came forth, when I addressed him in one of the
+streets and gave him the ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a
+fainting- fit. His attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and said to
+them, Release him and bring him courteously to the palace.' They did his
+bidding, and when he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his chamber
+said to me, How doth the owner of this ruby?' Quoth I, Verily, he is dead;'
+and told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, The son
+hath gained; but the sire hath lost.' Then he called out, saying, Ho, such an
+one!'; and behold there came out to him a lady who, when she saw me, would have
+withdrawn; but he cried to her, Come, and mind him not.' So she entered and
+saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which when she saw and she knew, she
+shrieked a great shriek and fell down in a swoon. As soon as she came to
+herself, she said, O Commander of the Faithful, what hath Allah done with my
+son?'; and he said to me, Do thou tell her his case' (as he could not speak for
+weeping). Accordingly, I repeated the story to her, and she began to shed
+tears and say in a faint and wailing voice, How I have longed for thy sight, O
+solace of mine eyes![FN#166] Would I might have given thee to drink, when thou
+hadst none to slake thy thirst! Would I might have cheered thee, whenas thou
+foundest never a cheerer!' And she poured forth tears and recited these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     I weep for one whose lot a lonely death befel; *<br/>
+
+          Without a friend to whom he might complain and moan:<br/>
+
+     And after glory and glad union with his friends, *<br/>
+
+          He woke to desolation, friendless, lorn and lone;<br/>
+
+     What Fortune hides a while she soon to all men shall show; *<br/>
+
+          Death never spared a man; no, not a single one:<br/>
+
+     O absent one, my Lord decreed thee strangerhood, *<br/>
+
+          Far from thy nearest friends and to long exile gone:<br/>
+
+     Though Death forbid my hope of meeting here again, *<br/>
+
+          On Doom-day's morrow we shall meet again, my<br/>
+
+son![FN#167]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?' Quoth he, Yes,
+and indeed, before I succeeded to this office, he was wont to visit the learned
+and company with the devout; but, when I became Caliph, he grew estranged from
+me and withdrew himself apart.[FN#168] Then said I to his mother, Verily this
+thy son hath cut the world and devoted his life to Almighty Allah, and it may
+be that hard times shall befal him and he be smitten with trial of evil chance;
+wherefore do thou given him this ruby, which he may find useful in hour of
+need.' So she gave it him, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her
+bidding. Then he left to us the things of our world and removed himself from
+us; nor did he cease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of
+Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!), pious and pure.' Then said he, Come,
+show me his grave.' So, I travelled with him to Bassorah and showed him his
+son's grave; and when he saw it, he wept and lamented, till he fell down in a
+swoon; after which he recovered and asked pardon of the Lord, saying, We are
+Allah's and unto Him we are returning!'; and involved blessings on the dead. 
+Then he asked me to become his companion, but I said to him, "O Commander of
+the Faithful, verily, in thy son's case is for me the most momentous of
+admonitions!' And I recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Tis I am the stranger, visited by none; *<br/>
+
+          I am the stranger though in town my own:<br/>
+
+     Tis I am the stranger! Lacking kith and son, *<br/>
+
+          And friend to whom I mote for aidance run.<br/>
+
+     I house in mosques which are my only home; *<br/>
+
+          My heart there wones and shall for ever wone:<br/>
+
+     Then laud ye Allah, Lord of Worlds, as long *<br/>
+
+          As soul and body dwell in union!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And a famous tale is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap33"></a>THE UNWISE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth one of the learned, "I passed once by a school, wherein a schoolmaster
+was teaching children; so I entered, finding him a good-looking man and a
+well-dressed; when he rose to me and made me sit with him. Then I examined him
+in the Koran and in syntax and prosody and lexicography; and behold, he was
+perfect in all required of him, so I said to him, Allah strengthen thy purpose!
+Thou art indeed versed in all that is requisite,' thereafter I frequented him a
+while, discovering daily some new excellence in him, and quoth I to myself,
+This is indeed a wonder in any dominie; for the wise are agreed upon a lack of
+wit in children's teachers.' Then I separated myself from him and sought him
+and visited him only every few days, till coming to see him one day as of wont,
+I found the school shut and made enquiry of his neighbors, who replied, Some
+one is dead in his house.' So I said in my mind, It behoveth me to pay him a
+visit of condolence,' and going to his house, knocked at the door, when a
+slave-girl came out to me and asked, What dost thou want?' and I answered, I
+want thy master.' She replied, He is sitting alone, mourning;' and I rejoined,
+Tell him that his friend so and so seeketh to console him.' She went in and
+told him; and he said, Admit him.' So she brought me in to him, and I found
+him seated alone and his head bound with mourning fillets. So I said to him,
+Allah requite thee amply! this is a path all must perforce tread, and it
+behoveth thee to take patience;' adding, But who is dead unto thee?' He
+answered, One who was dearest of the folk to me, and best beloved.' Perhaps thy
+father?' No!' Thy brother?' "No!' "One of thy kindred?' No!' Then asked I,
+What relation was the dead to thee?'; and he answered, My lover.' Quoth I to
+myself, This is the first proof to swear by his lack of wit.' So I said to
+him, Assuredly there be others than she and fairer;' and he made answer, I
+never saw her, that I might judge whether or no there be others fairer than
+she.' Quoth I to myself, This is another proof positive.' Then I said to him,
+And how couldst thou fall in love with one thou hast never seen?' He replied
+Know that I was sitting one day at the window, when lo! there passed by a man,
+singing the following distich,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Umm Amr',[FN#169] thy boons Allah repay! *<br/>
+
+          Give back my heart be't where it may!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the schoolmaster
+continued, " When I heard the man humming these words as he passed along the
+street, I said to myself Except this Umm Amru were without equal in the world,
+the poets had not celebrated her in ode and canzon.' So I fell in love with
+her; but, two days after, the same man passed, singing the following couplet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     Ass and Umm Amr' went their way; *<br/>
+
+          Nor she, nor ass returned for aye.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thereupon I knew she was dead and mourned for her. This was three days ago,
+and I have been mourning ever since. So I left him, (concluded the learned
+one) and fared forth, having assured myself of the weakness of the
+gerund-grinder's wit." And they tell another and a similar tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap34"></a>THE FOOLISH DOMINIE[FN#170]</h3>
+
+<p>
+Once upon a time, a schoolmaster was visited by a man of letters who entered a
+school and, sitting down by the host's side, entered into discourse with him
+and found him an accomplished theologian, poet grammarian, philologist and
+poet; intelligent, well bred and pleasant spoken; whereat he wondered, saying
+in himself, "It cannot be that a man who teacheth children in a school, should
+have a perfect wit." Now when he was about to go away, the pedant said to him,
+"Thou are my guest to-night;" and he consented to receive hospitality and
+accompanied him to his house, where he made much of him and set food before
+him. They ate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of the night was
+past when the host spread his guest a bed and went up to his Harim. The
+stranger lay down and addressed himself to sleep, when, behold, there arose a
+great clamour in the women's rooms. He asked what was the matter and they said,
+"A terrible thing hath befallen the Shaykh and he is at the last gasp." Said
+he, "Take me up to him"; so they took him up to the pedagogue whom he found
+lying insensible, with his blood streaming down. He sprinkled water on his
+face and when he revived, he asked him, "What hath betided thee? When thou
+leftest me, thou wast in all good cheer and whole of body," and he answered, "O
+my brother, after I left thee, I sat meditating on the creative works of
+Almighty Allah, and said to myself: In every thing the Lord hath created for
+man, there is an use; for He (to Whom be glory!) made the hands to seize, the
+feet to walk, the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the penis to increase and
+multiply; and so on with all the members of the body, except these two
+ballocks; there is no use in them.' So I took a razor I had by me and cut them
+off; and there befel me what thou seest." So the guest left him and went away,
+saying, "He was in the right who said, Verily no schoolmaster who teacheth
+children can have a perfect wit, though he know all the sciences.'" And they
+tell a pleasant tale of the
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap35"></a>ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, among the menials[FN#171] of a certain mosque, a man who knew
+not how to write or even to read and who gained his bread by gulling folk. One
+day, it occurred to him to open a school and teach children; so he got together
+writing-tablets and written papers and hung them up in a high place. Then he
+greatened his turband[FN#172] and sat down at the door of the school; and when
+the people, who passed by, saw his huge head- gear and tablets and scrolls,
+they thought he must be a very learned pedagogue; so they brought him their
+children; and he would say to this, "Write," and to that "Read"; and thus the
+little ones taught each other. Now one day, as he sat as of wont, at the door
+of the school, behold, up came a woman letter in hand, and he said in his mind,
+"This woman doubtless seeketh me, that I may read her the missive she hath in
+her hand: how shall I do with her, seeing I cannot read writing?" And he would
+fain have gone down and fled from her; but, before he could do this, she
+overtook him and said to him, "Whither away?" Quoth he, "I purpose to pray the
+noon-prayer and return." Quoth she, "Noon is yet distant, so read me this
+letter." He took the letter and turning it upside down, fell to looking at it,
+now shaking his head till his turband quivered, then dancing his eyebrows and
+anon showing anger and concern. Now the letter came from the woman's husband,
+who was absent; and when she saw the dominie do on this wise, she said to
+herself, "Doubtless my husband is dead, and this learned doctor of law and
+religion is ashamed to tell me so." So she said to him, "O my lord, if he be
+dead, tell me;" but he shook his head and held his peace. Then said she,
+"Shall I rend my raiment?" "Rend!" replied he. "Shall I beat my face?" asked
+she; and he answered, "Beat!" So she took the letter from his hand and
+returned home fell a-weeping, she and her children. Presently, one of her
+neighbours heard her sobbing and asking what aileth her, was answered, "Of a
+truth she hath gotten a letter, telling her that her husband is dead." Quoth
+the man, "This is a falsehood; for I had a letter from him but yesterday,
+advising me that he is whole and in good health and will be with her after ten
+days." So he rose forthright and going in to her, said, "Where is the letter
+which came to thee?" She brought it to him, and he took it and read it; and lo!
+it ran as follows, "After the usual salutations, I am well and in good health
+and whole and will be with you all after ten days. Meanwhile, I send you a
+quilt and an extinguisher."[FN#173] So she took the letter and, returning to
+the schoolmaster, said to him, "What induced thee to deal thus with me?" And
+she repeated to him what her neighbour had told her of her husband's well-
+being and of his having sent her a quilt and an extinguisher. Answered he,
+"Thou art in the right, O good woman; for I was, at the time"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the pedagogue replied,
+"Verily I was at that time fashed and absent- minded and, seeing the
+extinguisher wrapped up in the quilt, I thought that he was dead and they had
+shrouded him." The woman, not smoking the cheat, said, "Thou art excused," and
+taking the letter, went her ways.[FN#174] And they relate a story of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap36"></a>THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+A certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of his
+lieges. Presently, he came to a great village which he entered unattended and
+being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked for water. There came
+out to him a fair woman with a gugglet, which she gave him, and he drank. When
+he looked at her, he was ravished with her and besought her favours. Now she
+knew him; so she led him into the house and, making him sit down, brought out a
+book and said to him, "Look therein whilst I order my affair and return to
+thee." So he looked into the book, and behold, it treated of the Divine
+prohibition against advoutry and of the punishments which Allah hath prepared
+for those who commit adulterous sin. When he read this, his flesh quaked and
+his hair bristled and he repented to Almighty Allah: then he called the woman
+and, giving her the book, went away. Now her husband was absent and when he
+returned, she told him what had passed, whereat he was confounded and said in
+himself, "I fear lest the King's desire have fallen upon her." And he dared not
+have to do with her and know her carnally after this. When some time had past,
+the wife told her kinsfolk of her husband's conduct, and they complained of him
+to the King, saying, "Allah advance the King! This man hired of us a piece of
+land for tillage, and tilled it awhile; then left it fallow and neither tilled
+it nor forsook it, that we might let it to one who would till it. Indeed, harm
+is come to the field, and we fear its corruption, for such land as that if it
+be not sown, spoileth." Quoth the King to the man, "What hindereth thee from
+sowing thy land?" Answered he, "Allah advance the King! It reached me that the
+lion entered the field wherefore I stood in awe of him and dared not draw near
+it, since knowing that I cannot cope with the lion, I stand in fear of him."
+The King understood the parable and rejoined, saying, "O man, the lion trod and
+trampled not thy land, and it is good for seed so do thou till it and Allah
+prosper thee in it, for the lion hath done it no hurt." Then he bade give the
+man and his wife a handsome present and sent them away.[FN#175] And amongst the
+stories is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap37"></a>ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI'S STORY OF THE RUKH.[FN#176]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once a man of the people of West Africa who had journeyed far and
+wide and traversed many a desert and a tide. He was once cast upon an island,
+where he abode a long while and, returning thence to his native country,
+brought with him the quill of a wing feather of a young Rukh, whilst yet in egg
+and unhatched; and this quill was big enough to hold a goat skin of water, for
+it is said that the length of the Rukh chick's wing, when he cometh forth of
+the egg, is a thousand fathoms. The folk marvelled at this quill, when they saw
+it, and the man who was called Abd al-Rahman the Moor (and he was known, to
+boot, as the Chinaman, for his long sojourn in Cathay), related to them the
+following adventure, one of many of his traveller's tales of marvel. He was on
+a voyage in the China seas—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abd al- Rahman, the
+Moorman, the Chinaman, was wont to tell wondrous tales amongst which was the
+following. He was on a voyage in the China seas with a company of merchants,
+when they sighted an island from afar; so they steered for it and, making fast
+thereto, saw that it was large and spacious. The ship's crew went ashore to get
+wood and water, taking with them hatchets and ropes and water skies (the
+travellers accompanying them), and presently espied a great dome, white and
+gleaming, an hundred cubits long. So they made towards it and drawing near,
+found that it was an egg of the Rukh and fell on it with axes and stones and
+sticks till they uncovered the young bird and found the chick as it were a firm
+set hill. So they plucked out one of the wing feathers, but could not do so,
+save by helping one another, for all the quills were not full grown, after
+which they took what they could carry of the young bird's flesh and cutting the
+quill away from the vane, returned to the ship. Then they set sail and putting
+out to sea, voyaged with a fair wind all that night, till the sun rose; and
+while everything went well, they saw the Rukh come flying after them, as he
+were a vast cloud, with a rock in his talons, like a great heap bigger than the
+ship. As soon as he poised himself in air over the vessel, he let fall the rock
+upon it; but the craft, having great way on her, outwent the rock, which fell
+into the sea with a loud crash and a horrible. So Allah decreed their
+deliverance and saved them from doom; and they cooked the young bird's flesh
+and ate it. Now there were amongst them old white bearded men; and when they
+awoke on the morrow, they found that their beards had turned black, nor did any
+who had eaten of the young Rukh grow gray ever after. Some said the cause of
+the return of youth to them and the ceasing of hoariness from them was that
+they had heated the pot with arrow wood, whilst others would have it that it
+came of eating the Rukh chick's flesh; and this is indeed a wonder of
+wonders.[FN#177] And a story is related of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap38"></a>ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Al-Nu'uman Bin Al-Munzir, King of the Arabs of Irak, had a daughter named Hind,
+who went out one Pasch, which is a feast day of the Nazarenes, to the White
+Church, to take the sacrament; she was eleven years old and was the loveliest
+woman of her age and time; and it so chanced that on the same day came to
+Hirah[FN#178] a young man called 'Adν bin Zayd[FN#179] with presents from the
+Chosroλ to Al-Nu'uman, and he also went to the White Church, to communicate. He
+was tall of stature and fair of favour, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks,
+and had with him a company of his people. Now there was with Hind bint
+al-Nu'uman a slave girl named Mαriyah, who was enamoured of Adi, but had not
+been able to foregather with him. So, when she saw him in the church, she said
+to Hind, "Look at yonder youth. By Allah, he is handsomer than all thou seest!"
+Hind asked, "And who is he?" and Mariyah answered, "Adi bin Zayd." Quoth
+Al-Nu'uman's daughter, "I fear lest he know me, if I draw nearer to look on
+him." Quoth Mariyah, "How should he know thee when he hath never seen thee?" So
+she drew near him and found him jesting with the youths his companions; and
+indeed he surpassed them all, not only in his personal charms but in the
+excellence of his speech, the eloquence of his tongue and the richness of his
+raiment. When the Princess saw him, she was ravished with him, her reason was
+confounded and her colour changed; and Mariyah, seeing her inclination to him,
+said to her, "Speak him." So she spoke to him and went away. Now when he looked
+upon her and heard her speech, he was captivated by her and his wit was dazed;
+his heart fluttered, and his colour changed so that his companions suspected
+him, and he whispered one of them to follow her and find out who she was. The
+young man went after her and returning informed him that she was princess Hind,
+daughter of Al-Nu'uman. So Adi left the church, knowing not whither he went,
+for excess of love, and reciting these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "O friends of me, one favour more I pray: *<br/>
+
+          Unto the convents[FN#180] find more your way:<br/>
+
+      Turn me that so I face the land of Hind; *<br/>
+
+          Then go, and fairest greetings for me say."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless and without appetite
+for the food of sleep.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Adi ended his verses
+he went to his lodging and lay that night restless and without appetite for the
+food of sleep. Now on the morrow Mariyah accosted him and he received her
+kindly, though before he would not incline to her, and said to her, "What is
+thy will?" Quoth she, "I have a want of thee;" and quoth he, "Name it, for by
+Allah, thou shalt not ask me aught, but I will give it thee!" So she told him
+that she loved him, and her want of him was that he would grant her a lover's
+privacy; and he agreed to do her will, on condition that she would serve him
+with Hind and devise some device to bring them together. Then he took her into
+a vintner's tavern in one of the by streets of Hirah, and lay with her; after
+which she returned to Hind and asked her, "Dost thou not long to see Adi?" She
+answered, "How can this be? Indeed my longing for him makes me restless, and no
+repose is left me since yesterday." Quoth Mariyah, "I will appoint him to be in
+such a place, where thou canst look on him from the palace." Quoth Hind, "Do
+what thou wilt," and agreed with her upon the place. So Adi came, and the
+Princess looked out upon him; and, when she saw him, she was like to topple
+down from the palace top and said, "O Mariyah, except thou bring him in to me
+this night, I shall die." So saying, she fell to the ground in a fainting fit,
+and her serving women lifted her up and bore her into the palace; whilst
+Mariyah hastened to Al-Nu'uman and discovered the whole matter to him with
+perfect truth, telling him that indeed she was mad for the love of Adi; and
+except he marry her to him she must be put to shame and die of love for him,
+which would disgrace her father among the Arabs, adding at the end, "There is
+no cure for this but wedlock." The King bowed his head awhile in thought and
+exclaimed again and again, "Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are
+returning!" Then said he "Woe to thee! How shall the marriage be brought about,
+seeing I mislike to open the matter?" And she said, "He is yet more ardently in
+love and yet more desireful of her than she is of him; and I will so order the
+affair that he shall be unaware of his case being known to thee; but do not
+betray thyself, O King." Then she went to Adi and, after acquainting him with
+everything said, "Make a feast and bid the King thereto; and, when the wine
+hath gotten the better of him, ask of him his daughter, for he will not refuse
+thee." Quoth Adi, "I fear lest this enrage him against me and be the cause of
+enmity between us." But quoth she, "I came not to thee, till I had settled the
+whole affair with him." Then she returned to Al- Nu'uman and said to him, "Seek
+of Adi that he entertain thee in his house." Replied the King, "There is no
+harm in that;" and after three days, besought Adi to give him and his lords the
+morning meal in his house. He consented and the King went to him; and when the
+wine had taken effect on Al-Nu'uman, Adi rose and sought of him his daughter in
+wedlock. He consented and married them and brought her to him after three days;
+and they abode at Al-Nu'uman's court, in all solace of life and its delight—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Adi abode with Hind bint
+Al-Nu'uman bin Munzir three years in all solace of life and its delight, after
+which time the King was wroth with Adi and slew him. Hind mourned for him with
+grievous mourning and built her an hermitage outside the city, whither she
+retired and became a religious, weeping and bewailing her husband till she
+died. And her hermitage is seen to this day in the suburbs of Hirah. They also
+tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap39"></a>DI'IBIL AL-KHUZA'I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Di'ibil al Khuzα'i[FN#181], "I was sitting one day at the gate of Al
+Karkh,[FN#182] when a damsel came past. Never saw I a fairer faced or better
+formed than she, walking with a voluptuous swaying gait and ravishing all
+beholders with her lithe and undulating pace. Now as my eyes fell on her, I was
+captivated by her and my vitals trembled and meseemed my heart flew forth of my
+breast; so I stood before her and I accosted her with this verse,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'The tears of these eyes find easy release; *<br/>
+
+          But sleep flies these eyelids without surcease.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whereon she turned her face and looking at me, straightway made answer with
+this distich,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'A trifle this an his eyes be sore, *<br/>
+
+          When her eyes say 'yes' to his love's caprice!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the fluency of her speech and
+rejoined with this verse,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Say, cloth heart of my fair incline to him *<br/>
+
+          Whose tears like a swelling stream increase?'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she answered me without hesitation, thus,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'If thou crave our love, know that love's a loan; *<br/>
+
+          And a debt to be paid by us twain a piece.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Never entered my ears aught sweeter than her speech nor ever saw I brighter
+than her face: so I changed rhyme and rhythm to try her, in my wonder at her
+words, and repeated this couplet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Will Fate with joy of union ever bless our sight, *<br/>
+
+          And one desireful one with other one unite.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She smiled at this (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than her
+lips), and answered me, without stay or delay, in the following distich,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Pray, tell me what hath Fate to do betwixt us twain? *<br/>
+
+          Thou'rt Elate: so bless our eyne with union and<br/>
+
+          delight.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this, I sprang up and fell to kissing her hands and cried, 'I had not
+thought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such occasion. Do thou follow me, not
+of bidding or against thy will, but of the grace of thee and thy favour to me.'
+Then I went on and she after me. Now at that time I had no lodging I deemed fit
+for the like of her; but Muslim bin al-Walνd[FN#183] was my fast friend, and he
+had a handsome house. So I made for his abode and knocked at the door,
+whereupon he came out, and I saluted him, saying, 'Tis for time like this that
+friends are treasured up'; and he replied, 'With love and gladness! Come in you
+twain.' So we entered but found money scarce with him: however, he gave me a
+kerchief, saying, 'Carry it to the bazar and sell it and buy food and what else
+thou needest.' I took the handkerchief, and hastening to the market, sold it
+and bought what we required of victuals and other matters; but when I returned,
+I found that Muslim had retired, with her to an underground chamber.[FN#184]
+When he heard my step he hurried out and said to me, 'Allah requite thee the
+kindness thou hast done me, O Abu Ali and reward thee in time to come and
+reckon it of thy good deeds on the Day of Doom!' So saying, he took from me the
+food and wine and shut the door in my face. His words enraged me and I knew not
+what to do, but he stood behind the door, shaking for mirth; and, when he saw
+me thus, he said to me, 'I conjure thee on my life, O Abu Ali, tell who it was
+composed this couplet?,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'I lay in her arms all night, leaving him *<br/>
+
+          To sleep foul-hearted but clean of staff.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this my rage redoubled, and I replied, 'He who wrote this other couplet',
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, *<br/>
+
+          Exceeding in mighty height Manaf.'[FN#185]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of his action and
+his lack of honour; and he was silent, never uttering a word. But, when I had
+finished, he smiled and said, 'Out on thee, O fool! Thou hast entered my house
+and sold my kerchief and spent my silver: so, with whom art thou wroth, O
+pimp?'[FN#186] Then he left me and went away to her, whilst I said, 'By Allah,
+thou art right to twit me as nincompoop and pander!' Then I left his door and
+went away in sore concern, and I feel its trace in my heart to this very day;
+for I never had my will of her nor, indeed, ever heard of her more." And
+amongst other tales is that about
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap40"></a>ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, "It so chanced that, one day feeling weary
+of being on duty at the Palace and in attendance upon the Caliph, I mounted
+horse and went forth, at break of dawn, having a mind to ride out in the open
+country and take my pleasure. So I said to my servants, 'If there come a
+messenger from the Caliph or another, say that I set out at day break, upon a
+pressing business, and that ye know not whither I am gone.' Then I fared forth
+alone and went round about the city, till the sun waxed hot, when I halted in a
+great thoroughfare known as Al Haram,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak bin Ibrahim the
+Mausili continued: "When the sun waxed hot I halted in a great thoroughfare
+known as Al-Haram, to take shelter in the shade and found it in a spacious wing
+of a house which projected over the street. And I stood there but a little
+while before there came up a black slave, leading an ass bestridden by a
+damsel; and under her were housings set with gems and pearls and upon her were
+the richest of clothes, richness can go no farther; and I saw that she was
+elegant of make with languorous look and graceful mien. I asked one of the
+passers by who she was, and he said, 'She is a singer,' so I fell in love with
+her at first sight: hardly could I keep my seat on horseback. She entered the
+house at whose gate I stood; and, as I was planning a device to gain access to
+her, there came up two men young and comely who asked admission and the
+housemaster gave them leave to enter. So they alighted and I also and they
+entered and I with them, they supposing that the master of the house had
+invited me; and we sat awhile, till food was brought and we ate. Then they set
+wine before us, and the damsel came out, with a lute in her hand. She sang and
+we drank, till I rose to obey a call of nature. Thereupon the host questioned
+the two others of me, and they replied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth
+he, 'This is a parasite[FN#187]; but he is a pleasant fellow, so treat him
+courteously.' Then I came back and sat down in my place, whilst the damsel sang
+to a pleasing air these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Say to the she gazelle, who's no gazelle, *<br/>
+
+          And Kohl'd ariel who's no ariel.[FN#188]<br/>
+
+     Who lies with male, and yet no female is, *<br/>
+
+          Whose gait is female most unlike the male.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She sang it right well, and the company drank and her song pleased them. Then
+she carolled various pieces to rare measures, and amongst the rest one of mine,
+which consisted of this distich,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Bare hills and campground desolate *<br/>
+
+          And friends who all have ganged their gait.<br/>
+
+     How severance after union leaves *<br/>
+
+          Me and their homes in saddest state!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her singing this time was even better than the first; then she chanted other
+rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine with the following
+two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Say to angry lover who turns away, *<br/>
+
+          And shows thee his side whatso thou<br/>
+
+     'Thou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, *<br/>
+
+          Albe 'twas haply thy sport and play.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her; whereupon one
+of the two men accosted me and said, 'Never saw we a more impudent lick platter
+than thou. Art thou not content with sponging, but thou must eke meddle and
+muddle? Of very sooth, in thee is the saying made true, Parasite and pushing
+wight.' So I hung down my head for shame and made him no answer, whilst his
+companion would have withheld him from me, but he would not be restrained.
+Presently, they rose to pray, but I lagged behind a little and, taking the
+lute, screwed up the sides and brought it into perfect tune. Then I stood up in
+my place to pray with the rest; and when we had ended praying, the same man
+fell again to blaming me and reviling me and persisted in his rudeness, whilst
+I held my peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute and touching it, knew that
+it had been altered, and said, 'Who hath touched my lute?' Quoth they, 'None of
+us hath touched it.' Quoth she, 'Nay, by Allah, some one hath touched it, and
+he is an artist, a past master in the craft; for he hath arranged the strings
+and tuned them like one who is a perfect performer.' Said I, 'It was I tuned
+it;' and said she, 'Then, Allah upon thee, take it and play on it!' So I took
+it; and, playing a piece so difficult and so rare, that it went nigh to deaden
+the quick and quicken the dead, I sang thereto these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'I had a heart, and with it lived my life: *<br/>
+
+          'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe:<br/>
+
+     I never won the blessing of her love; *<br/>
+
+          God would not on His slave such boon bestow:<br/>
+
+     If what I've tasted be the food of Love, *<br/>
+
+          Must taste it all men who love food would know.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak of Mosul thus
+continued: "Now when I had finished my verse, there was not one of the company
+but sprang from his place and sat down like schoolboys before me, saying,
+'Allah upon thee, O our lord, sing us another song.' 'With pleasure,' said I,
+and playing another measure in masterly fashion, sang thereto these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Ho thou whose heart is melted down by force of Amor's fire, *<br/>
+
+     And griefs from every side against thy happiness conspire:<br/>
+
+Unlawful is that he who pierced my vitals with his shaft, * My<br/>
+
+     blood between my midriff and my breast bone[FN#189] he<br/>
+
+     desire,<br/>
+
+'Twas plain, upon our severance day, that he had set his mind *<br/>
+
+     On an eternal parting, moved by tongue of envious liar:<br/>
+
+He sheds my blood he ne'er had shed except by wound of love, *<br/>
+
+     Will none demand my blood of him, my wreck of him require?'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When I had made an end of this song, there was not one of them but rose to his
+feet and threw himself upon the ground for excess of delight. Then I cast the
+lute from my hand, but they said, 'Allah upon thee, do not on this wise, but
+let us hear another song, so Allah Almighty increase thee of His bounty!'
+Replied I, 'O folk, I will sing you another song and another and another and
+will tell you who I am. I am Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, and by Allah, I bear
+myself proudly to the Caliph when he seeketh me. Ye have today made me hear
+abuse from an unmannerly carle such as I loathe; and by Allah, I will not speak
+a word nor sit with you, till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from among
+you!' Quoth the fellow's companion to him, 'This is what I warned thee against,
+fearing for thy good name.' So they hent him by the hand and thrust him out;
+and I took the lute and sang over again the songs of my own composing which the
+damsel had sung. Then I whispered the host that she had taken my heart and that
+I had no patience to abstain from her. Quoth he 'She is thine on one
+condition.' I asked, 'What is that?' and he answered, 'It is that thou abide
+with me a month, when the damsel and all belonging to her of raiment and
+jewellery shall be thine.' I rejoined, 'It is well, I will do this.' So I
+tarried with him a whole month, whilst none knew where I was and the Caliph
+sought me everywhere, but could come by no news of me; and at the end of this
+time, the merchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that pertained
+to her of things of price and an eunuch to attend upon her. So I brought all
+that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord of the whole world, for exceeding
+delight in her; then I rode forthright to Al-Maamun. And when I stood in the
+presence, he said, 'Woe to thee, O Ishak, where hast thou been?' So I
+acquainted him with the story and he said, 'Bring me that man at once.'
+Thereupon I told him where he lived and he sent and fetched him and questioned
+him of the case; when he repeated the story and the Caliph said to him, 'Thou
+art a man of right generous mind, and it is only fitting that thou be aided in
+thy generosity.' Then he ordered him an hundred thousand dirhams and said to
+me, 'O Ishak, bring the damsel before me.' So I brought her to him, and she
+sang and delighted him; and being greatly gladdened by her he said to me, 'I
+appoint her turn of service every Thursday, when she must come and sing to me
+from behind the curtain.' And he ordered her fifty thousand dirhams, so by
+Allah, I profited both myself and others by my ride." And amongst the tales
+they tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap41"></a>THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Al-'Utbν[FN#190], "I was sitting one day with a company of educated men,
+telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned upon legends of lovers and
+each of us said his say thereanent. Now there was in our company an old man,
+who remained silent, till all had spoken and had no more to say, when quoth he,
+'Shall I tell you a thing, the like of which you never heard; no, never?'
+'Yes,' quoth we; and he said, 'Know, then, that I had a daughter, who loved a
+youth, but we knew it not; while the youth loved a singing girl, who in her
+turn loved my daughter. One day, I was present at an assembly, wherein were
+also the youth'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Tenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh continued:
+'One day, I was present at an assembly wherein were also the youth and the
+singing girl and she chanted to us these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Prove how Love bringeth low * Lover those tears that run<br/>
+
+     Lowering him still the more * When pity finds he none.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Cried the youth, 'By Allah, thou hast said well, O my mistress.' Dost thou
+incite me to die?' Answered the girl from behind the curtain, 'Yes, if thou be
+a true lover.' So he laid his head on a cushion and closed his eyes; and when
+the cup came round to him, we shook him and behold, he was dead.[FN#191]
+Therewith we all flocked to him, and our pleasure was troubled and we grieved
+and broke up at once. When I came home, my people took in bad part my returning
+before the appointed time, and I told them what had befallen the youth,
+thinking that thereby I should greatly surprise them. My daughter heard my
+words and rising, went from the sitting chamber into another, whither I
+followed her and found her lying with her head on a cushion, even as I had told
+of the young man. So I shook her and lo! she was dead. Then we laid her out and
+set forth next morning to bury her, whilst the friends of the young man set
+forth in like guise to bury him. As we were on the way to the burial place, we
+met a third funeral and asking whose it was, were told that it was that of the
+singing girl who, hearing of my daughter's death, had done even as she did and
+was dead. So we buried them all three on one day, and this is the rarest tale
+that ever was heard of lovers." And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap42"></a>HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND.</h3>
+
+<p>
+They recount that in the City Kaukabαn of Al-Yaman there was a man of the Fazlν
+tribe who had left Badawi life, and become a townsman for many years and was a
+merchant of the most opulent merchants. His wife had deceased when both were
+young; and his friends were instant with him to marry again, ever quoting to
+him the words of the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Go, gossip! re-wed thee, for Prime draweth near:<br/>
+
+      A wife is an almanac—good for the year."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So being weary of contention, Abu Hasan entered into negotiations with the old
+women who procure matches, and married a maid like Canopus when he hangeth over
+the seas of Al-Hind. He made high festival therefor, bidding to the wedding
+banquet kith and kin, Olema and Fakirs; friends and foes and all his
+acquaintances of that countryside. The whole house was thrown open to feasting:
+there were rices of five several colours, and sherbets of as many more; and
+kids stuffed with walnuts and almonds and pistachios and a camel colt[FN#192]
+roasted whole. So they ate and drank and made mirth and merriment; and the
+bride was displayed in her seven dresses and one more, to the women, who could
+not take their eyes off her. At last, the bridegroom was summoned to the
+chamber where she sat enthroned; and he rose slowly and with dignity from his
+divan; but in so doing, for that he was over full of meat and drink, lo and
+behold! he let fly a fart, great and terrible. Thereupon each guest turned to
+his neighbour and talked aloud and made as though he had heard nothing, fearing
+for his life. But a consuming fire was lit in Abu Hasan's heart; so he
+pretended a call of nature; and, in lieu of seeking the bride chamber, he went
+down to the house court and saddled his mare and rode off, weeping bitterly,
+through the shadow of the night. In time he reached Lαhej where he found a ship
+ready to sail for India; so he shipped on board and made Calicut of Malabar.
+Here he met with many Arabs, especially Hazramνs[FN#193], who recommended him
+to the King; and this King (who was a Kafir) trusted him and advanced him to
+the captainship of his body guard. He remained ten years in all solace and
+delight of life; at the end of which time he was seized with home sickness; and
+the longing to behold his native land was that of a lover pining for his
+beloved; and he came near to die of yearning desire. But his appointed day had
+not dawned; so, after taking the first bath of health, he left the King without
+leave, and in due course landed at Makallα of Hazramaut. Here he donned the
+rags of a religious; and, keeping his name and case secret, fared for Kaukaban
+afoot; enduring a thousand hardships of hunger, thirst and fatigue; and braving
+a thousand dangers from the lion, the snake and the Ghul. But when he drew near
+his old home, he looked down upon it from the hills with brimming eyes, and
+said in himself, "Haply they might know thee; so I will wander about the
+outskirts, and hearken to the folk. Allah grant that my case be not remembered
+by them!" He listened carefully for seven nights and seven days, till it so
+chanced that, as he was sitting at the door of a hut, he heard the voice of a
+young girl saying, "O my mother, tell me the day when I was born; for such an
+one of my companions is about to take an omen[FN#194] for me." And the mother
+answered, "Thou was born, O my daughter, on the very night when Abu Hasan
+farted." Now the listener no sooner heard these words than he rose up from the
+bench, and fled away saying to himself, "Verily thy fart hath become a date,
+which shall last for ever and ever; even as the poet said,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'As long as palms shall shift the flower; *<br/>
+
+          As long as palms shall sift the flour.'[FN#195]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he ceased not travelling and voyaging and returned to India; and there
+abode in self exile till he died; and the mercy of Allah be upon him![FN#196]
+And they tell another story of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap43"></a>THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Kαsim, son of Adi, was wont to relate that a man of the Banϊ Tamνm spake as
+follows: "I went out one day in search of an estray and, coming to the waters
+of the Banu Tayy, saw two companies of people near one another, and behold,
+those of one company were disputing among themselves even as the other. So I
+watched them and observed, in one of the companies, a youth wasted with
+sickness, as he were a worn-out dried-up waterskin. And as I looked on him, lo!
+he repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'What ails the Beauty she returneth not? *<br/>
+
+          Is't Beauty's irk or grudging to my lot?<br/>
+
+     I sickened and my friends all came to call; *<br/>
+
+          What stayed thee calling with the friendly knot?<br/>
+
+     Hadst thou been sick, I had come running fast *<br/>
+
+          To thee, nor threats had kept me from the spot:<br/>
+
+     Mid them I miss thee, and I lie alone; *<br/>
+
+          Sweetheart, to lose thy love sad loss I wot!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His words were heard by a damsel in the other company who hastened towards him,
+and when her people followed her, she fought them off. Then the youth caught
+sight of her and sprang up and ran towards her, whilst the people of his party
+ran after him and laid hold of him. However he haled and freed himself from
+them, and she in like manner loosed herself; and, when they were free, each ran
+to other and meeting between the two parties, embraced and fell dead upon the
+ground."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred ante Eleventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the young man and the
+maid met between the two parties and embraced and both fell dead upon the
+ground; whereat came there out an old man from one of the tents and stood over
+them exclaiming, 'Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!' Then
+weeping sore he said, 'Allah have ruth on you both! by the Almighty, though you
+were not united in your lives, I will at least unite you after your deaths.'
+And he bade lay them out: so they washed them and shrouded them in one shroud
+and dug for them one grave and prayed one prayer over them both and buried them
+in one tomb; nor was there man or woman in the two parties but I saw weeping
+over them and buffeting their faces. Then I questioned the Shaykh of them, and
+he said, 'She was my daughter and he my brother's son; and love brought them to
+the pass thou seest.' I exclaimed, 'Allah amend thee! but why didst thou not
+marry them to each other?' Quoth he, 'I feared shame[FN#197] and dishonour; and
+now I am fallen into both.' " And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap44"></a>THE MAD LOVER.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Abu 'l-Abbαs al-Mubarrad,[FN#198] "I set out one day with a company to
+Al-Bαrid on an occasion and, coming to the monastery of Hirakl,[FN#199] we
+alighted in its shade. Presently a man came out to us and said, 'There are
+madmen in the monastery,[FN#200] and amongst them one who speaketh wisdom; if
+ye saw him, ye would marvel at his speech.' So we arose all and went into the
+monastery' where we saw a man seated on a skin mat in one of the cells, with
+bare head and eyes intently fixed upon the wall. We saluted him, and he
+returned our salaam, without looking at us, and one said to us, 'Repeat some
+verses to him; for, when he heareth verse, he speaketh.' So I repeated these
+two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'O best of race to whom gave Hawwa[FN#201] boon of birth, *<br/>
+
+          Except for thee the world were neither sweet nor fair!<br/>
+
+     Thou'rt he, whose face, by Allah shown to man, *<br/>
+
+          Doth ward off death, decay and hoary hair.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When he heard from me this praise of the Apostle he turned towards us and
+repeated these lines,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Well Allah wotteth I am sorely plagued: *<br/>
+
+          Nor can I show my pain to human sight.<br/>
+
+     Two souls have I, one soul is here contained, *<br/>
+
+          While other woneth in another site.<br/>
+
+     Meseems the absent soul's like present soul, *<br/>
+
+          And that she suffers what to me is dight.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he asked us. 'Have I said well or said ill? And we answered, 'Thou hast
+said the clean contrary of ill, well and right well.' Then he put out his hand
+to a stone, that was by him and took it up; whereupon thinking he would throw
+it at us we fled from him; but he fell to beating upon his breast therewith
+violent blows and said to us, 'Fear not, but draw near and hear somewhat from
+me and receive it from me.' So we came back, and he repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'When they made their camels yellow white kneel down at dawning<br/>
+
+     grey * They mounted her on crupper and the camel went his<br/>
+
+     way,<br/>
+
+Mine eye balls through the prison wall beheld them, and I cried *<br/>
+
+     With streaming eyelids and a heart that burnt in dire dismay<br/>
+
+O camel driver turn thy beast that I farewell my love! * In<br/>
+
+     parting and farewelling her I see my doomed day<br/>
+
+I'm faithful to my vows of love which I have never broke, * Would<br/>
+
+     Heaven I kenned what they have done with vows that vowed<br/>
+
+     they!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he looked at me and said, 'Say me, dost thou know what they did?'[FN#202]
+Answered I, 'Yes, they are dead; Almighty Allah have mercy on them!' At this
+his face changed and he sprang to his feet and cried out, 'How knowest thou
+they be dead?;' and I replied, 'Were they alive they had not left thee thus.'
+Quoth he, 'By Allah, thou art right, and I care not to live after them.' Then
+his side muscles quivered and he fell on his face; and we ran up to him and
+shook him and found him dead, the mercy of the Almighty be on him! At this we
+marvelled and mourned for him and, sore mourning, laid him out and buried
+him".—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Mubarrad thus
+continued: "When the man fell we mourned over him with sore mourning and laid
+him out and buried him. And when I returned to Baghdad and went in to the
+Caliph al-Mutawakkil, he saw the trace of tears on my face and said to me,
+'What is this?' So I told him what had passed and it was grievous to him and he
+cried, 'What moved thee to deal thus with him?[FN#203] By Allah, if I thought
+thou didst not repent it and regret him I would punish thee therefor!' And he
+mourned for him the rest of the day." And amongst the tales they tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap45"></a>THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Abu Bakr Mohammed ibn Al-Anbαri[FN#204]: "I once left Anbαr on a journey
+to 'Amϊrνyah,[FN#205] where there came out to me the prior of the monastery and
+superior of the monkery, Abd al-Masνh hight, and brought me into the building.
+There I found forty religious, who entertained me that night with fair guest
+rite, and I left them after seeing among them such diligence in adoration and
+devotion as I never beheld the like of in any others. Next day I farewelled
+them and fared forth and, after doing my business at 'Amuriyah, I returned to
+my home at Anbar. And next year I made pilgrimage to Meccah and as I was
+circumambulating the Holy House I saw Abd al-Masih the monk also compassing the
+Ka'abah, and with him five of his fellows, the shavelings. Now when I was sure
+that it was indeed he, I accosted him, saying, 'Art thou not Abd al-Masih, the
+Religious?' and he replied, 'Nay, I am Abdallah, the Desirous.'[FN#206]
+Therewith I fell to kissing his grey hairs and shedding tears; then, taking him
+by the hand, I led him aside into a corner of the Temple and said to him, 'Tell
+me the cause of thy conversion to al-Islam;' and he made reply, 'Verily, 'twas
+a wonder of wonders, and befell thus. A company of Moslem devotees came to the
+village wherein is our convent, and sent a youth to buy them food. He saw, in
+the market, a Christian damsel selling bread, who was of the fairest of women;
+and he was struck at first sight with such love of her, that his senses failed
+him and he fell on his face in a fainting fit. When he revived, he returned to
+his companions and told them what had befallen him, saying, 'Go ye about your
+business; I may not go with you.' They chided him and exhorted him, but he paid
+no heed to them; so they left him whilst he entered the village and seated
+himself at the door of the woman's booth.[FN#207] She asked him what he wanted,
+and he told her that he was in love with her whereupon she turned from him; but
+he abode in his place three days without tasting food, keeping his eyes fixed
+on her face. Now whenas she saw that he departed not from her, she went to her
+people and acquainted them with his case, and they set on him the village boys,
+who stoned him and bruised his ribs and broke his head; but, for all this, he
+would not budge. Then the villagers took counsel together to slay him; but a
+man of them came to me and told me of his case, and I went out to him and found
+him lying prostrate on the ground. So I wiped the blood from his face and
+carried him to the convent, and dressed his wounds; and there he abode with me
+fourteen days. But as soon as he could walk, he left the monastery"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah the Religious
+continued: "So I carried him to the convent and dressed his wounds, and he
+abode with me fourteen days. But as soon as he could walk, he left the
+monastery and returned to the door of the woman 's booth, where he sat gazing
+on her as before. When she saw him she came out to him and said, 'By Allah thou
+movest me to pity! wilt thou enter my faith that I may marry thee?' He cried,
+'Allah forbid that I should put off the faith of Unity and enter that of
+Plurality!'[FN#208] Quoth she, 'Come in with me to my house and take thy will
+of me and wend thy ways in peace.' Quoth he, 'Not so, I will not waste the
+worship of twelve years for the lust of an eye-twinkle.' Said she, 'Then depart
+from me forthwith;' and he said, 'My heart will not suffer me to do that;'
+whereupon she turned her countenance from him. Presently the boys found him out
+and began to pelt him with stones; and he fell on his face, saying, 'Verily,
+Allah is my protector, who sent down the Book of the Koran; and He protecteth
+the Righteous![FN#209] At this I sallied forth and driving away the boys,
+lifted his head from the ground and heard him say, 'Allah mine, unite me with
+her in Paradise!' Then I carried him to the monastery, but he died, before I
+could reach it, and I bore him without the village and I dug for him a grave
+and buried him. And next night when half of it was spent, the damsel cried with
+a great cry (and she in her bed); so the villagers flocked to her and
+questioned her of her case. Quoth she, 'As I slept, behold the Moslem man came
+in to me and taking me by the hand, carried me to the gate of Paradise; but the
+Guardian denied me entrance, saying, 'Tis forbidden to unbelievers.' So I
+embraced Al Islam at his hands and, entering with him, beheld therein pavilions
+and trees, such as I cannot describe to you. Moreover, he brought me to a
+pavilion of jewels and said to me, 'Of a truth this is my pavilion and thine,
+nor will I enter it save with thee; but, after five nights thou shalt be with
+me therein, if it be the will of Allah Almighty.' Then he put forth his hand to
+a tree which grew at the door of the pavilion and plucked there from two apples
+and gave them to me, saying, 'Eat this and keep the other, that the monks may
+see it.' So I ate one of them and never tasted I aught sweeter.' "—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman continued: "'So
+he plucked two apples and gave them to me, saying, 'Eat this and keep the other
+that the monks may see it.' So I ate one of them and never tasted I aught
+sweeter. Then he took my hand and fared forth and carried me back to my house;
+and, when I awoke, I found the taste of the apple in my mouth and the other in
+my hand.' So saying she brought out the apple, and in the darkness of the night
+it shone as it were a sparkling star. So they carried her (and the apple with
+her) to the monastery, where she repeated her vision and showed it to us; never
+saw we its like among all the fruits of the world. Then I took a knife and cut
+the apple into pieces according as we were folk in company; and never knew we
+aught more delicious than its savour nor more delightsome than its scent; but
+we said, 'Haply this was a devil that appeared unto her to seduce her from her
+faith.' Thereupon her people took her and went away; but she abstained from
+eating and drinking and on the fifth night she rose from her bed, and going
+forth the village to the grave of her Moslem lover threw herself upon it and
+died, her family not knowing what was come of her. But, on the morrow, there
+came to the village two Moslem elders, clad in hair cloth, and with them two
+women in like garb, and said, 'O people of the village, with you is a woman
+Saint, a Waliyah of the friends of Allah, who died a Moslemah; and we will take
+charge of her in lieu of you.' So the villagers sought her and found her dead
+on the Moslem's grave; and they said, 'This was one of us and she died in our
+faith; so we will take charge of her.' Rejoined the two old men, 'Nay, she died
+a Moslemah and we claim her.' And the dispute waxed to a quarrel between them,
+till one of the Shaykhs said, 'Be this the test of her faith: the forty monks
+of the monastery shall come and try to lift her from the grave. If they
+succeed, then she died a Nazarene; if not, one of us shall come and lift her up
+and if she be lifted by him, she died a Moslemah.' The villagers agreed to this
+and fetched the forty monks, who heartened one another, and came to her to lift
+her, but could not. Then we tied a great rope round her middle and haled at it;
+but the rope broke in sunder, and she stirred not; and the villagers came and
+did the like, but could not move her from her place.[FN#210] At last, when all
+means failed, we said to one of the two Shaykhs, 'Come thou and lift her.' So
+he went up to the grave and, covering her with his mantle, said, 'In the name
+of Allah the Compassionating, the Compassionate, and of the Faith of the
+Apostle of Allah, on whom be prayers and peace!' Then he lifted her and, taking
+her in his bosom, betook himself with her to a cave hard by, where they laid
+her, and the two women came and washed her and shrouded her. Then the two
+elders bore her to her Moslem lover's grave and prayed over her and buried her
+by his side and went their ways. Now we were eye witnesses of all this; and,
+when we were alone with one another, we said, 'In sooth, the truth is most
+worthy to be followed;'[FN#211] and indeed the verity hath been made manifest
+to us, nor is there a proof more patent of the truth of al-Islam than that we
+have seen this day with our eyes.' So I and all the monks became Moslems and on
+like wise did the villagers; and we sent to the people of Mesopotamia for a
+doctor of the law, to instruct us in the ordinances of al-Islam and the canons
+of the Faith. They sent us a learned man and a pious, who taught us the rites
+of prayer and the tenets of the faith; and we are now in ease abounding; so to
+Allah be the praise and the thanks!" And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap46"></a>THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Amrϊ bin Masa'dah:[FN#212] "Abϊ Isα, son of al-Rashνd and brother to
+al-Maamun, was enamoured of one Kurrat al-Ayn, a slave girl belonging to Ali
+bin Hishαm,[FN#213] and she also loved him; but he concealed his passion,
+complaining of it to none neither discovering his secret to anyone, of his
+pride and magnanimity; for he had used his utmost endeavour to purchase her of
+her master, but he had failed. At last when his patience was at an end and his
+passion was sore on him and he was helpless in the matter, he went in to
+al-Maamun, one day of state after the folk had retired, and said to him, 'O
+Commander of the Faithful, if thou wilt this day make trial of thine Alcaydes
+by taking them unawares, thou wilt know the generous from the mean and note
+each one's place, after the quality of his mind.' But, in saying this he
+purposed only to sit with Kurrat al-Ayn in her lord's house. Quoth al-Maamun,
+'Right is thy recking,' and bade make ready a barge, called 'the Flyer,'
+wherein he embarked with Abu Isa and a party of his chief officers. The first
+mansion he visited unexpectedly was that of Hamνd al-Tawil of Tϊs, whom he
+found seated"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that al-Maamun embarked with
+his chief officers and fared on till they reached the mansion of Hamνd al-Tawil
+of TÏŠs; and, unexpectedly entering they found him seated on a mat and before
+him singers and players with lutes and flageolets and other instruments of
+music in their hands. So Al Maamun sat with him awhile and presently he set
+before him dishes of nothing but flesh meat, with no birds among them. The
+Caliph would not taste thereof and Abu Isa said to him, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, we have taken the owner of this place unawares, and he knew not of
+thy coming; but now let us go to another place which is prepared for thee and
+fitted for thee." Thereupon the Caliph arose and betook himself with his
+brother Abu Isa and his suite, to the abode of Ali son of Hisham who, on
+hearing of their approach, came out and received them with the goodliest of
+reception, and kissed the earth before the King. Then he brought them into his
+mansion and opened to them a saloon than which seer never saw a goodlier. Its
+floors, pillars and walls were of many coloured marbles, adorned with Greek
+paintings: and it was spread with matting of Sind[FN#214] whereon were carpets
+and tapestry of Bassorah make, fitted to the length and breadth of the room. So
+the Caliph sat awhile, examining the house and its ceilings and walls, then
+said, "Give us somewhat to eat." So they brought him forthwith nearly an
+hundred dishes of poultry besides other birds and brewises, fritters and
+cooling marinades. When he had eaten, he said, "Give us some thing to drink, O
+Ali;" and the host set before him, in vessels of gold and silver and crystal,
+raisin wine boiled down to one third with fruits and spices; and the cupbearers
+were pages like moons, clad in garments of Alexandrian stuff interwoven with
+gold and bearing on their breasts beakers of crystal, full of rose water
+mingled with musk. So al-Maamun marvelled with exceeding marvel at all he saw
+and said, "Ho thou, Abu al-Hasan!" Whereupon Ali sprang to the Caliph's carpet
+and kissing it, said, "At thy service, O Commander of the Faithful!" and stood
+before him. Quoth al-Maamun, "Let us hear some pleasant and merry song."
+Replied Ali, "I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful," and said to one of
+his eunuchs, "Fetch the singing women." So the slave went out and presently
+returned, followed by ten castratos, bearing ten stools of gold, which they set
+down in due order; and after these came ten damsels, concubines of the master,
+as they were shining full moons or gardens full of bloom, clad in black
+brocade, with crowns of gold on their heads; and they passed along the room
+till they sat down on the stools, when sang they sundry songs. Al-Maamun looked
+at one of them; and, being captivated by her elegance and fair favour, asked
+her, "What is thy name, O damsel?"; and she answered, "My name is
+Sajαhν,[FN#215] O Commander of the Faithful," and he said, "Sing to us, O
+Sajahi!" So she played a lively measure and sang these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "I walk, for fear of interview, the weakling's walk *<br/>
+
+          Who sees two lion whelps the fount draw nigh:<br/>
+
+     My cloak acts sword, my heart's perplex'd with fright, *<br/>
+
+          Lest jealous hostile eyes th' approach descry:<br/>
+
+     Till sudden hapt I on a delicate maid *<br/>
+
+          Like desert-doe that fails her fawns to espy."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quoth the Caliph, "Thou hast done well, O damsel! whose are these lines?" She
+answered, "Written by Amru bin Ma'di Karib al -Zubaydi,[FN#216] and the air is
+Ma'abid's."[FN#217] Then the Caliph and Abu Isa and Ali drank and the damsels
+went away and were succeeded by other ten, all clad in flowered silk of
+Al-Yaman, brocaded with gold, who sat down on the chairs and sang various
+songs. The Caliph looked at one of the concubines, who was like a wild heifer
+of the waste, and said to her, "What is thy name, O damsel?" She replied, "My
+name is Zabiyah,[FN#218] 0 Commander of the Faithful;" and he, "Sing to us
+Zabiyah;" so she warbled like a bird with many a trill and sang these two
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Houris, and highborn Dames who feel no fear of men, *<br/>
+
+          Like Meccan game forbidden man to slam:[FN#219]<br/>
+
+     Their soft sweet voices make you deem them whores, *<br/>
+
+          But bars them from all whoring Al-Islam."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When she had finished, al-Maamun cried, "favoured of Allah art thou!"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the slave girl
+finished her song, al-Maamun cried, "Favoured of Allah art thou! Whose is this
+verse?" and she answered, "Jarνr's[FN#220] and the air is By Ibn Surayj." Then
+the Caliph and his company drank, whilst the girls went away and there came
+forth yet other ten, as they were rubies, robed in red brocade inwoven with
+gold and purfled with pearls and jewels whilst all their heads were bare. They
+sat down on the stools and sang various airs; so the Caliph looked at one of
+them, who was like the sun of the day, and asked her, "What is thy name, O
+damsel?"; and she answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, my name is Fαtin."
+"Sing to us, O Fatin," quoth he; whereat she played a lively measure and sang
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Deign grant thy favours; since 'tis time I were engraced; *<br/>
+
+          Tnough of severance hath it been my lot to taste.<br/>
+
+     Thou'rt he whose face cloth every gift and charm unite, *<br/>
+
+          Yet is my patience spent for that 'twas sore misplaced:<br/>
+
+     I've wasted life in loving thee; and would high Heaven *<br/>
+
+          Grant me one meeting hour for all this wilful waste."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Well sung, O Fatin!'' exclaimed the Caliph; "whose verse is this?" And she
+answered, "Adi bin Zayd's, and the air is antique." Then all three drank,
+whilst the damsels retired and were succeeded by other ten maidens, as they
+were sparkling stars, clad in flowered silk embroidered with red gold and girt
+with jewelled zones. They sat down and sang various motives; and the Caliph
+asked one of them, who was like a wand of willow, "What is thy name, O
+damsel?"; and she answered, "My name is Rashaa,[FN#221] 0 Commander of the
+Faithful." "Sing to us, O Rashaa," quoth he; so she played a lively measure and
+sang these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "And wand-like Houri, who can passion heal *<br/>
+
+          Like young gazelle that paceth o'er the plain:<br/>
+
+     I drain this wine cup on the toast, her cheek, *<br/>
+
+          Each cup disputing till she bends in twain<br/>
+
+     Then sleeps the night with me, the while I cry *<br/>
+
+          'This is the only gain my Soul would gain!' "<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Said the Caliph, "Well done, O damsel! Sing us something more." So she rose and
+kissing the ground before him, sang the following distich,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "She came out to gaze on the bridal at ease *<br/>
+
+          In a shift that reeked of ambergris."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph was highly pleased with this couplet and, when the slave girl saw
+how much it delighted him, she repeated it several times. Then said al-Maamun,
+"Bring up 'the Flyer,'" being minded to embark and depart: but Ali bin Hisham
+said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have a slave girl, whom I bought
+for ten thousand diners; she hath taken my heart in whole and part, and I would
+fain display her to the Commander of the Faithful. If she please him and he
+will accept of her, she is his: and if not, let him hear something from her."
+Said the Caliph, "Bring her to me;" and forth came a damsel, as she were a
+branchlet of willow, with seducing eyes and eyebrows set like twin bows; and on
+her head she wore a crown of red gold crusted with pearls and jewelled, under
+which was a fillet bearing this couplet wrought in letters of chrysolite,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "A Jinniyah this, with her Jinn, to show *<br/>
+
+          How to pierce man's heart with a stringless bow!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The handmaiden walked, with the gait of a gazelle in flight and fit to damn a
+devotee, till she came to a chair, whereon she seated herself.—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the hand maiden walked
+with the gait of a gazelle in flight, fit to damn a devotee, till she came to a
+chair whereon she seated herself. And Al-Maamun marvelled at her beauty and
+loveliness; but, when Abu Isa saw her, his heart throbbed with pain, his colour
+changed to pale and wan and he was in evil case. Asked the Caliph, "O Abu Isa,
+what aileth thee to change thus?"; and he answered, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, it is because of a twitch that seizeth me betimes." Quoth the Caliph,
+"Hast thou known yonder damsel before to day?" Quoth he, "Yes, O Commander of
+the Faithful, can the moon be concealed?" Then said al-Maamun to her, "What is
+thy name, O damsel?"; and she replied, "My name is Kurrat al-Ayn. O Commander
+of the Faithful," and he rejoined, "Sing to us, O Kurrat al-Ayn." So she sang
+these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "The loved ones left thee in middle night, *<br/>
+
+          And fared with the pilgrims when dawn shone bright:<br/>
+
+     The tents of pride round the domes they pitched, *<br/>
+
+          And with broidered curtains were veiled fro' sight."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quoth the Caliph, "Favoured of Heaven art thou, O Kurrat al-Ayn! Whose song is
+that?"; whereto she answered "The words are by Di'ibil al-Khuza'i, and the air
+by Zurzϊr al-Saghνr." Abu Isa looked at her and his tears choked him; so that
+the company marvelled at him. Then she turned to al-Maamun and said to him, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, wilt thou give me leave to change the words?" Said
+he, "Sing what thou wilt;" so she played a merry measure and carolled these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "If thou should please a friend who pleaseth thee *<br/>
+
+          Frankly, in public practise secrecy.<br/>
+
+     And spurn the slanderer's tale, who seldom[FN#222] *<br/>
+
+          seeks Except the severance of true love to see.<br/>
+
+     They say, when lover's near, he tires of love, *<br/>
+
+          And absence is for love best remedy:<br/>
+
+     Both cures we tried and yet we are not cured, *<br/>
+
+          Withal we judge that nearness easier be:<br/>
+
+     Yet nearness is of no avail when he *<br/>
+
+          Thou lovest lends thee love unwillingly."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But when she had finished, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the Faithful," —And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kurrat al-Ayn had
+finished her verse, Abu Isa said, "O Commander of the Faithful, though we
+endure disgrace, we shall be at ease.[FN#223] Dost thou give me leave to reply
+to her?" Quoth the Caliph, "Yes, say what thou wilt to her." So he swallowed
+his tears and sang these two distichs,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Silent I woned and never owned my love; *<br/>
+
+          But from my heart I hid love's blissful boon;<br/>
+
+     Yet, if my eyes should manifest my love, *<br/>
+
+          'Tis for my nearness to the shining moon."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Kurrat al-Ayn took the lute and played a lively tune and rejoined with
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "An what thou claimest were the real truth, *<br/>
+
+          With only Hope content thou hadst not been<br/>
+
+     Nor couldest patient live without the girl *<br/>
+
+          So rare of inner grace and outward mien.<br/>
+
+     But there is nothing in the claim of thee *<br/>
+
+          At all, save tongue and talk that little mean."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Abu Isa heard this he fell to weeping and wailing and evidencing his
+trouble and anguish. Then he raised his eyes to her and sighing, repeated these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Under my raiment a waste body lies, *<br/>
+
+          And in my spirit all comprising prize.<br/>
+
+     I have a heart, whose pain shall aye endure, *<br/>
+
+          And tears like torrents pour these woeful eyes.<br/>
+
+     Whene'er a wise man spies me, straight he chides *<br/>
+
+          Love, that misleads me thus in ways unwise:<br/>
+
+     O Lord, I lack the power this dole to bear: *<br/>
+
+          Come sudden Death or joy in bestest guise!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When he had ended, Ali bin Hisham sprang up and kissing his feet, said, "O my
+lord, Allah hearing thy secret hath answered thy prayer and consenteth to thy
+taking her with all she hath of things rare and fair, so the Commander of the
+Faithful have no mind to her." Quoth Al Maamun, "Had we a mind to her, we would
+prefer Abu Isa before ourselves and help him to his desire." So saying, he rose
+and embarking, went away, whilst Abu Isa tarried for Kurrat al-Ayn, whom he
+took and carried to his own house, his breast swelling with joy. See then the
+generosity of Ali son of Hisham! And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap47"></a>AL-AMIN SON OF AL-RASHID AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Al-Amin,[FN#224] brother of al-Maamun, once entered the house of his uncle
+Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi, where he saw a slave girl playing upon the lute; and, she
+being one of the fairest of women, his heart inclined to her. Ibrahim, seeing
+how it was with him, sent the girl to him, with rich raiment and precious
+ornaments. When he saw her, he thought that his uncle had lain with her; so he
+was loath to have to do with her, because of that, and accepting what came with
+her sent her back to Ibrahim. His uncle learnt the cause of this from one of
+al-Amin's eunuchs; so he took a shift of watered silk and worked upon its
+skirt, in letters of gold, these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "No! I declare by Him to whom all bow, *<br/>
+
+          Of nothing 'neath her petticoat I trow:<br/>
+
+     Nor meddle with her mouth; nor aught did I *<br/>
+
+          But see and hear her, and it was enow!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he clad her in the shift and, giving her a lute, sent her back again to
+his nephew. When she came into al-Amin's presence, she kissed ground before him
+and tuning the lute, sang thereto these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Thy breast thou baredst sending back the gift; *<br/>
+
+          Showing unlove for me withouten shift:<br/>
+
+     An thou bear spite of Past, the Past forgive, *<br/>
+
+          And for the Caliphate cast the Past adrift."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When she had made an end of her verse, Al-Amin looked at her and, seeing what
+was upon her skirt, could no longer control him self, And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Amin looked at
+the damsel and saw what was upon her skirt, he could no longer control himself,
+but drew near unto her and kissed her and appointed her a separate lodging in
+his palace. Moreover, he thanked his uncle for this and bestowed on him the
+government of Rayy. And a tale is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap48"></a>AL-FATH BIN KHAKAN AND THE CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Al-Mutawakkil[FN#225] was once taking medicine, and folk sent him by way of
+solace all sorts of presents and rarities and things costly and precious.
+Amongst others, al-Fath bin Khαkαn[FN#226] sent him a virgin slave, high
+breasted, of the fairest among women of her time, and with her a vase of
+crystal, containing ruddy wine, and a goblet of red gold, whereon were graven
+in black these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Since our Imam came forth from medicine, *<br/>
+
+          Which made him health and heartiness rewin,<br/>
+
+     There is no healing draught more sovereign *<br/>
+
+          Than well boiled wine this golden goblet in:<br/>
+
+     Then let him break the seal for him secured; *<br/>
+
+          'Tis best prescription after medicine[FN#227]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when the damsel entered, the physician Yohannα[FN#228] was with the Caliph,
+and as he read the couplets, he smiled and said, "By Allah, O Commander of the
+Faithful, Fath is better versed than I in the art of healing: so let not the
+Prince of True Believers gainsay his prescription." Accordingly, the Caliph
+followed the recipe contained in the poetry and was made whole by the blessing
+of Allah and won his every wish. And among tales they tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap49"></a>THE MAN'S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN CONCERNING
+THE RELATIVE EXCELLENCE OF MALE AND FEMALE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth a certain man of learning, "I never saw amongst woman kind one wittier,
+and wiser, better read and by nature more generously bred; and in manners and
+morals more perfected than a preacher of the people of Baghdad, by name Sitt
+al-Mashα'ikh.[FN#229] It chanced that she came to Hamah city in the year of the
+Flight five hundred and sixty and one[FN#230]; and there delivered salutary
+exhortations to the folk from the professorial chair. Now there used to visit
+her house a number of students of divinity and persons of learning and polite
+letters, who would discuss with her questions of theology and dispute with her
+on controversial points. I went to her one day, with a friend of mine, a man of
+years and education; and when we had taken our seats, she set before us a dish
+of fruit and seated herself behind a curtain. Now she had a brother, a handsome
+youth, who stood behind us, to serve us. And when we had eaten we fell to
+disputing upon points of divinity, and I propounded to her a theological
+question bearing upon a difference between the Imams, the Founders of the Four
+Schools. She proceeded to speak in answer, whilst I listened; but all the while
+my friend fell to looking upon her brother's face and admiring his beauties
+without paying any heed to what she discoursed. Now as she was watching him
+from behind the curtain; when she had made an end of her speech, she turned to
+him and said, 'Methinks thou be of those who give men the preference over
+women!' He replied, 'Assuredly,' and she asked, 'And why so?'; whereto he
+answered, 'For that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the feminine,'"
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh replied, "
+'For that Allah hath made the masculine worthier than the feminine; and I like
+the excelling and mislike the excelled.' She laughed and presently said, 'Wilt
+thou deal fairly with me in debate, if I battle the matter with thee?' and he
+rejoined, 'Yes.' Then quoth she, 'What is the evidence of the superiority of
+the male to the female?' Quoth he, 'It is of two kinds, traditional and
+reasonable. The authoritative part deriveth from the Koran and the Traditions
+of the Apostle. As for the first we have the very words of Almighty Allah, 'Men
+shall have the pre-eminence above women because of those advantages wherein
+Allah hath caused the one of them to excel the other;[FN#231] and again, 'If
+there be not two men, let there be one man and two women;'[FN#232] and again,
+when treating of inheritance, 'If there be brothers and sisters let a male have
+as much as the portion of two females.'[FN#233] Thus Allah (extolled and
+exalted be He!) hath in these places preferred the male over the female and
+teacheth that a woman is as the half of a man, for that he is worthier than
+she. As for the Sunnah traditions, is it not reported of the Prophet (whom
+Allah save and assain!) that he appointed the blood money for a woman to be
+half that of a man. And as for the evidence of reason, the male is the agent
+and active and the female the patient and passive.'[FN#234] Rejoined she, 'Thou
+hast said well, O my lord, but, by Allah, thou hast proved my contention with
+thine own lips and hast advanced evidence which telleth against thee, and not
+for thee. And thus it is: Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) preferred the
+male above the female solely because of the inherent condition and essential
+quality of masculinity; and in this there is no dispute between us. Now this
+quality of male-hood is common to the child, the boy, the youth, the adult and
+the old man; nor is there any distinction between them in this. If, then, the
+superior excellence of male masculant belong to him solely by virtue of
+manhood, it behoveth that thy heart incline and thy sole delight in the
+graybeard, equally with the boy; seeing that there is no distinction between
+them, in point of male-hood. But the difference between thee and me turneth
+upon the accident of qualities that are sought as constituting the pleasure of
+intercourse and its enjoyment; and thou hast adduced no proof of the
+superiority of the youth over the young girl in this matter of non-essentials.'
+He made answer, 'O reverend lady, knowest thou not that which is peculiar to
+the youth of limber shape and rosy cheeks and pleasant smile and sweetness of
+speech? Youths are, in these respects superior to women; and the proof of this
+is what they traditionally report of the Prophet (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) that he said, 'Stay not thy gaze upon the beardless, for in them is
+a momentary eye glance at the black eyed girls of Paradise.' Nor indeed is the
+superiority of the lad over the lass hidden to any of mankind, and how well
+saith Abu Nowas,[FN#235]
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'The least of him is the being free *<br/>
+
+          From monthly courses and pregnancy.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the saying of another poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Quoth our Imam, Abu Nowas, who was *<br/>
+
+          For mad debauch and waggishness renowned:<br/>
+
+     'O tribe that loves the cheeks of boys, take fill *<br/>
+
+          Of joys in Paradise shall ne'er be found!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and wish to enhance her value
+by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to a youth,'" —And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh continued,
+"'So if any one enlarge in praise of a slave girl and wish to enhance her value
+by the mention of her beauties, he likeneth her to a youth, because of the
+illustrious qualities that belong to the male, even as saith the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Boy like of backside, in the deed of kind, *<br/>
+
+          She sways, as sways the wand like boughs a-wind.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An youths, then, were not better and fairer than girls, why should these be
+likened to them? And know also (Almighty Allah preserve thee!) that a youth is
+easy to be led, adapting himself to every rede, pleasant of converse and
+manners, inclining to assent rather than dissent, especially when his side face
+is newly down'd and his upper lip is first embrowned, and the purple lights of
+youth on his cheeks abound, so that he is like the full moon sound; and how
+goodly is the saying of Abu Tammαm[FN#236],
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'The slanderers said 'There's hair upon his cheeks'; *<br/>
+
+          Quoth I, 'Exceed not, that's no blemish there.'<br/>
+
+     When he could bear that haling of his hips *<br/>
+
+          And pearl-beads shaded by mustachio hair;[FN#237]<br/>
+
+     And Rose swore solemn, holiest oath that is, *<br/>
+
+          From that fair cheek she nevermore would fare<br/>
+
+     I spoke with eyelids without need of speech, *<br/>
+
+          And they who answered me his eyebrows were.<br/>
+
+     He's even fairer than thou knewest him, *<br/>
+
+          And cheek down guards from all would overdare.<br/>
+
+     Brighter and sweeter now are grown his charms, *<br/>
+
+          Since down robes lip and cheek before were bare.<br/>
+
+     And those who blame me for my love of him, *<br/>
+
+          When him they mention say of him, 'Thy Fair'!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth al-Hariri[FN#238] and quoth excellently well,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'My censors say, 'What means this pine for him? *<br/>
+
+          Seest not the flowing hair on cheeks a flowing?'<br/>
+
+     I say, 'By Allah, an ye deem I dote, *<br/>
+
+          Look at the truth in those fine eyes a-showing!<br/>
+
+     But for the down that veils his cheek and chin, *<br/>
+
+          His brow had dazed all eyes no sight allowing:<br/>
+
+     And whoso sojourns in a growthless land, *<br/>
+
+          How shall he move from land fair growths a-growing?'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth another,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'My blamers say of me, 'He is consoled,' And lie! *<br/>
+
+          No consolation comes to those who pine and sigh.<br/>
+
+     I had no solace when Rose bloomed alone on cheek, *<br/>
+
+          Now Basil blooms thereon and now consoled am I.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And again,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Slim waisted one, whose looks with down of cheek *<br/>
+
+          In slaughtering mankind each other hurtle<br/>
+
+     With the Narcissus blade he sheddeth blood, *<br/>
+
+          The baldrick of whose sheath is freshest<br/>
+
+          myrtle.'[FN#239]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And again,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Not with his must I'm drunk, but verily *<br/>
+
+          Those curls turn manly heads like newest wine[FN#240]<br/>
+
+     Each of his beauties envies each, and all *<br/>
+
+          Would be the silky down on side face li'en.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such are the excellencies of the youth which women do not own, and they more
+than suffice to give those the preference over these.' She replied, 'Allah give
+thee health! verily, thou hast imposed the debate upon thyself; and thou hast
+spoken and hast not stinted and hast brought proofs to support every assertion.
+But, 'Now is the truth become manifest;'[FN#241] so swerve thou not from the
+path thereof; and, if thou be not content with a summary of evidence, I will
+set it before thee in fullest detail. Allah upon thee, where is the youth
+beside the girl and who shall compare kid and wild cow? The girl is soft of
+speech, fair of form, like a branchlet of basil, with teeth like
+chamomile-petals and hair like halters wherefrom to hang hearts. Her cheeks are
+like blood-red anemones and her face like a pippin: she hath lips like wine and
+breasts like pomegranates twain and a shape supple as a rattan-cane. Her body
+is well formed and with sloping shoulders dight; she hath a nose like the edge
+of a sword shining bright and a forehead brilliant white and eyebrows which
+unite and eyes stained by Nature's hand black as night. If she speak, fresh
+young pearls are scattered from her mouth forthright and all hearts are
+ravished by the daintiness of her sprite; when she smileth thou wouldst ween
+the moon shone out her lips between and when she eyes thee, sword blades flash
+from the babes of her eyes. In her all beauties to conclusion come, and she is
+the centre of attraction to traveller and stay-at-home. She hath two lips of
+cramoisy, than cream smoother and of taste than honey sweeter,'" —And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the preacher woman thus
+pursued her theme in the praise of fair maids, "'She hath two lips of cramoisy,
+than cream smoother and than honey sweeter;' adding, 'And she hath a bosom, as
+it were a way two hills between which are a pair of breasts like globes of
+ivory sheen; likewise, a stomach right smooth, flanks soft as the palm-spathe
+and creased with folds and dimples which overlap one another, and liberal
+thighs, which like columns of pearl arise, and back parts which billow and beat
+together like seas of glass or mountains of glance, and two feet and hands of
+gracious mould like unto ingots of virgin gold. So, O miserable! where are
+mortal men beside the Jinn? Knowest thou not that puissant princes and potent
+Kings before women ever humbly bend and on them for delight depend? Verily,
+they may say, 'We rule over necks and rob hearts.' These women! how many a rich
+man have they not paupered, how many a powerful man have they not prostrated
+and how many a superior man have they not enslaved! Indeed, they seduce the
+sage and send the saint to shame and bring the wealthy to want and plunge the
+fortune favoured into penury. Yet for all this, the wise but redouble in
+affection of them and honour; nor do they count this oppression or dishonour.
+How many a man for them hath offended his Maker and called down on him self the
+wrath of his father and mother! And all this because of the conquest of their
+love over hearts. Knowest thou not, O wretched one, that for them are built
+pavilions, and slave girls are for sale;[FN#242] that for them tear floods rail
+and for them are collected jewels of price and ambergris and musk odoriferous;
+and armies are arrayed and pleasaunces made and wealth heaped up and smitten
+off is many a head? And indeed he spoke sooth in the words, 'Whoso saith the
+world meaneth woman.' Now as for thy citation from the Holy Traditions, it is
+an argument against thee and not for thee in that the Prophet (whom Allah bless
+and preserve!) compareth the beardless with the black eyed girls of Paradise.
+Now, doubtless, the subject of comparison is worthier than the object there
+with compared; so, unless women be the worthier and the goodlier, wherefore
+should other than they be likened to them? As for thy saying that girls are
+likened to boys, the case is not so, but the contrary: boys are likened to
+girls; for folk say, Yonder boy is like a girl. As for what proof thou quotest
+from the poets, the verses were the product of a complexion unnatural in this
+respect; and as for the habitual sodomites and catamites, offenders against
+religion, Almighty Allah hath condemned them in His Holy Book,[FN#243] herein
+He denounceth their filthy practices, saying, 'Do ye approach unto the males
+among mankind[FN#244] and leave your wives which your Lord hath created for
+you? Surely ye are a people who transgress!' These it is that liken girls to
+boys, of their exceeding profligacy and ungraciousness and inclination to
+follow the fiend and own lusts, so that they say, 'She is apt for two
+tricks,'[FN#245] and these are all wanderers from the way of right and the
+righteous. Quoth their chief Abu Nowas,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'Slim waist and boyish wits delight *<br/>
+
+          Wencher, as well as Sodomite,'[FN#246]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for what thou sayest of a youth's first hair on cheek and lips and how they
+add to his beauty and loveliness, by Allah, thou strayest from the straight
+path of sooth and sayest that which is other than the truth; for whiskers
+change the charms of the comely into ugliness (quoting these couplets),
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'That sprouting hair upon his face took wreak *<br/>
+
+          For lovers' vengeance, all did vainly seek.<br/>
+
+     I see not on his face a sign fuli- *<br/>
+
+          genous, except his curls are hue of reek.<br/>
+
+     If so his paper[FN#247] mostly be begrimed *<br/>
+
+          Where deemest thou the reed shall draw a streak?<br/>
+
+     If any raise him other fairs above, *<br/>
+
+          This only proves the judge of wits is weak.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when she ended her verse she resumed, 'Laud be to Allah Almighty,'" —And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the preacher woman
+ended her verse she resumed, addressing the man, " 'Laud to Allah Almighty! how
+can it be hid from thee that the perfect pleasure is in women and that abiding
+blessings are not to be found but with them, seeing that Allah (extolled and
+exalted be He!) hath promised His prophets and saints black eyed damsels in
+Paradise and hath appointed these for a recompense of their godly works. And
+had the Almighty known that the joy supreme was in the possession of other than
+women, He had rewarded them therewith and promised it to them. And quoth he
+(whom Allah bless and preserve!), 'The things I hold dearest of the things of
+your world are three: women and perfume and the solace of my eyes in prayer.'
+Verily Allah hath appointed boys to serve his prophets and saints in Paradise,
+because Paradise is the abode of joy and delight, which could not be complete
+without the service of youths; but, as to the use of them for aught but
+service, it is Hell's putridity[FN#248] and corruption and turpitude. How well
+saith the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+    'Men's turning unto bums of boys is bumptious; *<br/>
+
+          Whoso love noble women show their own noblesse.<br/>
+
+    How many goodly wights have slept the night, enjoying *<br/>
+
+          Buttocks of boys, and woke at morn in foulest mess<br/>
+
+    Their garments stained by safflower, which is yellow merde; *<br/>
+
+          Their shame proclaiming, showing colour of distress.<br/>
+
+    Who can deny the charge, when so bewrayed are they *<br/>
+
+          That e'en by day light shows the dung upon their dress?<br/>
+
+    What contrast wi' the man, who slept a gladsome night *<br/>
+
+          By Houri maid for glance a mere enchanteress,<br/>
+
+    He rises off her borrowing wholesome bonny scent; *<br/>
+
+          That fills the house with whiffs of perfumed<br/>
+
+          goodliness.<br/>
+
+    No boy deserved place by side of her to hold; *<br/>
+
+          Canst even aloes wood with what fills pool of<br/>
+
+          cess!'[FN#249]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then said she, 'O folk ye have made me to break the bounds of modesty and the
+circle of free born women and indulge in idle talk of chambering and
+wantonness, which beseemeth not people of learning. But the breasts of
+free-borns are the sepulchres of secrets' and such conversations are in
+confidence. Moreover, actions are according to intentions,[FN#250] and I crave
+pardon of Allah for myself and you and all Moslems, seeing that He is the
+Pardoner and the Compassionate.' Then she held her peace and thereafter would
+answer us of naught; so we went our way, rejoicing in that we had profited by
+her contention and yet sorrowing to part from her." And among the tales they
+tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap50"></a>ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Abu Suwayd, "I and a company of my friends, entered a garden one day to
+buy somewhat of fruit; and we saw in a corner an old woman, who was bright of
+face, but her head-hair was white, and she was combing it with an ivory comb.
+We stopped before her, yet she paid no heed to us neither veiled her face: so I
+said to her, 'O old woman,[FN#251] wert thou to dye thy hair black, thou
+wouldst be handsomer than a girl: what hindereth thee from this?' She raised
+her head towards me"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Suwayd continued:
+"When I spake these words to the ancient dame she raised her head towards me
+and, opening wide her eyes, recited these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'I dyed what years have dyed, but this my staining *<br/>
+
+          Lasts not, while that of days is aye remaining:<br/>
+
+     Days when beclad in gear of youth I fared, *<br/>
+
+          Raked fore and aft by men with joy unfeigning.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I cried, 'By Allah, favoured art thou for an old woman! How sincere art thou in
+thine after-pine for forbidden pleasures and how false is thy pretence of
+repentance from frowardness!'" And another tale is that of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap51"></a>THE EMIR ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Once on a time was displayed for sale to Ali bin Mohammed bin Abdallah bin
+Tαhir[FN#252] a slave-girl called Muunis who was superior to her fellows in
+beauty and breeding, and to boot an accomplished poetess; and he asked her of
+her name. Replied she, "Allah advance the Emir, my name is Muunis."[FN#253] Now
+he knew this before; so he bowed his head awhile, then raising his eyes to her,
+recited this verse,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "What sayest of one by a sickness caught *<br/>
+
+          For the love of thy love till he waxed distraught?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Answered she, "Allah exalt the Emir!" and recited this verse in reply,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, *<br/>
+
+          Wi' love we would grant him all favours he sought."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams and begat on her
+Obayd' Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister of Police.[FN#254] And we are
+told by Abu al-Aynα[FN#255] a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap52"></a>THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Quoth Abu al-Aynα, "There were in our street two women, one of whom had for
+lover a man and the other a beardless youth, and they foregathered one night on
+the terrace-roof of a house adjoining mine, knowing not that I was near. Quoth
+the boy's lover to the other, 'O my sister, how canst thou bear with patience
+the harshness of thy lover's beard as it falleth on thy breast, when he busseth
+thee and his mustachios rub thy cheek and lips?' Replied the other, 'Silly that
+thou art, what decketh the tree save its leaves and the cucumber but its
+warts?[FN#256] Didst ever see in the world aught uglier than a scald-head bald
+of his beard? Knowest thou not that the beard is to men as the sidelocks to
+women; and what is the difference between chin and cheek?[FN#257] Knowest thou
+not that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath created an angel in Heaven,
+who saith: 'Glory be to Him who ornamenteth men with beards and women with long
+hair?' So, were not the beard even as the tresses in comeliness, it had not
+been coupled with them, O silly! How shall I spread-eagle myself under a boy,
+who will emit long before I can go off and forestall me in limpness of penis
+and clitoris; and leave a man who, when he taketh breath clippeth close and
+when he entereth goeth leisurely, and when he hath done, repeateth, and when he
+pusheth poketh hard, and as often as he withdraweth, returneth?' The boy's
+leman was edified by her speech and said, 'I forswear my lover by the lord of
+the Ka'abah!'" And amongst tales is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap53"></a>ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.</h3>
+
+<p>
+There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great store of
+monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and houses beyond count, and his
+name was Hasan the Jeweller, the Baghdad man. Furthermore Allah had blessed him
+with a son of perfect beauty and brilliancy; rosy-cheeked, fair of face and
+well-figured, whom he named Ali of Cairo, and had taught the Koran and science
+and elocution and the other branches of polite education, till he became
+proficient in all manner of knowledge. He was under his father's hand in trade
+but, after a while, Hasan fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he
+made sure of death; so he called his son to him,—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jeweller, the
+Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he called to him his son, named Ali
+of Cairo, and said, "O my son, verily this world passeth away; but the next
+world endureth for aye. Every soul shall taste of death;[FN#258] and now, O my
+son, my decease is at hand and I desire to charge thee with a charge, which if
+thou observe, thou shalt abide in safety and prosperity, till thou meet
+Almighty Allah; but if thou follow it not, there shall befal thee much
+weariness and thou wilt repent of having transgressed mine injunctions."
+Replied Ali, "O my father, how shall I do other than hearken to thy words and
+act according to thy charge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the Faith
+to obey thee and give ear to thy command?" Rejoined his father, "O my son, I
+leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past count; so that wert thou
+each day to spend thereof five hundred dinars, thou wouldst miss naught of it.
+But, O my son, look that thou live in the fear of Allah and follow His Chosen
+One, Mustafa, (whom may He bless and preserve!) in whatso he is reported to
+have bidden and forbidden in his traditional law.[FN#259] Be thou constant in
+alms-deeds and the practice of beneficence and in consorting with men of worth
+and piety and learning; and look that thou have a care for the poor and needy
+and shun avarice and meanness and the conversation of the wicked or those of
+suspicious character. Look thou kindly upon thy servants and family, and also
+upon thy wife, for she is of the daughters of the great and is big with child
+by thee; haply Allah will vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her." And he ceased
+not to exhort him thus, weeping and saying, "O my son, I beseech Allah the
+Bountiful, the Lord of the glorious Empyrean[FN#260] to deliver thee from all
+straits that may encompass thee and grant thee His ready relief!" Thereupon his
+son wept with sore weeping and said, "O my father, I am melted by thy words,
+for these are as the words of one that saith farewell." Replied the merchant,
+"Yes, O my son, I am aware of my condition: forget thou not my charge." Then he
+fell to repeating the two professions of the Faith and to reciting verses of
+the Koran, until the appointed hour arrived, when he said, "Draw near unto me,
+O my son." So Ali drew near and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul
+departed his body and he went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[FN#261] Therewith
+great grief fell upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose in his house and his
+father's friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to preparing the body
+for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They bore his bier to the place of
+prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they buried him and
+recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran; after which they returned to
+the house and condoled with the dead man's son and wended each his own way.
+Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayer for his father and had perlections of
+the Koran every day for the normal forty, during which time he abode in the
+house and went not forth, save to the place of prayer; and every Friday he
+visited his father's tomb. So he ceased not from his praying and reciting for
+some time, until his fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one
+day and saluting him, said, "How long this thy mourning and neglecting thy
+business and the company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion which will
+bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it exceedingly." Now when
+they came in to him, Iblis the Accursed was with them, prompting them; and they
+went on to recommend him to accompany them to the bazar, whilst Iblis tempted
+him to consent to them, till he yielded,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of the
+merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan the Jeweller, they
+recommended him to accompany them to the bazar, till he yielded, that the will
+of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) might be fulfilled; and he left the
+house of mourning with them. Presently they said, "Mount thy she-mule and ride
+with us to such a garden, that we may solace us there and that thy grief and
+despondency may depart from thee." So he mounted and taking his slave, went
+with them to the garden in question; and when they entered one of them went and
+making ready the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were
+merry and sat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted and returned
+each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. As soon as the morrow
+dawned, they again visited Ali and said, "Come with us." Asked he, "Whither?";
+and they answered, "To such a garden; for it is finer than the first and more
+pleasurable." So he went with them to the garden, and one of them, going away,
+made ready the morning-meal and brought it to them, together with strong heady
+wine; and after eating, they brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, "What is
+this? and quoth they, "This is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth
+gladness. And they ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon
+him and he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end
+of the day, when each returned home. But as for Ali, the Cairene, he was giddy
+with wine and in this plight went in to his wife, who said to him, "What aileth
+thee that thou art so changed?" He said, "We were making merry to-day, when one
+of my companions brought us liquor; so my friends drank and I with them, and
+this giddiness came upon me." And she replied, "O my lord, say me, hast thou
+forgotten thy father's injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in
+consorting with doubtful folk?" Answered he, "These be of the sons of the
+merchants; they are no suspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer."
+And he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day, going from
+place to place and feasting with them and drinking, till they said to him, "Our
+turns are ended, and now it is thy turn." "Well come, and welcome and fair
+cheer!" cried he; so on the morrow, he made ready all that the case called for
+of meat and drink, two-fold what they had provided, and taking cooks and
+tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[FN#262] repaired with the others to
+Al-Rauzah[FN#263] and the Nilometer, where they abode a whole month, eating and
+drinking and hearing music and making merry. At the end of the month, Ali found
+that he had spent a great sum of money; but Iblis the Accursed deluded him and
+said to him, "Though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou
+not miss aught of it." So he took no account of money expenses and continued
+this way of life for three years, whilst his wife remonstrated with him and
+reminded him of his father's charge; but he hearkened not to her words, till he
+had spent all the ready monies he had, when he fell to selling his jewels and
+spending their price, until they also were all gone. Then he sold his houses,
+fields, farms and gardens, one after other, till they likewise were all gone
+and he had nothing left but the tenement wherein he lived. So he tore out the
+marble and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had made an
+end of all this also, when he took thought with himself and, finding that he
+had nothing left to expend, sold the house itself and spent the purchase-money.
+After that, the man who had bought the house came to him and said "Seek out for
+thyself a lodging, as I have need of my house." So he bethought himself and,
+finding that he had no want of a house, except for his wife, who had borne him
+a son and daughter (he had not a servant left), he hired a large room in one of
+the mean courts[FN#264] and there took up his abode, after having lived in
+honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much wealth; and he soon came to want
+one day's bread. Quoth his wife, "Of this I warned thee and exhorted thee to
+obey thy father's charge, and thou wouldst not hearken to me; but there is no
+Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Whence
+shall the little ones eat? Arise then, go round to thy friends, the sons of the
+merchants: belike they will give thee somewhat on which we may live this day."
+So he arose and went to his friends one by one; but they all hid their faces
+from him and gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but naught else; and
+he returned to his wife and said to her, "They have given me nothing."
+Thereupon she went forth to beg of her neighbours the wherewithal to keep
+themselves alive,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wife of Ali the
+Cairene, seeing her husband return empty-handed, went forth to beg of her
+neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive and repaired to a woman,
+whom she had known in former days. When she came in to her and she saw her
+case, she rose and receiving her kindly, wept and said, "What hath befallen
+you?" So she told her all that her husband had done, and the other replied,
+"Well come and welcome and fair cheer!; whatever thou needest, Seek it of me,
+without price." Quoth she, "Allah requite thee abundantly!"[FN#265] Then her
+friend gave her as much provision as would suffice herself and her family a
+whole month, and she took it and returned to her lodging. When her husband saw
+her, he wept and asked, "Whence hadst thou that?"; and she answered, "I got it
+of such a woman; for, when I told her what had befallen us, she failed me not
+in aught, but said, 'Seek of me all thou needest.'" Whereupon her husband
+rejoined, "Since thou hast this much I will betake myself to a place I have in
+my mind; peradventure Allah Almighty will bring us relief."[FN#266] With these
+words he took leave of her and kissed his children and went out, not knowing
+whither he should go, and he continued walking on till he came to Bulαk, where
+he saw a ship about to sail for Damietta.[FN#267] Here he met a man, between
+whom and his father there had been friendship, and he saluted him and said to
+him, "Whither now?" Replied Ali, "To Damietta: I have friends there, whom I
+would enquire after and visit them and then return." The man took him home and
+treated him honourably; then, furnishing him with vivers for the voyage and
+giving him some gold pieces, embarked him on board the vessel bound for
+Damietta. When they reached it, Ali landed, not knowing whither to go; but as
+he was walking along, a merchant saw him and had pity on him, and carried him
+to his house. Here he abode awhile, after which he said in himself, "How long
+this sojourning in other folk's homes?" Then he left the merchant's place and
+walked to the wharf where, after enquiry, he found a ship ready to sail for
+Syria. His hospitable host provided him with provision and embarked him in the
+ship; and it set sail and Ali reached in due season the Syrian shores where he
+disembarked and journeyed till he entered Damascus. As he walked about the
+great thoroughfare behold, a kindly man saw him and took him to his house,
+where he tarried for a time till, one day, going abroad, he saw a caravan about
+to start for Baghdad and bethought himself to journey thither with it.
+Thereupon he returned to his host and taking leave of him, set out with the
+Cafilah. Now Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) inclined to him the heart of
+one of the merchants, so that he took him with him, and Ali ate and drank with
+him, till they came within one day's journey of Baghdad. Here, however, a
+company of highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they had and but few
+of the merchants escaped. These made each for a separate place of refuge; but
+as for Ali the Cairene he fared for Baghdad, where he arrived at sundown, as
+the gatekeepers were about to shut the gates, and said to them, "Let me in with
+you." They admitted him and asked him, "Whence come, and whither wending?" and
+he answered, "I am a man from Cairo-city and have with me mules laden with
+merchandise and slaves and servants. I forewent them, to look me out a place
+wherein to deposit my goods: but, as I rode along on my she-mule, there fell
+upon me a company of banditti, who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from
+them but at my last gasp." The gate-guard entreated him honourably and bade him
+be of good cheer, saying, "Abide with us this night, and in the morning we will
+look thee out a place befitting thee." Then he sought in his breast-pocket and,
+finding a dinar of those given to him by the merchant at Bulak, handed it to
+one of the gatekeepers, saying, "Take this and change it and bring us something
+to eat." The man took it and went to the market, where he changed it, and
+brought Ali bread and cooked meat: so he ate, he and the gate-guards, and he
+lay the night with them. Now on the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a
+certain of the merchants of Baghdad, to whom he told the same story, and he
+believed him, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him loads of
+merchandise. Then he took him up into his shop and entreated him with honour;
+moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit of his own apparel for him
+and carried him to the Hammam. "So," quoth Ali of Cairo: "I went with him to
+the bath, and when we came out, he took me and brought me to his house, where
+he set the morning-meal before us, and we ate and made merry. Then said he to
+one of his black slaves, 'Ho Mas'dd, take this thy lord: show him the two
+houses standing in such a place, and whichever pleaseth him, give him the key
+of it and come back.' So I went with the slave, till we came to a street-road
+where stood three houses side by side, newly built and yet shut up. He opened
+the first and I looked at it; and we did the same to the second; after which he
+said to me 'Of which shall I give thee the key?' 'To whom doth the big house
+belong?' 'To us!' 'Open it, that I may view it.' 'Thou hast no business there.'
+'Wherefore?' 'Because it is haunted, and none nighteth there but in the morning
+he is a dead man; nor do we use to open the door, when removing the corpse, but
+mount the terrace-roof of one of the other two houses and take it up thence.
+For this reason my master hath abandoned the house and saith: 'I will never
+again give it to any one.' 'Open it,' I cried, 'that I may view it;' and I said
+in my mind, 'This is what I seek; I will pass the night there and in the
+morning be a dead man and be at peace from this my case.' So he opened it and I
+entered and found it a splendid house, without its like; and I said to the
+slave, 'I will have none other than this house; give me its key.' But he
+rejoined, 'I will not give thee this key till I consult my master,'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the negro (continued Ali
+of Cairo) "rejoined, 'I will not give thee its key till I consult my master,'"
+and going to him, reported, "'The Egyptian trader saith, 'I will lodge in none
+but the big house.'" Now when the merchant heard this, he rose and coming to
+Ali, spake thus to him, "O my lord, thou hast no need of this house." But he
+answered, "I will lodge in none other than this; for I care naught for this
+silly saying." Quoth the other, "Write me an acknowledgment that, if aught
+happen to thee, I am not responsible." Quoth Ali, "So be it;" whereupon the
+merchant fetched an assessor from the Kazi's court and, taking the prescribed
+acknowledgment, delivered to him the key wherewith he entered the house. The
+merchant sent him bedding by a blackamoor who spread it for him on the built
+bench behind the door[FN#268] and walked away. Presently Ali went about and,
+seeing in the inner court a well with a bucket, let this down and drew water,
+wherewith he made the lesser ablution and prayed the obligatory prayers. Then
+he sat awhile, till the slave brought him the evening meal from his master's
+house, together with a lamp, a candle and candlestick, a basin and ewer and a
+gugglet[FN#269]; after which he left him and returned home. Ali lighted the
+candle, supped at his ease and prayed the night-prayer; and presently he said
+to himself, "Come, take the bedding and go upstairs and sleep there; 'twill be
+better than here." So he took the bed and carried it upstairs, where he found a
+splendid saloon, with gilded ceiling and floor and walls cased with coloured
+marbles. He spread his bed there and sitting down, began to recite somewhat of
+the Sublime Koran, when (ere he was ware) he heard one calling to him and
+asking, "O Ali, O son of Hasan, say me, shall I send thee down the gold?" And
+he answered, "Where be the gold thou hast to send?" But hardly had he spoken,
+when gold pieces began to rain down on him, like stones from a catapult, nor
+ceased till the saloon was full. Then, after the golden shower, said the Voice,
+"Set me free, that I may go my way; for I have made an end of my service and
+have delivered unto thee that which was entrusted to me for thee." Quoth Ali,
+"I adjure thee, by Allah the Almighty, to tell me the cause of this gold-rain."
+Replied the Voice, "This is a treasure that was talisman'd to thee of old time,
+and to every one who entered the house, we used to come and say: 'O Ali, O son
+of Hasan, shall we send thee down the gold?' Whereat he would be affrighted and
+cry out, and we would come down to him and break his neck and go away. But,
+when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy name and that of thy father,
+saying, 'Shall we send thee down the gold?' and thou madest answer to us, 'And
+where be the gold?' we knew thee for the owner of it and sent it down.
+Moreover, there is yet another hoard for thee in the land of Al-Yaman and thou
+wouldst do well to journey thither and fetch it. And now I would fain have thee
+set me free, that I may go my way." Said Ali, "By Allah, I will not set thee
+free, till thou bring me hither the treasure from the land of Al-Yaman!" Said
+the Voice, "An I bring it to thee, wilt thou release me and eke the servant of
+the other hoard?" "Yes," replied Ali, and the Voice cried, "Swear to me." So he
+swore to him, and he was about to go away, when Ali said to him, "I have one
+other need to ask of thee;" and he, "What is that?" Quoth Ali, "I have a wife
+and children at Cairo in such a place; thou needs must fetch them to me, at
+their ease and without their unease." Quoth he, "I will bring them to thee in a
+mule-litter[FN#270] and much state, with a train of eunuchs and servants,
+together with the treasure from Al-Yaman, Inshallah!"[FN#271] Then he took of
+him leave of absence for three days, when all this should be with him, and
+vanished. As soon as it was morning Ali went round about the saloon, seeking a
+place wherein to store the gold, and saw on the edge of the dais a marble slab
+with a turning-pin; so he turned the pin and the slab sank and showed a door
+which he opened and entering, found a great closet, full of bags of coarse
+stuff carefully sewn. So he began taking out the bags and fell to filling them
+with gold and storing them in the closet, till he had transported thither all
+the hoarded gold, whereupon he shut the door and turning the pin, the slab
+returned to its place. Then he went down and seated himself on the bench behind
+the door; and presently there came a knock; so he opened and found the
+merchant's slave who, seeing him comfortably sitting, returned in haste to his
+master,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the house-owner's
+black slave returned and knocked at the door, Ali the Cairene, son of the
+merchant Hasan, opened it to him and the negro, seeing him comfortably sitting,
+returned in haste to his master with the good tidings, saying, "O my Lord, the
+merchant, who is lodged in the house inhabited by the Jinn,[FN#272] is alive
+and well and sitteth on the bench behind the door." Then the merchant rose
+joyfully and went to the house, taking breakfast with him; and, when he saw
+Ali, he embraced him and kissed him between the eyes, asking, "How hath Allah
+dealt with thee?"; and Ali answered, "Right well, I slept upstairs in the
+marble saloon." Quoth the merchant, "Did aught come to thee or didst thou see
+any thing?" and quoth Ali "No, I recited some little of the Sublime Koran and
+slept till morning, when I arose and, after making the minor ablution and
+praying, seated myself on the bench behind the door." "Praised be Allah for
+safety!" exclaimed the merchant, then left him and presently sent him black
+slaves and white Mamelukes and handmaidens with household gear. They swept the
+house from top to bottom and furnished it with magnificent furniture; after
+which three white slaves and three blacks and four slave-girls remained with
+him, to serve him, while the rest returned to their master's house. Now when
+the merchants heard of him, they sent him presents of all manner things of
+price, even to food and drink and clothes, and took him with them to the
+market, asking, "When will thy baggage arrive?" And he answered, "After three
+days it will surely come." When the term had elapsed, the servant of the first
+hoard, the golden rain, came to him and said, "Go forth and meet the treasure I
+have brought thee from Al-Yaman together with thy Harim; for I bring part of
+the wealth in the semblance of costly merchandise; but the eunuchs and
+Mamelukes and the mules and horses and camels are all of the Jann." Now the
+Jinni, when he betook himself to Cairo, found Ali's wife and children in sore
+misery, naked and hungry; so he carried them out of the city in a
+travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous raiment of the stuffs which were
+in the treasure of Al-Yaman. So when Ali heard this, he arose and repairing to
+the merchants, said to them, "Rise and go forth with us from the city, to meet
+the caravan bringing my merchandise, and honour us with the presence of your
+Harims, to meet my Harim." "Hearkening and obedience," answered they and,
+sending for their Harims, went forth all together and took seat in one of the
+city-gardens; and as they sat talking, behold, a dust-cloud arose out of the
+heart of the desert, and they flocked forth to see what it was. Presently it
+lifted and discovered mules and muleteers, tent-pitchers and linkmen, who came
+on, singing and dancing, till they reached the garden, when the chief of the
+muleteers walked up to Ali and kissing his hand, said to him, "O my master, we
+have been long on the way, for we purposed entering yesterday; but we were in
+fear of the bandits, so abode in our station four days, till Almighty Allah rid
+us of them." Thereupon the merchants mounted their mules and rode forward with
+the caravan, the Harims waiting behind, till Ali's wife and children mounted
+with them; and they all entered in splendid train. The merchants marvelled at
+the number of mules laden with chests, whilst the women of the merchants
+wondered at the richness of the apparel of his wife and the fine raiment of her
+children; and kept saying each to other, "Verily, the King of Baghdad hath no
+such gear; no, nor any other of the kings or lords or merchants!" So they
+ceased not to fare forwards in high great state, the men with Ali of Cairo and
+the Harims with his Harim, till they came to the mansion,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased not to fare
+forwards in high state, the men with Ali's men and the women with his wife,
+till they came to the mansion, where they alighted and brought the mules and
+their burdens into the midst of the courtyard. Then they unloaded them and
+warehoused the goods whilst the merchants' wives went up with Ali's family to
+the saloon, which they found as it were a luxuriant garden, spread with
+magnificent furniture. They sat in mirth and good cheer till noon, when they
+brought them up the midday meal, all manner meats and sweetmeats of the very
+best; and they ate and drank costly sherbets and perfumed themselves thereafter
+with rose-water and scented woods. Then they took leave and went home, men and
+women; and, when the merchants returned to their places, they sent presents to
+the husband according to their conditions; and their wives likewise sent
+presents to the wife, so that there came to them great store of handmaids and
+negroes and Mamelukes; and all kinds of goods, such as grain, sugar and so
+forth, in abundance beyond account. As for the Baghdad merchant, the landlord
+of the house, he abode with Ali and quitted him not, but said to him, "Let the
+black slaves and servants take the mules and the common cattle into one of my
+other houses, to rest." Quoth Ali, "They set out again to-night for such a
+place." Then he gave them leave to go forth and camp outside the city, that
+they might start on their journey at night-come; whereupon, hardly believing
+that they were dismissed, they took leave of him and departing to the outliers
+of the city, flew off through the air to their several abodes. So Ali and his
+house-owner sat together till a third of the night was past, when their
+colloquy ended and the merchant returned to his own house and Ali went up to
+his wife and children and after saluting them, said, "What hath befallen you in
+my absence all this time?" So she told him what they had suffered of hunger and
+nakedness and travail, and he said, "Praised be Allah for safety! How did ye
+come?" Answered she, "O my lord, I was asleep with my children yesternight,
+when suddenly and unexpectedly one raised us from the ground and flew with us
+through the firmament without doing us any hurt, nor did he leave flying with
+us, till he set us down in a place as it were an Arab camping-ground, where we
+saw laden mules and a travelling litter borne upon two great mules, and around
+it servants, all boys and men. So I asked them, 'Who are ye and what are these
+loads and where are we?;' and they answered, 'We are the servants of the
+merchant Ali of Cairo, son of the merchant- jeweller, who hath sent us to fetch
+you to him at Baghdad.' Quoth I, 'Tell me, is it far or near, hence to
+Baghdad?' They replied, 'Near: there lieth between us and the city but the
+darkness of the night.' Then they mounted us in the litter and, when the morrow
+dawned, we found ourselves with thee, without having suffered any hurt
+whatever." Quoth he, "Who gave you these dresses?;" and quoth she, "The chief
+of the caravan opened one of the boxes on the mules and taking out thereof
+these clothes, clad me and thy children each in a suit; after which he locked
+the case and gave me the key, saying, 'Take care of it, till thou give it to
+thy husband.' And here it is safe by me." So saying, she gave him the key, and
+he said, "Dost thou know the chest?" Said she, "Yes, I know it." So he took her
+down to the magazine and showed her the boxes, when she cried, "This is the one
+whence the dresses were taken;" upon which he put the key in the lock and
+opened the chest, wherein he found much raiment and the keys of all the other
+cases. So he took them and fell to opening them, one after another, and
+feasting his eyes upon the gems and precious ores they contained, whose like
+was not found with any of the kings; after which he locked them again, took the
+keys, and returned to the saloon, saying to his wife, "This is of the bounty of
+Almighty Allah!" Then bringing her to the secret slab he turned the pin and
+opened the door of the closet, into which he entered with her and showed her
+the gold he had laid up therein. Quoth she, "Whence came all this to thee?" "It
+came to me by the grace of my Lord," answered he:—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali's wife had
+looked upon the gold she said to him, "Whence came all this to thee?" "It came
+to me by the grace of my Lord," answered he: "When I left thee in my trouble, I
+shipped at Bulak for Damietta and met a friend there who forwarded me to
+Damascus": in brief he told her all that had befallen him, from first to last.
+Said she, "O my lord, all this cometh by boon of thy father's blessing and
+orisons when he prayed for thee, before his death, saying, 'I beseech Allah to
+cast thee into no straits except He grant thee ready relief!' So praised be
+Allah Almighty for that He hath brought thee deliverance and hath requited thee
+with more than went from thee! But Allah upon thee, O my lord, return not to
+thy practice of associating with doubtful folk; but look thou fear Allah (whose
+name be exalted!) both in private and in public." And as she went on to
+admonish him, he said, "I accept thine admonition and beg the Almighty to
+remove the froward from amongst us and stablish us in His obedience and in the
+observance of the law and practice of His Prophet, on whom be blessings and
+peace!" After that Ali and his wife and children were in all solace of life and
+gladness; and he opened him a shop in the merchants' bazar and, stocking it
+with a somewhat of jewels and bullion, sat therein with his children and white
+servants. Presently he became the most considerable of the merchants of
+Baghdad, and his report reached the King of that city,[FN#273] who sent a
+messenger to command his attendance, saying, "Answer the summons of the King
+who requireth thee." He replied, "I hear and obey," and straightway prepared
+his present and he took four trays of red gold and, filling them with jewels
+and precious metals, such as no King possessed, went up to the palace and
+presenting himself before the presence, kissed the ground between his hands and
+wished him endurance of goods and glory in the finest language he could
+command. Said the King, "O merchant, thou cheerest our city with thy presence!"
+and Ali rejoined, "O King of the age, thy slave hath brought thee a gift and
+hopeth for acceptance thereof from thy favour." Then he laid the four trays
+before the King, who uncovered them and seeing that they contained gems, whose
+fellows he possessed not and whose worth equalled treasuries of money, said,
+"Thy present is accepted, O merchant, and Inshallah! we will requite thee with
+its like." And Ali kissed his hands and went away; whereupon the King called
+his grandees and said to them, "How many of the Kings have sought my daughter
+in marriage?" "Many," answered they; and he asked, "Hath any of them given me
+the like of this gift?"; whereto they replied, "Not one, for that none of them
+hath its like;" and he said, "I have consulted Allah Almighty by lot as to
+marrying my daughter to this merchant. What say ye?" "Be it as thou reckest,"
+answered they. Then he bade the eunuch carry the four trays into his serraglio
+and going in to his wife, laid them before her. She uncovered them and seeing
+therein that whose like she possessed not; no, nor a fraction thereof, said to
+him, "From which of the Kings hadst thou these?: perchance of one of the
+royalties that seek thy daughter in marriage?" Said he, "Not so, I had them of
+an Egyptian merchant, who is lately come to this our city. Now when I heard of
+his coming I sent to command him to us, thinking to make his acquaintance, so
+haply we might find with him somewhat of jewels and buy them of him for our
+daughter's trousseau. He obeyed our summons and brought us these four trays, as
+a present, and I saw him to be a handsome youth of dignified aspect and
+intelligent as elegant, almost such as should be the sons of Kings. Wherefore
+my heart inclined to him at sight, and my heart rejoiced in him and I thought
+good to marry my daughter to him. So I showed the gift to my grandees, who
+agreed with me that none of the Kings hath the like of these and I told them my
+project. But what sayst thou?"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King of Baghdad,
+after showing the presents to his wife and highly praising Ali, the
+merchant-jeweller, and informing her of the proposed marriage, asked, "But what
+sayst thou?" She replied, "O King of the age, the ordering this affair is in
+Allah's hand, and thine, and whatso Allah willeth shall come to pass." Rejoined
+the King, "If it be His will, I will marry her to none other than this young
+man." He slept on this resolve and on the morrow, he went out to his Divan and
+summoned Ali and the rest of the merchants of Baghdad, and when all came bade
+them be seated. Then said he, "Bring me the Kazi of the Divan" and they brought
+him; whereupon the King said to him, "O Kazi, write the contract of marriage
+between my daughter and the merchant Ali the Cairene." But Ali said, "Thy
+pardon, O our lord the Sultan! It befitteth not that a trader such as I, be the
+King's son-in-law." Quoth the King, "It is my will to bestow this favour upon
+thee, as well as the Wazirate;" and he invested him forthwith in the Wazir's
+office and ministerial robes. Then Ali sat down in the chair of the Wazirate
+and said, "O King of the age, thou hast bestowed on me this; and indeed I am
+honoured by thy bounties; but hear one word I have to say to thee!" He replied,
+"Say on, and fear not." Quoth Ali, "Since it is thine august resolution to
+marry thy daughter, thou wouldst do better to marry her to my son. Quoth the
+King, "Hast thou then a son?"; and Ali replied, "Yes." "Send for him
+forthwith," said the King. Thereupon answered Ali "Hearkening and obedience!",
+and despatched a servant to fetch his son, who came and kissing the ground
+before the King, stood in an attitude of respect. The King looked at him and
+seeing him to be yet comelier than his daughter and goodlier than she in
+stature and proportion and brightness and perfection, said to him, "What is thy
+name, O my son?" "My name is Hasan, O our lord the Sultan," replied the young
+man, who was then fourteen years old. Then the Sultan said to the Kazi, "Write
+the contract of marriage between my daughter Husn al-Wujdd and Hasan, son of
+the merchant Ali the Cairene." So he wrote the marriage-contract between them,
+and the affair was ended in the goodliest fashion; after which all in the Divan
+went their ways and the merchants followed the Wazir Ali, escorting him to his
+house, where they gave him joy of his advancement and departed. Then he went in
+to his wife, who seeing him clad in the Wazir's habit, exclaimed, "What is
+this?"; when he told her all that had passed from first to last and she joyed
+therein with exceeding joy. So sped the night and on the morrow, he went up to
+the Divan, where the King received him with especial favour and seating him
+close by his side, said, "O Wazir, we purpose to begin the wedding festivities
+and bring thy son in to our daughter." Replied Ali, "O our lord the Sultan,
+whatso thou deemest good is good." So the Sultan gave orders to celebrate the
+festivities, and they decorated the city and held high festival for thirty
+days, in all joy and gladness; at the end of which time, Hasan, son of the
+Wazir Ali, went in to the Princess and enjoyed her beauty and loveliness. When
+the Queen saw her daughter's husband, she conceived a warm affection for him,
+and in like manner she rejoiced greatly in his mother. Then the King bade build
+for his son-in-law Hasan Ali-son a palace beside his own; so they built him
+with all speed a splendid palace in which he took up his abode; and his mother
+used to tarry with him some days and then go down to her own house. After
+awhile the Queen said to her husband, "O King of the age, Hasan's lady-mother
+cannot take up her abode with her son and leave the Wazir; neither can she
+tarry with the Wazir and leave her son." "Thou sayest sooth," replied the King,
+and bade edify a third palace beside that of Hasan, which being done in a few
+days he caused remove thither the goods of the Wazir, and the Minister and his
+wife took up their abode there. Now the three palaces communicated with one
+another, so that when the King had a mind to speak with the Wazir by night, he
+would go to him or send to fetch him; and so with Hasan and his father and
+mother. On this wise they dwelt in all solace and in the greatest happiness—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King and the Wazir
+and his son ceased not to dwell in all solace and in the greatest happiness
+awhile, till the King fell ill and his sickness grew on him. So he summoned the
+lords of his realm and said to them, "There is come upon me a sore malady,
+peradventure a mortal; and I have therefore summoned you to consult you
+respecting a certain matter, on which I would have you counsel me as you deem
+well." They asked, "What is the matter of which thou wouldst take counsel with
+us, O King?"; and he answered, "I am old and sickly and I fear for the realm
+after me from its enemies; so I would have you all agree upon some one, that I
+may proclaim him King in my lifetime and so ye may be at ease." Whereupon quoth
+they with one voice, "We all approve of thy daughter's husband Hasan, son of
+the Wazir Ali; for we have seen his wit and perfect understanding, and he
+knoweth the place of all, great and small." Asked the King, "Are ye indeed
+agreed upon this?" and they answered, "Yes." Rejoined he "Peradventure ye all
+say this to my face, of respect for me; but behind my back ye will say
+otherwise." However, they all replied, "By Allah, our word is one and the same
+in public and in private, and we accept him frankly and with heartiness of
+heart and breadth of breast." Quoth he, "Since the case is thus, bring the Kazi
+of the Holy Law and all the Chamberlains and Viceroys and Officers of state
+before me to-morrow, and we will order the affair after the goodliest fashion."
+"We hear and we obey," answered they and withdrawing, notified all the
+Olema,[FN#274] the doctors of the law and the chief personages among the Emirs.
+So when the morrow dawned, they came up to the Divan and, having craved and
+obtained permission to enter, they saluted the King, saying, "Here are we all
+in thy presence." Whereto he made reply, "O Emirs of Baghdad, whom will ye have
+to be King over you after me, that I may inaugurate him during my lifetime,
+before the presence of you all?" Quoth they with one voice, "We are agreed upon
+thy daughter's husband Hasan, son of the Wazir Ali." Quoth he, "If it be so, go
+all of you and bring him before me." So they all arose and, repairing to
+Hasan's palace, said to him, "Rise, come with us to the King." "Wherefore?"
+asked he, and they answered, "For a thing that will benefit both us and thee."
+So he went in with them to the King and kissed the ground before his
+father-in-law who said to him, "Be seated, O my son!" He sat down and the King
+continued, "O Hasan, all the Emirs have approved of thee and agreed to make
+thee King over them after me; and it is my purpose to proclaim thee, whilst I
+yet live, and so make an end of the business." But Hasan stood up and, kissing
+the ground once more before the King, said to him, "O our lord the King, among
+the Emirs there be many who are older than I and greater of worth; acquit me
+therefore of this thing." But all the Emirs cried out saying, "We consent not
+but that thou be King over us." Then said Hasan, "My father is older than I,
+and I and he are one thing; and it befits not to advance me over him." But Ali
+said, "I will consent to nothing save whatso contenteth my brethren; and they
+have all chosen and agreed upon thee; wherefore gainsay thou not the King's
+commandment and that of thy brethren." And Hasan hung his head abashed before
+the King and his father. Then said the King to the Emirs, "Do ye all accept of
+him?" "We do," answered they and recited thereupon seven Fαtihahs.[FN#275] So
+the King said, "O Kazi, draw up a legal instrument testifying of these Emirs
+that they are agreed to make King over them my daughter's husband Hasan." The
+Kazi wrote the act and made it binding on all men,[FN#276] after they had sworn
+in a body the oath of fealty to Hasan. Then the King did likewise and bade him
+take his seat on the throne of kingship; whereupon they all arose and kissed
+King Hasan's hands and did homage to him, and swore lealty to him. And the new
+King dispensed justice among the people that day in fashion right royal, and
+invested the grandees of the realm in splendid robes of honour. When the Divan
+broke up, he went in to and kissed the hands of his father-in-law who spake
+thus to him, "O my son, look thou rule the lieges in the fear of Allah;"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Hasan was quit
+of the Divan, he went in to and kissed the hands of his wife's father, who
+spake thus to him, "O my son, look thou rule the lieges in the fear of Allah;"
+whereto he replied, "O my father, through thy prayers for me, the grace and
+guidance of Allah will come to me." Then he entered his own palace and was met
+by his wife and her mother and their attendants, who kissed his hands and gave
+him joy of his advancement, saying, "Be this day blessed!" Next he went in to
+his father and mother, who joyed with exceeding joy in that which Allah had
+vouchsafed him of his advancement to the kingship, and his father charged him
+to fear Allah and to deal mercifully with his subjects. He passed the night in
+glee and gladness, and on the morrow, having prayed the obligatory prayers
+ending with the usual short chapters[FN#277] of the Koran, he went up to the
+Divan, whither came all his officers and dignitaries. He passed the day in
+dispensing justice among the folk, bidding to graciousness and forbidding
+ungraciousness and appointing to place and displacing, till day- end, when the
+Divan broke up, after the goodliest fashion, and all the troops withdrew and
+each went his own way. Then he arose and repaired to the palace, where he found
+his father-in-law's sickness grown heavy upon him and said to him, "May no ill
+befal thee!" At this the old King opened his eyes and said, "O Hasan!" and he
+replied, "At thy service, O my lord." Quoth the old King "Mine appointed hour
+is at hand: be thou careful of thy wife and her mother, and look thou fear
+Allah and honour thy parents; and bide in awe of the majesty of the Requiting
+King and bear in mind that He commandeth justice and good works." And King
+Hasan replied, "I hear and obey." Now after this the old King lingered three
+days and then departed into the mercy of Almighty Allah. So they laid him out
+and shrouded and buried him and held over him readings and perlections of the
+Koran, to the end of the customary forty days. And King Hasan, son of the
+Wazir, reigned in his stead, and his subjects joyed in him and all his days
+were gladness; moreover, his father ceased not to be his chief Wazir on his
+right hand, and he took to himself another Wazir, to be at his left hand. His
+reign was a prosperous and well ordered, and he lived a long life as King of
+Baghdad; and Allah blessed him, by the old King's daughter, with three sons who
+inherited the kingdom after him; and they abode in the solace of life and its
+pleasures till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of
+societies. And the glory be to Him who is eternal and in whose hand are
+annulling and confirming. And of the tales they tell is one of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap54"></a>THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN.</h3>
+
+<p>
+A man of the pilgrims once slept a long sleep and awaking, found no trace of
+the caravan. So he rose up and walked on, but lost his way and presently came
+to a tent, where he saw an old woman standing at the entrance and by her side a
+dog asleep. He went up to the tent and, saluting the old woman, sought of her
+food, when she replied, "Go to yonder Wady and catch thy sufficiency of
+serpents, that I may broil of them for thee and give thee to eat." Rejoined the
+pilgrim, "I dare not catch serpents nor did I ever eat them." Quoth the old
+woman, "I will go with thee and catch some; fear not." So she went with him,
+followed by the dog, to the valley and, catching a sufficient number of
+serpents, proceeded to broil them. He saw nothing for it (saith the story
+teller) but to eat, in fear of hunger and exhaustion; so he ate of the
+serpents.[FN#278] Then he was athirst and asked for water to drink; and she
+answered, "Go to the spring and drink." Accordingly, he went to the spring and
+found the water thereof bitter; yet needs must he drink of it despite its
+bitterness, because of the violence of his thirst. Presently he returned to the
+old woman and said to her, "I marvel, O ancient dame, at thy choosing to
+sojourn in this place"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the palmer-man drank
+the bitter draught for stress of thirst, he returned and said "I marvel, O
+ancient dame, at thy choosing to sojourn in this place and thy putting up with
+such meat and drink!" She asked, "And how is it then in thy country?"; whereto
+he answered, "In my country are houses wide and spacious and fruits ripe and
+delicious and waters sweet and viands savorous and of goodly use and meats fat
+and full of juice and flocks innumerous and all things pleasant and all the
+goods of life, the like whereof are not, save in the Paradise which Allah the
+Omnipotent hath promised to His servants pious." Replied she, "All this have I
+heard: but tell me, have ye a Sultan who ruleth over you and is tyrannical in
+his rule and under whose hand you are; one who, if any of you commit an
+offence, taketh his goods and ruineth him and who, whenas he will, turneth you
+out of house and home and uprooteth you, stock and branch?" Replied the man,
+"Indeed that may be;" and she rejoined, "If so, by Allah, these your delicious
+food and life of daintyhood and gifts however good, with tyranny and
+oppression, are but a searching poison, while our coarse meat which in freedom
+and safety we eat is a healthful medicine. Hast thou not heard that the best of
+boons, after Al-Islam, the true Faith, are sanity and security?"[FN#279] "Now
+such boons (quoth he who telleth the tale) may be by the just rule of the
+Sultan, Vice-regent of Allah on His earth, and the goodness of his polity. The
+Sultan of time past needed but little awfulness, for when the lieges saw him,
+they feared him; but the Sultan of these days hath need of the most
+accomplished polity and the utmost majesty, because men are not as men of
+by-gone time and this our age is one of folk opprobrious, and is greatly
+calamitous, noted for folly and hardness of heart and inclined to hate and
+enmity. If, therefore, the Sultan (which Almighty Allah forfend!) be weak or
+wanting in polity and majesty, this will be the assured cause of his country's
+ruin. Quoth the proverb, 'An hundred years of the Sultan's tyranny, but not one
+year of the people's tyranny one over other.' When the lieges oppress one
+another, Allah setteth over them a tyrannical Sultan and a terrible King. Thus
+it is told in history that one day there was sent to Al-Hajjαj bin Yϊsuf a slip
+of paper, whereon was written, 'Fear Allah and oppress not His servants with
+all manner of oppression.' When he read this, he mounted the pulpit (for he was
+eloquent and ever ready of speech), and said, 'O folk, Allah Almighty hath made
+me ruler over you, by reason of your frowardness;'"—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hajjaj Yousuf-son
+read the paper he mounted the pulpit and said, "O folk, Allah Almighty hath
+made me ruler over you by reason of your frowardness; and indeed, though I die
+yet will ye not be delivered from oppression, with these your ill deeds; for
+the Almighty hath created like unto me many an one. If it be not I, 'twill be
+one more mischievous than I and a mightier in oppression and a more merciless
+in his majesty; even as saith the poet:[FN#280]—
+</p>
+
+<p>
+          'For not a deed the hand can try<br/>
+
+          Save 'neath the hand of God on high,<br/>
+
+          Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny<br/>
+
+          Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Tyranny is feared: but justice is the best of all things. We beg<br/>
+
+Allah to better our case!" And among tales is that of<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap55"></a>ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD.[FN#281]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once in Baghdad a man of consequence and rich in monies and
+immoveables, who was one of the chiefs of the merchants; and Allah had largely
+endowed him with worldly goods, but had not vouchsafed him what he longed for
+of offspring; and there passed over him a long space of time, without his being
+blessed with issue, male or female. His years waxed great; his bones became
+wasted and his back bent; weakness and weariness grew upon him, and he feared
+the loss of his wealth and possessions, seeing he had no child whom he might
+make his heir and by whom his name should be remembered. So he betook himself
+with supplication to Almighty Allah, fasting by day and praying through the
+night. Moreover, he vowed many vows to the Living, the Eternal; and visited the
+pious and was constant in supplication to the Most Highest, till He gave ear to
+him and accepted his prayer and took pity on his straining and complaining; so
+that, before many days were past, he knew carnally one of his women and she
+conceived by him the same night. In due time she finished her months and,
+casting her burden, bore a male child as he were a slice of the moon; whereupon
+the merchant fulfilled his vows in his gratitude to Allah, (to whom be honour
+and glory!) and gave alms and clothed the widow and the orphan. On the seventh
+night after the boy's birth, he named him Abu al-Husn,[FN#282] and the
+wet-nurses suckled him and the dry-nurses dandled him and the servants and the
+slaves carried him and handled him, till he shot up and grew tall and throve
+greatly and learnt the Sublime Koran and the ordinances of Al-Islam and the
+Canons of the True Faith; and calligraphy and poetry and mathematics and
+archery. On this wise he became the union-pearl of his age and the goodliest of
+the folk of his time and his day; fair of face and of tongue fluent, carrying
+himself with a light and graceful gait and glorying in his stature
+proportionate and amorous graces which were to many a bait: and his cheeks were
+red and flower-white was his forehead and his side face waxed brown with tender
+down, even as saith one, describing him,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The spring of the down on cheeks right clearly shows: * And how<br/>
+
+     when the Spring is gone shall last the rose?<br/>
+
+Dost thou not see that the growth upon his cheek * Is violet-<br/>
+
+     bloom that from its leaves outgrows."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He abode awhile in ease and happiness with his father, who rejoiced and
+delighted in him, till he came to man's estate, when the merchant one day made
+him sit down before him and said, "O my son, the appointed term draweth near;
+my hour of death is at hand and it remaineth but to meet Allah (to whom belong
+Majesty and Might!). I leave thee what shall suffice thee, even to thy son's
+son, of monies and mansions, farms and gardens; wherefore, fear thou Almighty
+Allah, O my son, in dealing with that which I bequeath to thee and follow none
+but those who will help thee to the Divine favour." Not long after, he sickened
+and died; so his son ordered his funeral,[FN#283] after the goodliest wise, and
+burying him, returned to his house and sat mourning for him many days and
+nights. But behold, certain of his friends came in to him and said to him,
+"Whoso leaveth a son like thee is not dead; indeed, what is past is past and
+fled and mourning beseemeth none but the young maid and the wife cloistered."
+And they ceased not from him till they wrought on him to enter the Hammam and
+break off his mourning.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu al-Husn was
+visited by his friends and taken to the Hamman and persuaded to break off his
+mourning, he presently forgot his father's charge, and his head was turned by
+his riches; he thought fortune would always wone with him as it was, and that
+wealth would ever wax and never wane. So he ate and drank and made merry and
+took his pleasure and gave gifts of gear and coin and was profuse with gold and
+addrest himself up to eating fowls and breaking the seals of wine-flasks and
+listening to the giggle of the daughter of the vine, as she gurgled from the
+flagon and enjoying the jingle of the singing-girls; nor did he give over this
+way of life, till his wealth was wasted and the case worsened and all his goods
+went from him and he bit his hands[FN#284] in bitter penitence. For of a truth
+he had nothing left, after that which he had squandered, but a concubine, a
+slave-girl whom his father had bequeathed to him with the rest of his estate:
+and she had no equal in beauty and loveliness and brightness and liveliness and
+symmetric stature and perfect grace. She was past mistress in every manner of
+arts and accomplishments and endowed with many excellences, surpassing all the
+folk of her age and time. She was grown more notorious than a way-mark,[FN#285]
+for her seductive genius, and outdid the fair both in theory and practice, and
+she was noted for her swimming gait, flexile and delicate, albeit she was full
+five feet in height and by all the boons of fortune deckt and dight, with
+strait arched brows twain, as they were the crescent moon of Sha'abαn,[FN#286]
+and eyes like gazelles' eyne; and nose like the edge of scymitar fine and
+cheeks like anemones of blood-red shine; and mouth like Solomon's seal and sign
+and teeth like necklaces of pearls in line; and navel holding an ounce of oil
+of benzoin and waist more slender than his body whom love hath wasted and whom
+concealment hath made sick with pine and hind parts heavier than two hills of
+sand; briefly she was a volume of charms after his saying who saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Her fair shape ravisheth, if face to face she did appear, * And<br/>
+
+     if she turn, for severance from her she slayeth sheer.<br/>
+
+Sun-like, full-moon-like, sapling-like, unto her character *<br/>
+
+     Estrangement no wise appertains nor cruelty austere.<br/>
+
+Under the bosom of her shift the garths of Eden are * And the<br/>
+
+     full-moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings'<br/>
+
+     sphere."[FN#287]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She seemed a full moon rising and a gazelle browsing, a girl of nine plus
+five[FN#288] shaming the moon and sun, even as saith of her the sayer eloquent
+and ingenious,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Semblance of full-moon Heaven bore, * When five and five are<br/>
+
+     conjoined by four;<br/>
+
+'Tis not my sin if she made of me * Its like when it riseth<br/>
+
+     horizon o'er."[FN#289]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Clean of skin, odoriferous of breath, it seemed as if she were of fire
+fashioned and of crystal moulded; rose-red was the cheek of her and perfect the
+shape and form of her; even as one saith of her, describing her,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Scented with sandal[FN#290] and musk, right proudly doth she go,<br/>
+
+     * With gold and silver and rose and saffron-colour aglow.<br/>
+
+A flower in a garden she is, a pearl in an ouch of gold * Or an<br/>
+
+     image in chapel[FN#291] set for worship of high and low.<br/>
+
+Slender and shapely she is; vivacity bids her arise, * But the<br/>
+
+     weight of her hips says, 'Sit, or softly and slowly go.'<br/>
+
+Whenas her favours I seek and sue for my heart's desire, * 'Be<br/>
+
+     gracious,' her beauty says; but her coquetry answers, 'No.'<br/>
+
+Glory to Him who made beauty her portion, and that * Of her lover<br/>
+
+     to be the prate of the censurers, heigho!"[FN#292]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She captivated all who saw her, with the excellence of her beauty and the
+sweetness of her smile,[FN#293] and shot them down with the shafts she launched
+from her eyes; and withal she was eloquent of speech and excellently skilled in
+verse. Now when Abu al-Husn had squandered all his gold, and his ill-plight all
+could behold, and there remained to him naught save this slave-girl, he abode
+three days without tasting meat or taking rest in sleep, and the handmaid said
+to him, "O my lord, carry me to the Commander of the Faithful, Harun
+al-Rashid,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the slave-girl to
+her master, "O my lord, carry me to Harun al-Rashid, fifth of the sons of
+Abbas, and seek of him to my price ten thousand dinars. If he deem me dear, say
+to him: 'O Prince of True Believers, my handmaid is worth more than this: do
+but prove her, and her value will be magnified in thine eyes; for this
+slave-girl hath not her equal, and she were unfit to any but thou.'" And she
+added, "Beware, O my lord, of selling me at less than the sum I have named;
+indeed 'tis but little for the like of me." Now her owner knew not her worth
+nor that she had no equal in her day; but he carried her to the Caliph and set
+her in the presence and repeated what she had bidden him say. The Caliph asked
+her, "What is thy name?"; to which she answered, "My name is Tawaddud."[FN#294]
+He then enquired, "O Tawaddud, in what branches of knowledge dost thou excel?";
+and she replied, "O my lord, I am versed in syntax and poetry and jurisprudence
+and exegesis and philosophy; and I am skilled in music and the knowledge of the
+Divine ordinances and in arithmetic and geodesy and geometry and the fables of
+the ancients. I know the Sublime Koran by heart and have read it according to
+the seven, the ten and the fourteen modes. I know the number of its chapters
+and versets and sections and words; and its halves and fourths and eighths and
+tenths; the number of prostrations which occur in it and the sum total of its
+letters; and I know what there is in it of abrogating and abrogated[FN#295];
+also what parts of it were revealed at Al-Medinah and what at Meccah and the
+cause of the different revelations. I know the Holy Traditions of the Apostle's
+sayings, historical and legendary, the established and those whose ascription
+is doubtful; and I have studied the exact sciences, geometry and philosophy and
+medicine and logic and rhetoric and composition; and I have learnt many things
+by rote and am passionately fond of poetry. I can play the lute and know its
+gamut and notes and notation and the crescendo and diminuendo. If I sing and
+dance, I seduce, and if I dress and scent myself, I slay. In fine, I have
+reached a pitch of perfection such as can be estimated only by those of them
+who are firmly rooted in knowledge."[FN#296] Now when the Caliph heard these
+words spoken by one so young, he wondered at her eloquence, and turning to Abu
+al-Husn, said, "I will summon those who shall discuss with her all she claimeth
+to know; if she answer correctly, I will give thee the price thou askest for
+her and more; and if not, thou art fitter to have her than I." "With gladness
+and goodly gree, O Commander of the Faithful," replied Abu al-Husn. So the
+Caliph wrote to the Viceroy of Bassorah, to send him Ibrahim bin Siyyαr the
+prosodist, who was the first man of his day in argument and eloquence and
+poetry and logic, and bade him bring with him readers of the Koran and learned
+doctors of the law and physicians and astrologers and scientists and
+mathematicians and philosophers; and Ibrahim was more learned than all. In a
+little while they arrived at the palace of the Caliphate, knowing not what was
+to do, and the Caliph sent for them to his sitting-chamber and ordered them to
+be seated. So they sat down and he bade bring the damsel Tawaddud who came and
+unveiling, showed herself, as she were a sparkling star.[FN#297] The Caliph set
+her a stool of gold; and she saluted, and speaking with an eloquent tongue,
+said, "O Commander of the Faithful, bid the Olema and the doctors of law and
+leaches and astrologers and scientists and mathematicians and all here present
+contend with me in argument." So he said to them, "I desire of you that ye
+dispute with this damsel on the things of her faith, and stultify her argument
+in all she advanceth;" and they answered, saying, "We hear and we obey Allah
+and thee, O Commander of the Faithful." Upon this Tawaddud bowed her head and
+said, "Which of you is the doctor of the law, the scholar, versed in the
+readings of the Koran and in the Traditions?" Quoth one of them, "I am the man
+thou seekest." Quoth she, "Then ask me of what thou wilt." Said the doctor,
+"Hast thou read the precious book of Allah and dost thou know its cancelling
+and cancelled parts and hast thou meditated its versets and its letters?"
+"Yes," answered she. "Then," said he, "I will proceed to question thee of the
+obligations and the immutable ordinances: so tell me of these, O damsel, and
+who is thy Lord, who thy prophet, who thy Guide, what is thy point of fronting
+in prayer, and who be thy brethren? Also what thy spiritual path and what thy
+highway?" Whereto she replied, "Allah is my Lord, and Mohammed (whom Allah save
+and assain!) my prophet, and the Koran is my guide and the Ka'abah my fronting;
+and the True-believers are my brethren. The practice of good is my path and the
+Sunnah my highway." The Caliph again marvelled at her words so eloquently
+spoken by one so young; and the doctor pursued, "O damsel, with what do we know
+Almighty Allah?" Said she, "With the understanding." Said he, "And what is the
+understanding?" Quoth she, "It is of two kinds, natural and acquired."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel continued,
+"The understanding is of two kinds, natural and acquired. The natural is that
+which Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) created for the right direction of
+His servants after His will; and the acquired is that which men accomplish by
+dint of study and fair knowledge." He rejoined, "Thou hast answered well." Q
+"Where is the seat of the understanding?"—"Allah casteth it in the heart whence
+its lustrous beams ascend to the brain and there become fixed." Q "How knowest
+thou the Prophet of Allah?" "By the reading of Allah's Holy Book and by signs
+and proofs and portents and miracles!" Q "What are the obligations and the
+immutable ordinances?" "The obligations are five. (1) Testification that there
+is no ilαh[FN#298] but Allah, no god but the God alone and One, which for
+partner hath none, and that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. (2) The
+standing in prayers.[FN#299] (3) The payment of the poor-rate. (4) Fasting
+Ramazan. (5) The Pilgrimage to Allah's Holy House for all to whom the journey
+is possible. The immutable ordinances are four; to wit, night and day and sun
+and moon, the which build up life and hope; nor any son of Adam wotteth if they
+will be destroyed on the Day of Judgment." Q "What are the obligatory
+observances of the Faith?" "They are five, prayer, almsgiving, fasting,
+pilgrimage, fighting for the Faith and abstinence from the forbidden." Q "Why
+dost thou stand up to pray?" "To express the devout intent of the slave
+acknowledging the Deity." Q "What are the obligatory conditions which precede
+standing in prayer?" "Purification, covering the shame, avoidance of soiled
+clothes, standing on a clean place, fronting the Ka'abah, an upright posture,
+the intent[FN#300] and the pronouncing 'Allaho Akbar' of prohibition."[FN#301]
+Q "With what shouldest thou go forth from thy house to pray?" "With the intent
+of worship mentally pronounced." Q "With what intent shouldest thou enter the
+mosque?" "With an intent of service." Q "Why do we front the Kiblah[FN#302]?"
+"In obedience to three Divine orders and one Traditional ordinance." Q "What
+are the beginning, the consecration and the end of prayer?" "Purification
+beginneth prayer, saying the Allaho Akbar of prohibition consecrateth, and the
+salutation endeth prayer." Q "What deserveth he who neglecteth prayer?" "It is
+reported, among the authentic Traditions of the Prophet, that he said, 'Whoso
+neglecteth prayer wilfully and purposely hath no part in Al-Islam.'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fortieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the damsel had
+repeated the words of that Holy Tradition the doctor cried, "Thou hast replied
+aright: now say me, what is prayer?" "Prayer is communion between the slave and
+his lord, and in it are ten virtues: (1) it illumineth the heart; (2) it maketh
+the face shine; (3) it pleaseth the Compassionate One; (4) it angereth Satan;
+(5) it conjureth calamity; (6) it wardeth off the mischief of enemies; (7) it
+multiplieth mercy; (8) it forfendeth vengeance and punishment; (9) it bringeth
+the slave nigh unto his lord; and (10) it restraineth from lewdness and
+frowardness. Hence it is one of the absolute requisites and obligatory
+ordinances and the pillar of the Faith." Q "What is the key of prayer?" "Wuzd
+or the lesser ablution."[FN#303] Q "What is the key to the lesser ablution?"
+"Intention and naming the Almighty." Q "What is the key of naming the
+Almighty?" "Assured faith." Q "What is the key of faith?" "Trust in the Lord."
+Q "What is the key of trust in the Lord?" "Hope." Q "What is the key of hope?"
+"Obedience." Q "What is the key of obedience?" "The confession of the Unity and
+the acknowledgment of the divinity of Allah." Q "What are the Divine ordinances
+of Wuzu, the minor ablution?" "They are six, according to the canon of the Imam
+al-Shαfi'ν Mohammed bin Idris (of whom Allah accept!): (1) intent while washing
+the face; (2) washing the face; (3) washing the hands and forearms; (4) wiping
+part of the head; (5) washing the feet and heels; and (6) observing due
+order.[FN#304] And the traditional statutes are ten: (1) nomination; (2) and
+washing the hands before putting them into the water-pot; (3) and
+mouth-rinsing; (4) and snuffing;[FN#305] (5) and wiping the whole head; (6) and
+wetting the ears within and without with fresh water; (7) and separating a
+thick beard; (8) and separating the fingers and toes;[FN#306] (9) and washing
+the right foot before the left and (10) doing each of these thrice and all in
+unbroken order. When the minor ablution is ended, the worshipper should say, I
+testify that there is no god but the God, the One, which for partner hath none,
+and I testify that Mohammed is His servant and His apostle. O my Allah, make me
+of those who repent and in purity are permanent! Glory to Thee, O my God, and
+in Thy praise I bear witness, that there is no god save Thou! I crave pardon of
+Thee and I repent to Thee! For it is reported, in the Holy Traditions, that the
+Prophet (whom Allah bless and preserve!) said of this prayer, 'Whoso endeth
+every ablution with this prayer, the eight gates of Paradise are open to him;
+he shall enter at which he pleaseth.'" Q "When a man purposeth ablution, what
+betideth him from the angels and the devils?" "When a man prepareth for
+ablution, the angels come and stand on his right and the devils on his left
+hand.[FN#307] If he name Almighty Allah at the beginning of the ablution, the
+devils flee from him and the angels hover over him with a pavilion of light,
+having four ropes, to each an angel glorifying Allah and craving pardon for
+him, so long as he remaineth silent or calleth upon the name of Allah. But if
+he omit to begin washing with naming Allah (to whom belong might and majesty!),
+neither remain silent, the devils take command of him; and the angels depart
+from him and Satan whispereth evil thoughts unto him, till he fall into doubt
+and come short in his ablution. For (quoth he on whom be blessing and peace!),
+'A perfect ablution driveth away Satan and assureth against the tyranny of the
+Sultan'; and again quoth he, 'If calamity befal one who is not pure by
+ablution; verily and assuredly let him blame none but himself.'" Q "What should
+a man do when he awaketh from sleep?" "He should wash his hands thrice, before
+putting them into the water vessel." Q "What are the Koranic and traditional
+orders anent Ghusl, the complete ablution[FN#308]?" "The divine ordinances are
+intent and 'crowning'[FN#309] the whole body with water, that is, the liquid
+shall come at every part of the hair and skin. Now the traditional ordinances
+are the minor ablution as preliminary; rubbing the body; separating the hair
+and deferring in words[FN#310] the washing of the feet till the end of the
+ablution."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had
+recounted to the doctor what were the divine and traditional orders anent Ghusl
+or total ablution, quoth he, "Thou hast replied aright: now tell me what are
+the occasions for Tayammum, or making the ablution with sand and dust; and what
+are the ordinances thereof, divine and human?" "The reasons are seven, viz.:
+want of water; fear lest water lack; need thereto; going astray on a march;
+sickness; having broken bones in splints and having open wounds.[FN#311] As for
+its ordinances, the divine number four, viz., intent, dust, clapping it to the
+face and clapping it upon the hands; and the human number two, nomination and
+preferring the right before the left hand." Q "What are the conditions, the
+pillars or essentials, and the traditional statutes of prayer?" "The conditions
+are five: (1) purification of the members; (2) covering of the privy parts; (3)
+observing the proper hours, either of certainty or to the best of one's belief;
+(4) fronting the Kiblah; and (5) standing on a clean place. The pillars or
+essentials number twelve: (1) intent; (2) the Takbνr or magnification of
+prohibition; (3) standing when able to stand[FN#312]; (4) repeating the Fatihah
+or opening chapter of the Koran and saying, 'In the name of Allah, the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate!' with a verse thereof according to the
+canon of the Imam Al-Shafi'i; (5) bowing the body and keeping it bowed; (6)
+returning to the upright posture and so remaining for the time requisite; (7)
+prostration and permanence therein; (8) sitting between two prostrations and
+permanence therein; (9) repeating the latter profession of the Faith and
+sitting up therefor; (10) invoking benediction on the Prophet (whom Allah bless
+and preserve!) (11) the first Salutation,[FN#313] and (12) the intent of making
+an end of prayer expressed in words. But the traditional statutes are the call
+to prayer; the standing posture; raising the hands (to either side of the face)
+whilst pronouncing the prohibition; uttering the magnification before reciting
+the Fatihah; seeking refuge with Allah[FN#314]; saying, 'Amen'; repeating the
+chapter of the Koran after the Fatihah, repeating the magnifications during
+change of posture; saying, 'May Allah hear him who praiseth Him! and O our
+Lord, to Thee be the praise!'; praying aloud in the proper place[FN#315] and
+praying under the breath prayers so prescribed; the first profession of unity
+and sitting up thereto; blessing the Prophet therein; blessing his family in
+the latter profession and the second Salutation." Q "On what is the Zakαt or
+obligatory poor-rate taxable?" "On gold and silver and camels and oxen and
+sheep and wheat and barley and holcus and millet and beans and vetches and rice
+and raisins and dates." Q "What is the Zakαt or poor-rate on gold?" "Below
+twenty miskals or dinars, nothing; but on that amount half a dinar for every
+score and so on proportionally.[FN#316]" Q "On silver?" "Under two hundred
+dirhams nothing, then five dirhams on every two hundred and so forth." Q "On
+camels?" "For every five, an ewe, or for every twenty-five a pregnant camel." Q
+"On sheep?" "An ewe for every forty head," Q "What are the ordinances of the
+Ramazan Fast?" "The Koranic are intent; abstinence from eating, drinking and
+carnal copulation, and the stoppage of vomiting. It is incumbent on all who
+submit to the Law, save women in their courses and forty days after childbirth;
+and it becomes obligatory on sight of the new moon or on news of its
+appearance, brought by a trustworthy person and commending itself as truth to
+the hearer's heart; and among its requisites is that the intent be pronounced
+at nightfall. The traditional ordinances of fasting are, hastening to break the
+fast at sundown; deferring the fore-dawn meal,[FN#317] and abstaining from
+speech, save for good works and for calling on the name of Allah and reciting
+the Koran." Q "What things vitiate not the fast?" "The use of unguents and
+eye-powders and the dust of the road and the undesigned swallowing of saliva
+and the emission of seed in nocturnal pollution or at the sight of a strange
+woman and blooding and cupping; none of these things vitiates the fast." Q
+"What are the prayers of the two great annual Festivals?" "Two one-bow prayers,
+which be a traditional ordinance, without call to prayer or standing up to
+pronounce the call;[FN#318] but let the Moslem say, 'Prayer is a collector of
+all folk!'[FN#319] and pronounce 'Allaho Akbar' seven times in the first
+prayer, besides the Takbir of prohibition; and, in the second, five times,
+besides the magnification of rising up (according to the doctrine of the Imam
+Al-Shafi'i, on whom Allah have mercy!) and make the profession of the
+Faith."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had
+answered the doctor anent the Festival-prayers, quoth he, "Thou hast replied
+aright: now tell me what are the prayers prescribed on the occasion of an
+eclipse of the sun or moon?" "Two one-bow prayers without call to prayer or
+standing thereto by the worshipper, who shall make in each two-bow prayer
+double standing up and double inclinations and two-fold prostrations, then sit
+and testify and salute." Q "What is the ritual of prayer for rain?" "Two
+one-bow prayers without call to prayer or standing thereto; then shall the
+Moslem make the profession and salute. Moreover the Imam shall deliver an
+exhortation and ask pardon of Allah, in place of the magnification, as in the
+two sermons of the Festivals and turn his mantle upper edge downwards and pray
+and supplicate." Q "What are the Witr, the additional or occasional prayers?"
+"The least is a one-bow prayer and the most eleven." Q "What is the forenoon
+prayer?" "At least, two one-bow prayers and at most, twelve." Q "What hast thou
+to say of the I'itikαf or retreat[FN#320]?" "It is a matter of traditional
+ordinance." Q "What are its conditions?" "(1) intent; (2) not leaving the
+mosque save of necessity; (3) not having to do with a woman; (4) fasting; and
+(5) abstaining from speech." Q "Under what conditions is the Hajj or
+Pilgrimage[FN#321] obligatory?" "Manhood, and understanding and being a Moslem
+and practicability; in which case it is obligatory on all, once before death."
+Q "What are the Koranic statutes of the Pilgrimage?" "(1) The Ihrαm or
+pilgrim's habit; (2) the standing at Arafat; (3) circumambulating the Ka'abah;
+(4) running between Safα and Marwah[FN#322]; and (5) shaving or clipping the
+hair." Q "What are the Koranic statutes of the 'Umrah[FN#323] or lesser
+pilgrimage?" "Assuming the pilgrim's habit and compassing and running." Q "What
+are the Koranic ordinances of the assumption of the pilgrim's habit?"[FN#324]
+"Doffing sewn garments, forswearing perfume and ceasing to shave the head or
+pare the nails, and avoiding the killing of game, and eschewing carnal
+copulation." Q "What are the traditional statutes of the pilgrimage?" "(1) The
+crying out 'Labbay'ka, Adsum, Here am I, O our Lord, here am I!'[FN#325]4 (2)
+the Ka'abah-circuitings[FN#326] of arrival and departure; (3) the passing the
+night at the Mosque of Muzdalifah and in the valley of Mina, and (4) the
+lapidation.[FN#327]" Q "What is the Jihαd or Holy War and its essentials?" "Its
+essentials are: (1) the descent of the Infidels upon us; (2) the presence of
+the Imam; (3) a state of preparation; and (4) firmness in meeting the foe. Its
+traditional ordinance is incital to battle, in that the Most High hath said, 'O
+thou my Prophet, incite the faithful to fight!'[FN#328]" Q "What are the
+ordinances of buying and selling?" "The Koranic are: (1) offer and acceptance
+and (2) if the thing sold be a white slave, by whom one profiteth, all possible
+endeavour to convert him to Al-Islam; and (3) to abstain from usury; the
+traditional are: making void[FN#329] and option before not after separating,
+according to his saying (whom Allah bless and preserve!), 'The parties to a
+sale shall have the option of cancelling or altering terms whilst they are yet
+unseparated.'", Q "What is it forbidden to sell for what?" "On this point I
+mind me of an authentic tradition, reported by Nαf'i[FN#330] of the Apostle of
+Allah, that he forbade the barter of dried dates for fresh and fresh figs for
+dry and jerked for fresh meat and cream for clarified butter; in fine, all
+eatables of one and the same kind, it is unlawful to buy or barter some for
+other some.[FN#331]" Now when the doctor of law heard her words and knew that
+she was wit-keen, penetrative, ingenious and learned in jurisprudence and the
+Traditions and the interpretation of the Koran and what not else, he said in
+his mind, "Needs must I manoeuvre with her, that I may overcome her in the
+assembly of the Commander of the Faithful." So he said to her, "O damsel, what
+is the lexicographical meaning of Wuzu?" And she answered, "Philologically it
+signifieth cleanliness and freedom from impurities." Q "And of Salαt or
+prayer?" "An invocation of good" Q "And of Ghusl?" "Purification." Q "And of
+Saum or fasting?" "Abstention." Q "And of Zakαt?" "Increase. Q "And of Hajj or
+pilgrimage?" "Visitation." Q "And of Jihαd?" "Repelling." With this the
+doctor's arguments were cut off,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the doctor's
+arguments were cut off, he rose to his feet and said, "Bear witness against me,
+O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned in the Law than I
+am." Quoth she, "I will ask thee somewhat, which do thou answer me speedily, an
+thou be indeed a learned man." Quoth he, "Say on;" and she said, "What are the
+arrows of the Faith?" Answered he, "They number ten: (1) Testification, that
+is, religion; (2) Prayer, that is, the covenant; (3) Alms, that is,
+purification; (4) Fasting, that is, defensive armour; (5) Pilgrimage, that is,
+the Law; (6) Fighting for the Faith, that is, a general duty; (7) Bidding to
+beneficence and (8) Forbidding from frowardness, both of which are a man's
+honour; (9) Commune,[FN#332] that is, sociableness of the Faithful; and (10)
+Seeking knowledge, that is, the praiseworthy path." She rejoined, "Thou hast
+replied aright and now remaineth but one question, 'What be the roots or
+fundamentals of Al-Islam?'" He said "They are four: sincerity of belief, truth
+of intent, observance of the lawful limit and keeping the covenant." Then said
+she, "I have one more question to ask thee, which if thou answer, it is well;
+else, I will take thy clothes." Quoth he, "Speak, O damsel;" and she said,
+"What are the branches or superstructure of Al-Islam?" But he was silent awhile
+and made no reply: so she cried "Doff thy clothes and I will expound them to
+thee." Quoth the Caliph "Expound them, and I will make him put off his clothes
+for thee." She said, "There are two-and-twenty branches: (1) holding fast to
+the Book of Allah the Most Highest; (2) taking example by His Apostle (whom
+Allah bless and preserve!); (3) abstaining from evil doing; (4) eating what is
+lawful and (5) avoiding what is unlawful; (6) restitution of things wrongfully
+taken; (7) repentance; (8) knowledge of the Law; (9) love of the
+Friend,[FN#333] (10) and of the followers of the true Revelation; (11) belief
+in the apostles of Al-Islam; (12) fear of apostacy; (13) preparation for
+departing this life; (14) force of conviction; (15) mercy on all possible
+occasions; (16) strength in time of weakness; (17) patience under trials; (18)
+knowledge of Allah Almighty and (19) of what His Prophet hath made known to us;
+(20) thwarting Iblis the accursed; (21) striving earnestly against the lusts of
+the soul and warring them down, and (22) devotion to the one God." Now when the
+Commander of the Faithful heard her words, he bade the professor put off his
+clothes and hooded turband; and so did that doctor and went forth, beaten and
+confounded, from the Caliph's presence. Thereupon another man stood up and said
+to her, "O damsel, hear a few questions from me." Quoth she, "Say on;' and he
+asked, "What are the conditions of purchase by advance?" whereto she answered,
+"That the price be fixed, the kind be fixed and the period of delivery be fixed
+and known." Q "What are the Koranic and the traditional canons of eating?" "The
+confession that Allah Almighty provideth the eater and giveth him meat and
+drink, with thanksgiving to Him therefor." Q "What is thanksgiving?" "The use
+by the creature of that which the Creator vouchsafeth to him, according as it
+was created for the creature." Q "What are the traditional canons of eating?"
+"The Bismillah[FN#334] and washing both hands; sitting on the left of the hind
+part; eating with three fingers, and eating of that which hath been duly
+masticated.[FN#335]" Q "What are good manners in eating?" "Taking small
+mouthfuls and looking little at one's table-companion."—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had
+answered concerning good manners in eating, the doctor who was trying her,
+rejoined, "Thou hast replied aright. Now tell me what are the stays of the
+heart and their supports?"[FN#336] "The stays and supports both number three:
+(1) holding fast to the Faith, the support whereof is the shunning of
+infidelity; (2) holding fast to the Traditional Law, and its support the
+shunning of innovation; and (3) holding fast to obedience, and its support the
+shunning of disobedience." Q "What are the conditions of Wuzu?" "(1) being a
+Moslem; (2) discernment of good and evil; (3) purity of the water, and (4)
+absence of material or religious impediments." Q "What is belief?" "It is
+divided into nine parts: (1) belief in the One worshipped; (2) belief in the
+condition of slavery of the worshipper; (3) belief in the personality of the
+Deity; (4) belief in the Two Handfuls;[FN#337] (5) belief in Providence which
+allotteth to man his lot; (6) belief in the Abrogating and (7) in the
+Abrogated; (8) belief in Allah, His angels and apostles; and (9) in
+fore-ordained Fate, general and individual, its good and ill, its sweet and
+bitter." Q "What three things do away other three?" "It is told of Sufyαn
+al-Saurν[FN#338] that he said, 'Three things do away with other three. Making
+light of the pious doth away the future life; making light of Kings doth away
+this life; and, making light of expenditure doth away wealth.'" Q "What are the
+keys of the heavens, and how many gates have they.?" "Quoth Almighty Allah,
+'And the heaven shall be opened and be full of portals;'[FN#339] and quoth he
+whom Allah bless and preserve!, 'None knoweth the number of the gates of
+heavens, save He who created the heavens, and there is no son of Adam but hath
+two gates allotted to him in the heavens, one whereby his daily bread
+descendeth and another wherethrough his works ascend. The first gate is not
+closed, save when his term of life cometh to an end, nor the gate of works,
+good and evil, till his soul ascend for judgment.'" Q "Tell me of a thing and a
+half thing and a no-thing." "The thing is the Moslem; the half thing the
+hypocrite,[FN#340] and the no-thing the miscreant." Q "Tell me of various kinds
+of hearts." "There is the whole heart, the sick heart, the contrite heart, the
+vowed heart and the enlightened heart. Now the whole heart is that of Abraham,
+the Friend of Allah; the sick heart is that of the Unbeliever in Al-Islam; the
+contrite heart is that of the pious who fear the Lord; the vowed heart is that
+of our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!) and the illuminated heart is
+that of his followers. Furthermore, the hearts of learned Olema are of three
+kinds, the heart which is in love with this world; the heart which loveth the
+next world, and the heart which loveth its Lord; and it is said that hearts are
+three, the suspended, that of the infidel; the non-existent, that of the
+hypocrite; and the constant, that of the True-believer. Moreover, it is said
+that the firm heart is of three kinds, viz., the heart dilated with light and
+faith, the heart wounded with fear of estrangement, and the heart which feareth
+to be forsaken of its Supreme Friend."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the second doctor
+declared. "Thou hast said well," quoth she to the Caliph, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, he hath questioned me, till he is weary, and now I will ask of him
+two questions. If he answer them both, it is well; and if not, I will take his
+clothes and he shall wend in peace." Quoth the doctor, "Ask me what thou wilt,"
+and she said, "What sayest thou religion is?" Answered he, "Religion is
+confession of Faith with the tongue and conviction with the heart and
+correspondent action with the members. He (upon whom be blessings and peace!)
+hath said, 'The believer is not perfect in belief, except he perfect himself in
+five qualities, namely: trust in Allah,[FN#341] committal of his affair to
+Allah, submission to the commands of Allah, acquiescence in the decrees of
+Allah; and that all he doth be done for sake of Allah; so is he of those who
+are acceptable to the Deity, and who give to Him and withhold for Him; and such
+man is perfect in belief.'" Then said she, "What is the Divine ordinance of
+ordinances and the ordinance which is the initiator of all ordinances and that
+of which all others stand in need and that which comprehendeth all others; and
+what is the traditional ordinance that entereth into the Koranic, and the
+prophetic practice whereby the Divine is completed?" But he was silent and made
+no reply; whereupon the Caliph bade her expound and ordered him to doff his
+clothes and give them to her. Said she, "O doctor, the Koranic ordinance of
+ordinances is the knowledge of Allah Almighty; that, which is the initiative of
+all others, is the testifying there is no god but the God and Mohammed is the
+Apostle of God; that, of which all others have need, is the Wuzu-ablution;
+that, which compriseth all others, is the Ghusl-ablution from
+defilement[FN#342]; the Traditional ordinance that entereth into the Koranic,
+is the separation of the fingers and the thick beard;[FN#343] and that,
+wherewith all Koranic ordinances are completed, is circumcision."[FN#344]
+Therewith was made manifest the defeat of the doctor, who rose to his feet and
+said, "I call Allah to witness, O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel
+is more learned than I in theology and what pertaineth to the Law." So saying,
+he put off his clothes and went away ignominiously worsted. Then she turned to
+the rest of the learned men present and said, "O masters, which of you is the
+Koranist, the reader and reciter of the Koran, versed in the seven readings and
+in syntax and in lexicography?" Thereupon a professor arose and, seating
+himself before her, said "Hast thou read the Book of Almighty Allah and made
+thyself thoroughly acquainted with its signs, that is its verses, and its
+abrogating parts and abrogated portions, its unequivocal commands and its
+ambiguous; and the difference of its revelations, Meccan and Medinan? Dost thou
+understand its interpretation and hast thou studied it, according to the
+various traditions and origins?" "Yes," answered she; and he said, "What then
+is the number of its chapters, how many are the decades and versets, how many
+words and how many letters and how many acts of prostration and how many
+prophets and how many chapters are Medinan and how many are Meccan and how many
+birds are mentioned in it?" Replied she, "O my lord, its chapters are an
+hundred and fourteen, whereof seventy were revealed at Meccah and forty-four at
+Al-Medinah; and it containeth six hundred and twenty-one decades; six thousand
+three hundred and thirty-six versets;[FN#345] seventy-nine thousand four
+hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and twenty-three thousand and
+six hundred and seventy letters; and to the reader thereof, for every letter,
+are given ten benefits. The acts of prostration it compriseth are
+fourteen."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the professor of
+Koranic exegesis questioned the damsel, she continued, "As regards the Prophets
+named in the Book there be five-and-twenty, to wit, Adam, Noah,[FN#346]
+Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Elisha, Jonah, Salih,[FN#347] or
+Heber, HÏŠd,[FN#348] Shua'yb or Jethro,[FN#349] David, Solomon, ZÏŠ'l-kafl or
+Joshua, Idrνs, Elias, Yahyα or John the Baptist, Zacharias, Job, Moses, Aaron,
+Jesus and Mohammed,[FN#350] the peace of Allah and His blessing be on them all!
+Moreover, nine flying things are mentioned in the Koran, namely, the gnat, the
+bee, the fly, the ant, the hoopoe, the crow, the locust, the swallow and the
+bird of Jesus[FN#351] (on whom be peace!), to wit, the bat." Q "Which is the
+most excellent chapter of the Koran?" "That of The Cow.[FN#352]" Q "Which is
+the most magnificent verse?" "That of the Throne; it hath fifty words, bearing
+in each fifty blessings." Q "What sign or verse hath in it nine signs or
+wonders?" "That in which quoth Allah Almighty, 'Verily, in the creation of the
+Heaven and the Earth: and in the vicissitude of night, and day; and in the ship
+which saileth through the sea laden with what is profitable for mankind; and in
+the rain-water which God sendeth down from Heaven, quickening thereby the dead
+ground and replenishing the same with all sorts of cattle; and in the change of
+winds and in the clouds that are compelled to do service between the Heaven and
+the Earth;[FN#353]—are signs to people of understanding.'" Q "Which verse is
+the most just?" "That in which Allah saith, 'Verily, Allah enjoineth justice
+and the doing of good, and the giving unto kindred what shall be necessary; and
+He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and oppression'"[FN#354] Q "Which is the
+most greedy?" "That in which quoth Allah, 'Is it that every man of them
+greedeth to enter the Garden of Delight?'"[FN#355] Q "Which is the most
+hopeful?" "That in which quoth Almighty Allah, 'Say: O my servants who have
+transgressed against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah; seeing,
+that Allah forgiveth all sins; aye Gracious, Merciful is He.'"[FN#356] Q "By
+what school of intonation dost thou read?" "By that of the people of Paradise,
+to wit, the version of Nαf'i." Q "In which verse doth Allah make prophets
+lie?"[FN#357] "In that wherein He saith, 'They (the brothers of Joseph) brought
+his inner garment stained with false blood.'"[FN#358] Q "In which doth He make
+unbelievers speak the truth?" "In that wherein He saith, 'The Jews say, 'The
+Christians are grounded on nothing,' and the Christians say, 'The Jews are
+grounded on nothing'; and yet they both read the Scriptures;'[FN#359] and, so
+saying, all say sooth." Q "In which doth God speak in his own person?" "In that
+in which he saith, 'I have not created Genii and men for any other end than
+that they should serve me.'"[FN#360] Q "In which verse do the angels speak?"
+"In that which saith, 'But we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy
+holiness.'"[FN#361] Q "What sayest thou of the formula:—I seek refuge with
+Allah from Satan the Stoned?" "It is obligatory by commandment of Allah on all
+before reading the Koran, as appeareth by His saying, 'When thou readest the
+Koran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.'"[FN#362] Q "What signify
+the words 'seeking refuge'[FN#363] and what are the variants of the formula?"
+"Some say, 'I take refuge with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing,' and
+others, 'With Allah the Strong;' but the best is that whereof the Sublime Koran
+speaketh and the Traditions perpetuate. And he (whom Allah bless and keep!) was
+used to ejaculate, 'I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned.' And quoth
+a Tradition, reported by Naf'i on the authority of his adopted father, 'The
+apostle of Allah, was wont when he rose in the night to pray, to say aloud,
+'Allaho Akbar'; God is Most Great, with all Majesty! Praise be to Allah
+abundantly! Glory to Allah morn and even be!' Then would he say, 'I seek refuge
+with Allah from Satan the Stoned and from the delusions of the Devils and their
+evil suggestions.' And it is told of Ibn Abbas[FN#364] (of whom Allah accept!)
+that he said, 'The first time Gabriel came down to the Prophet with revelation
+he taught him the 'seeking refuge,' saying, 'O Mohammed, say, I seek refuge
+with Allah the All-hearing and All-knowing;' then say, 'In the name of Allah
+the Compassionating, the Compassionate!' Read, in the name of thy Lord who
+created;—created man of blood-clots."[FN#365] Now when the Koranist heard her
+words he marvelled at her expressions, her eloquence, her learning, her
+excellence, and said, "O damsel, what sayst thou of the verse 'In the name of
+Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate'? Is it one of the verses of the
+Koran?" "Yes; it is a verset of 'The Ant'[FN#366] occurring also at the head of
+the first and between every two following chapters; and there is much
+difference of opinion, respecting this, among the learned."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had told
+the professor concerning the difference of opinion among the learned touching
+the "Basmalah," he said, "Thou hast replied aright: now tell me why is not the
+formula written at the head of the chapter of Immunity[FN#367]?"; and she
+answered, "When this chapter was revealed from on high for the dissolution of
+the alliance between the Prophet and the idolaters, He (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) sent Ali[FN#368] ibn Abν Tαlib (whose face Allah honour!) therewith,
+and he read the chapter to them, but did not read the Basmalah."[FN#369] Q
+"What of the excellence of the formula and its blessing?" "It is told of the
+Prophet that he said, 'Never is the Basmalah pronounced over aught, but there
+is a blessing in it;' and it is reported, on authority of Him (whom Allah bless
+and preserve!) that the Lord of Glory swore by His glory that never should the
+Basmalah be pronounced over a sick person, but he should be healed of his
+sickness. Moreover, it is said that, when Allah created the empyrean, it was
+agitated with an exceeding agitation; but He wrote on it, 'Bismillah' and its
+agitation subsided. When the formula first descended from heaven to the
+Prophet, he said, 'I am safe from three things, earthquake and metamorphosis
+and drowning; and indeed its boons are great and its blessings too many to
+enumerate. It is told of Allah's Apostle that he said, 'There will be brought
+on the Judgment-day a man with whom He shall reckon and finding no good deed to
+his account, shall order him to the Fire; but the man will cry, 'O my God, Thou
+hast not dealt justly by me!' Then shall Allah (to whom be honour and glory!)
+say, 'How so?' and the man shall answer, O Lord, for that Thou callest Thyself
+the Compassionating, the Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me with the Fire!'
+And Allah (magnified be His Majesty!) shall reply, 'I did indeed name myself
+the Compassionating, the Compassionate. Carry My servant to Paradise, of My
+mercy, for I am the most Merciful of the mercifuls!'" Q "What was the origin of
+the use of the Basmalah?" "When Allah sent down from Heaven the Koran, they
+wrote, 'In Thy name, O my God!'; when Allah revealed the words, 'Say: Call upon
+Allah, or call upon the Compassionating, what days ye pray, for hath He the
+most excellent names,'[FN#370] they wrote, 'In the name of Allah, the
+Compassionating, the Compassionate; and, when He revealed the words, 'Your God
+is one God, there is no God but He, the Compassionating, the
+Compassionate,'[FN#371] they wrote, 'In the name of Allah, the Compassionating,
+the Compassionate!'" Now when the Koranist heard her reply, he hung down his
+head and said to himself, "This be a marvel of marvels! How hath this
+slave-girl expounded the origin of the Basmalah? But, by Allah, needs must I go
+a bout with her and haply defeat her." So he asked, "Did Allah reveal the Koran
+all at once or at times manifold?" She answered, "Gabriel the Faithful (on whom
+be peace!) descended with it from the Lord of the Worlds upon His Prophet
+Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles and Seal of the Prophets, by detached versets:
+bidding and forbidding, covenanting and comminating, and containing advices and
+instances in the course of twenty years as occasion called for it." Q "Which
+chapter was first revealed?" "According to Ibn Abbas, that entituled 'Congealed
+Blood':[FN#372] and, according to Jαbir bin Abdillah,[FN#373] that called 'The
+Covered' which preceded all others.[FN#374]" Q "Which verset was the last
+revealed?" "That of 'Usury',[FN#375] and it is also said, the verse, 'When
+there cometh Allah's succour and victory.'"[FN#376]—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel told the
+Koranist which was the last verse he said, "Thou hast replied aright; now tell
+me the names of the Companions who collected the Koran, in the lifetime of the
+Apostle of Allah." And she answered "They were four, Ubay ibn Ka'ab, Zayd ibn
+Sαbit, Abϊ Obaydah 'Aamir bin Jarrαh, and Othmαn bin Affαn[FN#377] (Allah
+accept of them one and all!)" Q "Who are the readers, from whom the accepted
+reading of the Koran is taken?" "They number four, Abdallah bin Mas'ÏŠd, Ubay
+bin Ka'ab, Ma'az bin Jabal and Sαlim bin Abdillah." Q "What sayest thou of the
+words of the Most High, 'That which is sacrificed to stones'"?[FN#378] "The
+stones are idols, which are set up and worshipped, instead of Allah the Most
+High, and from this we seek refuge with Allah." Q "What sayest thou of the
+words of the Most High 'Thou knowest what is in my soul, and I know not what is
+in Thy soul'"?[FN#379] "They mean, 'Thou knowest the truth of me and what is in
+me, and I know not what is in Thee;' and the proof of this are His
+words,[FN#380] 'Thou art He who wottest the hidden things'; and it is said,
+also, 'Thou knowest my essence, but I know not Thine essence.'" Q "What sayst
+thou of the words of the Most High, 'O true believers, forbid not yourselves
+the good things which Allah hath allowed you?'"[FN#381] "My Shaykh (on whom
+Allah have mercy!) told me that the Companion Al-Zahhαk related: 'There was a
+people of the True-believers who said, 'We will dock our members masculine and
+don sackcloth;' whereupon this verse was revealed. But Al-Kutαdah declareth
+that it was revealed on account of sundry Companions of the Apostle of Allah,
+namely, Ali ibn Abν Tαlib and Othmαn bin Musa'ab and others, who said, 'We will
+geld ourselves and don hair cloth and make us monks.'" Q "What sayest thou of
+the words of the Most Highest, 'And Allah took Abraham for His
+friend'"?[FN#382] "The friend of Allah is the needy, the poor, and (according
+to another saying) he is the lover, he who is detached from the world in the
+love of Allah Almighty and in whose attachment there is no falling away." Now
+when the Koranist[FN#383] saw her pass on in speech with the passage of the
+clouds and that she stayed not in reply, he rose to his feet and said, "I take
+Allah to witness, O Commander of the Faithful, that this damsel is more learned
+than I in Koranic exegesis and what pertaineth thereto." Then said she, "I will
+ask thee one question, which if thou answer it is well; but if thou answer not,
+I will strip off thy clothes." Quoth the Commander of the Faithful, "Ask on,"
+and she enquired, "Which verset of the Koran hath in it three-and-twenty Kαfs,
+which sixteen Mνms, which an hundred and forty 'Ayns[FN#384] and which
+section[FN#385] lacketh the formula, 'To Whom belong glory and glorification
+and majesty[FN#386]?'" The Koranist could not reply, and she said to him, "Put
+off thy clothes." So he doffed them, and she continued, "O Commander of the
+Faithful, the verset of the sixteen Mims is in the chapter HÏŠd and is the
+saying of the Most High, 'It was said, O Noah, go down in peace from us, and
+blessing upon thee!'[FN#387] that of the three-and-twenty Kafs is the verse
+called of the Faith, in the chapter of The Cow; that of the hundred and forty
+Ayns is in the chapter of Al-A'arαf,[FN#388] where the Lord saith, 'And Moses
+chose seventy men of his tribe to attend our appointed time;[FN#389] to each
+man a pair of eyes.'[FN#390] And the lesson, which lacketh the formula, 'To
+Whom be glory and glorification,' is that which comprises the chapters, The
+Hour draweth nigh and the Moon shall be cloven in twain[FN#391]; The
+Compassionate and The Event."[FN#392] Thereupon the professor departed in
+confusion.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel defeated
+the Koranist and took off his clothes and sent him away confused, then came
+forward the skilled physician and said to her, "We are free of theology and
+come now to physiology. Tell me, therefore, how is man made; how many veins,
+bones and vertebrae are there in his body; which is the first and chief vein
+and why Adam was named Adam?" She replied, "Adam was called Adam, because of
+his udmah, that is, the wheaten colour of his complexion and also (it is said)
+because he was created of the adim of the earth, that is to say, of the
+surface-soil. His breast was made of the earth of the Ka'abah, his head of
+earth from the East and his legs of earth from the West. There were created for
+him seven doors in his head, viz., the eyes, the ears, the nostrils and the
+mouth, and two passages, before and behind. The eyes were made the seat of the
+sight-sense, the ears the seat of the hearing-sense, the nostrils the seat of
+the smell-sense, the mouth the seat of the taste-sense and the tongue to utter
+what is in the heart of man.[FN#393] Now Adam was made of a compound of the
+four elements, which be water, earth, fire and air. The yellow bile is the
+humour of fire, being hot-dry; the black bile that of earth, being cold-dry;
+the phlegm that of water, being cold-moist, and the blood that of air, being
+hot-moist.[FN#394] There were made in man three hundred and sixty veins, two
+hundred and forty-nine bones, and three souls[FN#395] or spirits, the animal,
+the rational and the natural, to each of which is allotted its proper function.
+Moreover, Allah made him a heart and spleen and lungs and six intestines and a
+liver and two kidneys and buttocks and brain and bones and skin and five
+senses; hearing, seeing, smell, taste, touch. The heart He set on the left side
+of the breast and made the stomach the guide and governor thereof. He appointed
+the lungs for a fan to the heart and stablished the liver on the right side,
+opposite thereto. Moreover, He made, besides this, the diaphragm and the
+viscera and set up the bones of the breast and latticed them with the ribs." Q
+"How many ventricles are there in a man's head?" "Three, which contain five
+faculties, styled the intrinsic senses, to wit, common sense, imagination, the
+thinking faculty, perception and memory." Q "Describe to me the configuration
+of the bones."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the physicist said
+to her, "Describe to me the configuration of the bones," she replied, "Man's
+frame consists of two hundred and forty bones, which are divided into three
+parts, the head, the trunk and the extremities. The head is divided into
+calvarium and face. The skull is constructed of eight bones, and to it are
+attached the four osselets of the ear. The face is furnished with an upper jaw
+of eleven bones and a lower jaw of one; and to these are added the teeth
+two-and-thirty in number, and the os hyoides.[FN#396] The trunk is divided into
+spinal column, breast and basin. The spinal column is made up of
+four-and-twenty bones, called Fikαr or vertebrζ; the breast, of the breastbone
+and the ribs, which are four-and-twenty in number, twelve on each side; and the
+basin of the hips, the sacrum[FN#397] and os coccygis. The extremities divided
+into upper and lower, arms and legs. The arms are again divided: firstly into
+shoulder, comprising shoulder blades and collar bone; secondly into the upper
+arm which is one bone; thirdly into fore-arm, composed of two bones, the radius
+and the ulna; and fourthly into the hand, consisting of the wrist, the
+metacarpus of five and the fingers, which number five, of three bones each,
+called the phalanges, except the thumb, which hath but two. The lower
+extremities are divided: firstly into thigh, which is one bone; secondly into
+leg, composed of three bones, the tibia, the fibula and the patella; and
+thirdly into the foot, divided, like the hand, into tarsus, metatarsus and
+toes; and is composed of seven bones, ranged in two rows, two in one and five
+in the other; and the metatarsus is composed of five bones and the toes number
+five, each of three phalanges except the big toe which hath only two." Q "Which
+is the root of the veins?" "The aorta, from which they ramify, and they are
+many, none knoweth the tale of them save He who created them; but I repeat, it
+is said that they number three hundred and sixty.[FN#398] Moreover, Allah hath
+appointed the tongue as interpreter for the thought, the eyes to serve as
+lanterns, the nostrils to smell with, and the hands for prehensors. The liver
+is the seat of pity, the spleen of laughter[FN#399] and the kidneys of craft;
+the lungs are ventilators, the stomach the store-house, and the heart the prop
+and pillar of the body. When the heart is sound, the whole body is sound, and
+when the heart is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt." Q "What are the outward
+signs and symptoms evidencing disease in the members of the body, both external
+and internal?" "A physician, who is a man of understanding, looketh into the
+state of the body and is guided by the feel of the hands,[FN#400] according as
+they are firm or flabby, hot or cool, moist or dry. Internal disorders are also
+indicated by external symptoms, such as yellowness of the white of the eyes,
+which denoteth jaundice, and bending of the back, which denoteth disease of the
+lungs." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had
+described to the doctor the outer signs and symptoms quoth he, "Thou hast
+replied aright! now what are the internal symptoms of disease?" "The science of
+the diagnosis of disease by internal symptoms is founded upon six canons: (1)
+the patient's actions; (2) what is evacuated from his body; (3) the nature of
+the pain; and (4) the site thereof; (5) swelling; and (6) the effluvia given
+off his person." Q "How cometh hurt to the head?" "By the ingestion of food
+upon food, before the first be digested, and by fullness upon fullness; this it
+is that wasteth peoples. He who would live long, let him be early with the
+morning-meal and not late with the evening-meal; let him be sparing of commerce
+with women and chary of such depletory measures as cupping and blood-letting;
+and let him make of his belly three parts, one for food, one for drink and the
+third for air; for that a man's intestines are eighteen spans in length and it
+befitteth that he appoint six for meat, six for drink, and six for breath. If
+he walk, let him go gently; it will be wholesomer for him and better for his
+body and more in accordance with the saying of the Almighty, 'Walk not proudly
+on the earth.'"[FN#401] Q "What are the symptoms of yellow bile and what is to
+be feared therefrom?" "The symptoms are sallow complexion and bitter taste in
+the mouth with dryness; failure of the appetite, venereal and other, and rapid
+pulse; and the patient hath to fear high fever and delirium and eruptions and
+jaundice and tumour and ulcers of the bowels and excessive thirst." Q "What are
+the symptoms of black bile and what hath the patient to fear from it, an it get
+the mastery of the body?" "The symptoms are false appetite and great mental
+disquiet and cark and care; and it behoveth that it be evacuated, else it will
+generate melancholia[FN#402] and leprosy and cancer and disease of the spleen
+and ulceration of the bowels." Q "Into how many branches is the art of medicine
+divided?" "Into two: the art of diagnosing diseases, and that of restoring the
+diseased body to health." Q "When is the drinking of medicine more efficacious
+than otherwhen?" "When the sap runs in the wood and the grape thickens in the
+cluster and the two auspicious planets, Jupiter and Venus, are in the
+ascendant; then setteth in the proper season for drinking of drugs and doing
+away of disease." Q "What time is it, when, if a man drink water from a new
+vessel, the drink is sweeter and lighter or more digestible to him than at
+another time, and there ascendeth to him a pleasant fragrance and a
+penetrating?" "When he waiteth awhile after eating, as quoth the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Drink not upon thy food in haste but wait awhile; * Else thou<br/>
+
+     with halter shalt thy frame to sickness lead:<br/>
+
+And patient bear a little thirst from food, then drink; * And<br/>
+
+     thus, O brother, haply thou shalt win thy need.[FN#403]'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Q "What food is it that giveth not rise to ailments?" "That which is not eaten
+but after hunger, and when it is eaten, the ribs are not filled with it, even
+as saith Jαlνnϊs or Galen the physician, 'Whoso will take in food, let him go
+slowly and he shall not go wrongly.' And to conclude with His saying (on whom
+be blessing and peace!), 'The stomach is the house of disease, and diet is the
+head of healing; for the origin of all sickness is indigestion, that is to say,
+corruption of the meat'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel said
+to the doctor, "'The stomach is the house of disease and diet is the head of
+healing; for the origin of all sickness is indigestion, that is to say,
+corruption of the meat in the stomach;'" he rejoined, "Thou hast replied
+aright! what sayest thou of the Hammam?" "Let not the full man enter it. Quoth
+the Prophet, 'The bath is the blessing of the house, for that it cleanseth the
+body and calleth to mind the Fire.'" Q "What Hammams are best for bathing in?"
+"Those whose waters are sweet and whose space is ample and which are kept well
+aired; their atmosphere representing the four seasons—autumn and summer and
+winter and spring." Q "What kind of food is the most profitable?" "That which
+women make and which hath not cost overmuch trouble and which is readily
+digested. The most excellent of food is brewis[FN#404] or bread sopped in
+broth; according to the saying of the Prophet, 'Brewis excelleth other food,
+even as Ayishah excelleth other women.'" Q "What kind of kitchen, or seasoning,
+is most profitable?" "'Flesh meat' (quoth the Prophet) 'is the most excellent
+of kitchen; for that it is the delight of this world and the next world.'" Q
+"What kind of meat is the most profitable?" "Mutton; but jerked meat is to be
+avoided, for there is no profit in it." Q "What of fruits?" "Eat them in their
+prime and quit them when their season is past." Q "What sayest thou of drinking
+water?" "Drink it not in large quantities nor swallow it by gulps, or it will
+give thee head-ache and cause divers kinds of harm; neither drink it
+immediately after leaving the Hammam nor after carnal copulation or eating
+(except it be after the lapse of fifteen minutes for a young man and forty for
+an old man), nor after waking from sleep." Q "What of drinking fermented
+liquors?" "Doth not the prohibition suffice thee in the Book of Almighty Allah,
+where He saith, 'Verily, wine and lots and images, and the divining arrows are
+an abomination, of Satan's work; therefore avoid them, that ye may
+prosper'?[FN#405] And again, 'They will ask thee concerning wine and lots':
+Answer, 'In both there is great sin and also some things of use unto men: but
+their sinfulness is greater than their use.'[FN#406] Hence quoth the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'O bibber of liquor, art not ashamed * To drink what Allah<br/>
+
+     forbade thee drain?<br/>
+
+Put it far from thee and approach it not; * It holds what Allah<br/>
+
+     forbade as bane.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And quoth another to the same purport,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'I drank the sin till my reason fled: * Ill drink that reason to loss misled!'
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As for the advantages that be therein, it disperseth stone and gravel from the
+kidneys and strengtheneth the viscera and banisheth care, and moveth to
+generosity and preserveth health and digestion; it conserveth the body,
+expelleth disease from the joints, purifieth the frame of corrupt humours,
+engendereth cheerfulness, gladdeneth the heart of man and keepeth up the
+natural heat: it contracteth the bladder, enforceth the liver and removeth
+obstructions, reddeneth the cheeks, cleareth away maggots from the brain and
+deferreth grey hairs. In short, had not Allah (to whom be honour and glory!)
+forbidden it,[FN#407] there were not on the face of the earth aught fit to
+stand in its stead. As for gambling by lots, it is a game of hazard such as
+diceing, not of skill." Q "What wine is best?" "That which is pressed from
+white grapes and kept eighty days or more after fermentation: it resembleth not
+water and indeed there is nothing on the surface of the earth like unto it." Q
+"What sayest thou of cupping?" "It is for him who is over full of blood and who
+hath no defect therein; and whoso would be cupped, let it be during the wane of
+the moon, on a day without cloud, wind or rain and on the seventeenth of the
+month. If it fall on a Tuesday, it will be the more efficacious, and nothing is
+more salutary for the brain and eyes and for clearing the intellect than
+cupping."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+enumerated the benefits of cupping, quoth the doctor, "What is the best time
+for cupping?" "One should be cupped 'on the spittle,' that is, in the morning
+before eating, for this fortifieth the wit and the memory. It is reported of
+the Prophet that, when anyone complained to him of a pain in the head or legs,
+he would bid him be cupped and after cupping not eat salt food, fasting, for it
+engendereth scurvy; neither eat sour things as curded milk[FN#408] immediately
+after cupping." Q "When is cupping to be avoided?" "On Sabbaths or Saturdays
+and Wednesdays; and let him who is cupped on these days blame none but himself.
+Moreover, one should not be cupped in very hot weather nor in very cold
+weather; and the best season for cupping is springtide." Quoth the doctor, "Now
+tell me of carnal copulation." Hereupon Tawaddud hung her head, for shame and
+confusion before the Caliph's majesty; then said, "By Allah, O Commander of the
+Faithful, it is not that I am at fault, but that I am ashamed; though, indeed,
+the answer is on the edge of my tongue." Said the Caliph; "Speak, O damsel,"
+whereupon said she, "Copulation hath in it many and exceeding virtues and
+praiseworthy qualities, amongst which are, that it lighteneth a body full of
+black bile and calmeth the heat of love and induceth affection and dilateth the
+heart and dispelleth the sadness of solitude; and the excess of it is more
+harmful in summer and autumn than in spring and winter." Q "What are its good
+effects?" "It banisheth trouble and disquiet, calmeth love and wrath and is
+good for ulcers, especially in a cold and dry humour; on the other hand excess
+of it weakeneth the sight and engendereth pains in the legs and head and back:
+and beware, beware of carnal connection with old women, for they are deadly.
+Quoth the Iman Ali[FN#409] (whose face Allah honour!), 'Four things kill and
+ruin the body: entering the Hammam on a full stomach; eating salt food;
+copulation on a plethora of blood and lying with an ailing woman; for she will
+weaken thy strength and infect thy frame with sickness; and an old woman is
+deadly poison.' And quoth one of them, 'Beware of taking an old woman to wife,
+though she be richer in hoards than Kαrϊn'"[FN#410] Q "What is the best
+copulation?" "If the woman be tender of years, comely of shape, fair of face,
+swelling of breast and of noble race, she will add to thee strength and health
+of body; and let her be even as saith a certain poet describing her,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Seeing thy looks wots she what thou desir'st, * By inspiration;<br/>
+
+     wants nor word nor sign;<br/>
+
+And, when thou dost behold her rarest grace, * The charms of<br/>
+
+     every garden canst decline.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Q "At what time is copulation good?" "If by night, after food digested and if
+by day, after the morning meal." Q "What are the most excellent fruits?"
+"Pomegranate and citron." Q "Which is the most excellent of vegetables?"
+"Endive.[FN#411]" Q "Which of sweet-scented flowers?" "Rose and Violet." Q "How
+is the seed of man secreted?" "There is in man a vein which feedeth all the
+other veins. Now water is collected from the three hundred and sixty veins and,
+in the form of red blood, entereth the left testicle, where it is decocted, by
+the heat of temperament inherent in the son of Adam, into a thick, white
+liquid, whose odour is as that of the palm-spathe." Q "What flying thing is it
+that emitteth seed and menstruateth?" "The flitter-mouse,[FN#412] that is the
+bat." Q "What is that which, when confined and shut out from the air liveth,
+and when let out to smell the air dieth?" "The fish." Q "What serpent layeth
+eggs?" "The Su'ban or dragon.[FN#413]" With this the physician waxed weary with
+much questioning, and held his peace, when Tawaddud said to the Caliph, "O
+Commander of the Faithful, he hath questioned me till he is tired out and now I
+will ask him one question, which if he answer not, I will take his clothes as
+lawful prize."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel said
+to the Commander of the Faithful, "Verily he hath questioned me till he is
+tired out, and now I will ask him one question, which if he answer not I will
+take his clothes as lawful prize," the Caliph cried, "Ask on." So quoth she to
+the physician, "What is that thing which resembleth the earth in roundness,
+whose resting-place and whose spine are hidden from men's eyes; little of price
+and estimation; narrow of chest and shackled as to throat though it be nor
+runaway slave nor pestilent thief; thrust through and through, though not in
+fray, and wounded, though not in fight: time eateth its vigour and water
+wasteth it away; now it is beaten without blemish, and then made to serve
+without stint; united after separation; submissive, but not to him who
+caresseth it; pregnant without child in belly; drooping, yet not leaning on its
+side; becoming dirty yet purifying itself; cleaving to its fere, yet changing;
+copulating without a yard, wrestling without arms: resting and taking its ease;
+bitten, yet not crying out: now more complaisant than a cup-companion and then
+more troublesome than summer-heat; leaving its mate by night and embracing her
+by day and having its abode in the corners of the mansions of the noble?" The
+physician was silent awhile in perplexity and his colour changed and he bowed
+his head and made no reply; whereupon she said to him, "Ho, sir doctor, speak
+or doff thy dress." At this, he rose and said, "O Commander of the Faithful,
+bear witness against me that this damsel is more learned than I in medicine and
+what else, and that I cannot cope with her." And he put off his clothes and
+fled forth. Quoth the Caliph to Tawaddud, "Ree us thy riddle," and she replied,
+"O Commander of the Faithful, it is the button and the
+button-loop.[FN#414]"—Then she undertook the astronomers and said, "Let him of
+you who is an astronomer rise and come forward." So the astronomer advanced and
+sat down before her; and, when she saw him, she laughed and said, "Art thou the
+astronomer, the mathematician, the scribe?" "Yes," answered he. Quoth she, "Ask
+of what thou wilt; success resteth with Allah." So he said, "Tell me of the sun
+and its rising and setting." And she replied: "Know that the sun riseth from
+the shadows in the Eastern hemisphere and setteth in the shadows of the
+Western, and each hemisphere compriseth one hundred and eighty degrees. Quoth
+Allah Almighty, 'I swear by the Lord of the East and of the West.'[FN#415] And
+again, 'He it is who hath ordained the sun to shine by day, and the moon for a
+light by night; and hath appointed her station that ye might know the number of
+years and the computation of time.'[FN#416] The moon is Sultan of the night and
+the sun Sultan of the day, and they vie with each other in their courses and
+follow without overtaking each other. Quoth Almighty Allah, 'It is not
+expedient that the sun overtake the moon in her course; neither doth the night
+outstrip the day, but each of these luminaries moveth in a peculiar
+orbit.'"[FN#417] Q "When the day cometh, what becometh of the night; and what
+of the day, when the night cometh?" "He causeth the night to enter in upon the
+day, and He causeth the day to enter in upon the night."[FN#418] Q "Enumerate
+to me the mansions of the moon?"[FN#419] "They number eight-and-twenty, to wit,
+Sharatαn, Butayn, Surayα, Dabarαn, Hak'ah, Han'ah, Zirα'a, Nasrah, Tarf,
+Jabhah, Zubrah, Sarfah, 'Awwα, Simαk, Ghafar, Zubαnν, Iklνl, Kalb, Shaulah,
+Na'am, Baldah, Sa'ad al-Zαbih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a, Sa'ad al-Su'ϊd, Sa'ad
+al-Akhbiyah, Fargh the Former and Fargh the Latter; and Rishαa. They are
+disposed in the order of the letters of the Abjad-hawwaz or older
+alphabet,[FN#420] according to their numerical power, and in them are secret
+virtues which none knoweth save Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and the
+stablished in science. They are divided among the twelve Signs of the Zodiac,
+two Mansions and a third of a Mansion to each Sign. Thus Sharatan, Butayn and
+one-third of Surαyα, belong to Aries, the other two-thirds of Surαyα, Dabaran
+and two-thirds of Hak'ah to Taurus, the other third of Hak'ah, Han'ah and
+Zira'a to Gemini; Nasrah, Tarf and a third of Jabhah to Cancer, the other
+two-thirds of Jabhah, Zubrah and two-thirds of Sarfah to Leo; the other third
+of Sarfah, 'Awwα and Simαk to Virgo; Ghafar, Zubαni and one-third of Iklνl to
+Libra; the other two-thirds of Iklil, Kalb and two-thirds of Shaulah to
+Scorpio; the other third of Shaulah, Na'αim and Baldah to Sagittarius; Sa'ad
+al-Zαbih, Sa'ad al-Bul'a and one-third of Sa'ad al-Su'ud to Capricorn, the
+other two-thirds of Sa'ad al-Su'dd, Sa'ad al-Akhbiyah and two-thirds of Fargh
+the Former to Aquarius, the other third of Fargh the Former, Fargh the Latter
+and Rishαa to Pisces."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel
+enumerated the Mansions and distributed them into their Signs, the astronomer
+said, "Thou hast replied aright; now tell me of the planets and their natures,
+also of their sojourn in the Zodiacal Signs, their aspects, auspicious and
+sinister, their houses, ascendants and descendants. She answered, "The sitting
+is narrow for so large a matter, but I will say as much as I can. Now the
+planets number seven; which are, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars,
+Jupiter, Saturn. The Sun, hot-dry, sinister in conjunction, favourable in
+opposition, abideth thirty days in each Sign. The Moon, cold-moist and
+favourable of aspect, tarrieth in each Sign two days and a third of another
+day. Mercury is of a mixed nature, favourable in conjunction with the
+favourable, and sinister in conjunction with the sinister aspects, and abideth
+in each sign seventeen days and a half day. Venus, temperate and favourable,
+abideth in each sign five-and-twenty days. Mars is sinister and woneth in each
+sign ten months. Jupiter is auspicious and abideth in each sign a year. Saturn,
+cold-dry and sinister, tarrieth in each sign thirty months. The house of the
+Sun is Leo, her ascendant is Aries, and her descendant Aquarius. The Moon's
+house is Cancer, his ascendant Taurus, his descendant Scorpio and his sinister
+aspect Capricorn. Saturn's house is Capricorn-Aquarius, his ascendant Libra,
+his descendant Aries and his sinister aspects Cancer and Leo. Jupiter's house
+is Pisces-Sagittarius, his ascendant Cancer, his descendant Capricorn and his
+sinister aspects Gemini and Leo. Venus's house is Taurus, her ascendant Pisces,
+her descendant Libra, and her sinister aspects Aries and Scorpio. Mercury's
+house is Gemini-Virgo, his ascendant Virgo, his descendant Pisces, and his
+sinister aspect Taurus. Mars' house is Aries-Scorpio, his ascendant Capricorn,
+his descendant Cancer and his sinister aspect Libra." Now when the astronomer
+saw her acuteness and comprehensive learning and heard her fair answers, he
+bethought him for a sleight to confound her before the Commander of the
+Faithful, and said to her, "O damsel, tell me, will rain fall this month?" At
+this she bowed her head and pondered so long, that the Caliph thought her at a
+loss for an answer and the astronomer said to her, "Why dost thou not speak?"
+Quoth she, "I will not speak except the Commander of the Faithful give me
+leave." So the Caliph laughed and said, "How so?" Cried she "I would have thee
+give me a sword, that I may strike off his head, for he is an Infidel, an
+Agnostic, an Atheist.[FN#421]" At this, loud laughed the Caliph and those about
+him laughed, and she continued "O astronomer, there are five things that none
+knoweth save Allah Almighty;" and she repeated the verset; "'Aye! Allah!—with
+Him is the knowledge of the hour and He causeth the rain to descend at His own
+appointed time —and He knoweth what is in the wombs of females—but no soul
+knoweth what it shall have gotten on the morrow; neither wotteth any soul in
+what land it shall die: Verily Allah is knowing, informed of all.'"[FN#422]
+Quoth the astronomer, "Thou hast said well, and I, by Allah, thought only to
+try thee." Rejoined she, "Know that the almanack-makers have certain signs and
+tokens, referring to the planets and constellations relative to the coming in
+of the year; and folk have learned something by experience." Q "What be that?"
+"Each day hath a planet that ruleth it: so if the first day in the year fall on
+First Day (Sunday) that day is the Sun's and this portendeth (though Allah
+alone is All-knowing!) oppression of kings and sultans and governors and much
+miasma and lack of rain; and that people will be in great tumult and the
+grain-crop will be good, except lentils, which will perish, and the vines will
+rot and flax will be dear and wheat cheap from the beginning of TÏŠbah to the
+end of Barmahαt.[FN#423] And, in this year there will be much fighting among
+kings, and there shall be great plenty of good in this year, but Allah is
+All-knowing!" Q "What if the first day fall on Second Day (Monday)?" "That day
+belongeth to the Moon and portendeth righteousness in administrators and
+officials and that it will be a year of much rain and grain-crops will be good,
+but linseed will decay and wheat will be cheap in the month Kiyαhk;[FN#424]
+also the plague will rage and the sheep and goats will die, grapes will be
+plentiful and honey scarce and cotton cheap; and Allah is omniscient!"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel ended her
+notice of Second Day the astronomer said to her "Now tell me what will occur if
+New Year's day fall on Third Day (Tuesday)." She replied, "That is Mars' day
+and portendeth death of great men and much destruction and deluge of blood and
+dearness of grain; lack of rain and scarcity of fish, which will anon be in
+excess and anon fail. Lentils and honey in this year will be cheap and linseed
+dear and only barley will thrive, to the exception of all other cereals: great
+will be the fighting among kings and death will be in the blood and there will
+be much mortality among asses." Q "What if it fall on Fourth Day?" "That is
+Mercury's day and portendeth great tumult among the folk and much enmity and,
+though rains be moderate, rotting of some of the green crops; also that there
+will be sore mortality among cattle and young children and much fighting by
+sea; that wheat will be dear from BarmÏŠdah to Misra[FN#425] and other grains
+cheap; thunder and lightning will abound and honey will be dear, palm- trees
+will thrive and bear abundantly and flax and cotton will be plentiful, while
+radishes and onions will be dear; but Allah is All-knowing!" Q "What if it fall
+on Fifth Day?" "That is Jupiter's day and portendeth equity in Wazirs and
+righteousness in Kazis and Fakirs and the Ministers of religion; and that good
+will be plentiful: rains and fruit and trees and grain will abound, and flax,
+cotton, honey, grapes and fish be cheap; and Allah is Omniscient!" Q "What if
+it fall on Meeting Day or Friday?" "That day appertaineth to Venus and
+portendeth oppression in the chiefs of the Jinn and talk of forgery and
+back-biting; there will be much dew; the autumn crops will be good in the land
+and there will be cheapness in one town and not in another: ungraciousness will
+be rife by land and sea; linseed will be dear, also wheat, in Hαtϊr, but cheap
+in Amshνr; honey will be dear and grapes and water-melons will rot; and Allah
+is Omniscient!" Q "What if it fall on the Sabbath (Saturday)?" "That is
+Saturn's day and portendeth the preferment of slaves and Greeks and those in
+whom there is no good, neither in their neighbourhood; there will be great
+drought and dearth; clouds will abound and death will be rife among the sons of
+Adam and woe to the people of Egypt and Syria from the oppression of the Sultan
+and failure of blessing upon the green crops and rotting of grain; and Allah is
+All-knowing!"[FN#426] Now with this, the astronomer hung his head very low, and
+she said to him, "O astronomer, I will ask thee one question, which if thou
+answer not, I will take thy clothes." "Ask," replied he. Quoth she, "Where is
+Saturn's dwelling-place?"; and he answered, "In the seventh heaven." Q "And
+that of Jupiter?" "In the sixth heaven." Q "And that of Mars?" "In the fifth
+heaven." Q "And that of the Sun?" "In the fourth heaven." Q "And that of
+Venus?" "In the third heaven." Q "And that of Mercury?" "In the second heaven."
+Q "And that of the Moon?" "In the first heaven." Quoth she, "Well answered; but
+I have one more question to ask thee;" and quoth he, "Ask!" Accordingly she
+said, "Now tell me concerning the stars, into how many parts are they divided."
+But he was silent and answered nothing; and she cried to him, "Put off thy
+clothes." So he doffed them and she took them; after which the Caliph said to
+her, "Tell us the answer to thy question." She replied: "O Commander of the
+Faithful, the stars are divided into three parts, whereof one-third is hung in
+the sky of the earth,[FN#427] as it were lamps, to give light to the earth, and
+a part is used to shoot the demons withal, when they draw near by stealth to
+listen to the talk in heaven. Quoth Allah Almighty, 'Verily, we have dight the
+sky of the earth with the adornment of the stars; and have appointed them for
+projectiles against every rebellious Satan.'[FN#428] And the third part is hung
+in air to illuminate the seas and give light to what is therein." Quoth the
+astronomer, "I have one more question to ask, which if she answer, I will avow
+myself beaten." "Say on," answered she.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the astronomer said,
+"Now tell me what four contraries are based upon other four contraries?"
+Replied she, "The four qualities of Caloric and Frigoric, Humidity and Siccity;
+for of heat Allah created fire, whose nature is hot-dry; of dryness, earth,
+which is cold-dry; of cold, water which is cold-wet; of moisture, air, which is
+hot-wet. Moreover, He created twelve Signs of the Zodiac, Aries, Taurus,
+Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius
+and Pisces; and appointed them of the four humours; three fiery, Aries, Leo,
+and Sagittarius; three earthly, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; three airy,
+Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; and three watery, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces."
+Hereupon the astronomer rose, and saying, "Bear witness against me that she is
+more learned than I," away he went beaten. Then quoth the Caliph, "Where is the
+philosopher[FN#429]?"; at which one rose hastily and came forward and said to
+Tawaddud, "What is Time and what be its limits, and its days, and what things
+bringeth it?" Replied she, "Time is a term applied to the hours of the night
+and day, which are but the measures of the courses of the sun and moon in their
+several heavens, even as Allah Almighty telleth us when he saith, 'A sign to
+them also is the Night, from which we strip off the day, and lo! they are
+plunged in darkness, and the Sun runneth to her place of rest; this is the
+ordinance of the Sublime, the All-knowing.'"[FN#430] Q "How cometh unbelief to
+the son of Adam?" "It is reported of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!) that he said, 'Unbelief in a man runneth as the blood runneth in his
+veins, when he revileth the world and Time and night and the Hour.' And again,
+'Let none of you revile Time, for Time is God; neither revile the world, for
+she saith, 'May Allah not aid him who revileth me!;' neither revile the hour,
+for, 'The Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt thereof';[FN#431] neither
+revile the earth, for it is a portent, according to the saying of the Most
+High, 'Out of the ground have we created you, and into the same will we cause
+you to return, and we will bring you forth yet thence another time.'"[FN#432] Q
+"What are the five that ate and drank, yet came not out of loins nor womb?"
+"Adam and Simeon[FN#433] and Salih's she-camel[FN#434] and Ishmael's ram and
+the bird that Abu Bakr the Truth-teller saw in the cave.[FN#435]" Q "Tell me of
+five that are in Paradise and are neither humans, Jinns nor angels?" "Jacob's
+wolf and the Seven Sleepers' dog and Esdras's ass and Salih's camel and Duldul
+the mule of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace!)." Q "What man
+prayed a prayer neither on earth nor in heaven?" "Solomon, when he prayed on
+his carpet, borne by the wind." Q "Ree me this riddle:—A man once looked at a
+handmaid during dawn-prayer, and she was unlawful to him; but, at noonday she
+became lawful to him: by mid-afternoon,, she was again unlawful, but at
+sundown, she was lawful to him: at supper time she was a third time unlawful,
+but by daybreak, she became once more lawful to him." "This was a man who
+looked at another's slave-girl in the morning, and she was then unlawful to
+him; but at midday he bought her, and she became lawful to him: at
+mid-afternoon he freed her, and she became unlawful to him; but at sundown he
+married her and she was again lawful to him. At nightfall he divorced her and
+she was then a third time unlawful to him; but, next morning at daybreak, he
+took her back, and she became once more lawful to him." Q "Tell me what tomb
+went about with him that lay buried therein?" "Jonah's whale, when it had
+swallowed him." Q "What spot of lowland is it, upon which the sun shone once,
+but will never again shine till Judgment-Day?" "The bottom of the Red Sea, when
+Moses smote it with his staff, and the sea clave asunder in twelve places,
+according to the number of the tribes;[FN#436] then the sun shone on the bottom
+and will do so nevermore until Judgment-Day." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the philosopher then
+addressed the damsel saying, "What was the first skirt that trailed over the
+face of the earth?" She replied, "That of Hagar, out of shame before Sarah; and
+it became a custom among the Arabs." Q "What is that which breatheth without
+life?" "Quoth Almighty Allah, 'By the morning when it breatheth!'"[FN#437] Q
+"Ree me this riddle:—A number of pigeons came to a high tree and lighted, some
+on the tree and others under it. Said those on the tree to those on the ground,
+'If one of you come up to us, ye will be a third part of us all in number; and
+if one of us descend to you, we shall be like unto you in number,' How many
+pigeons were there in all?" "Twelve: seven alighted on the tree and five
+beneath; and, if one go up, those above would be eight to four; and, if one go
+down, both would be six and Allah is all-knowing."[FN#438] With this the
+philosopher put off his clothes and fled: whereupon the next contest took
+place, for she turned to the Olema present and said, "Which of you is the
+rhetorician that can discourse of all arts and sciences?" There came forward a
+sage hight Ibrahim bin Siyyαr and said to her, "Think me not like the rest."
+Quoth she, "It is the more assured to me that thou wilt be beaten, for that
+thou art a boaster; and Allah will help me to victory over thee, that I may
+strip thee of thy clothes. So, if thou sentest one to fetch thee wherewithal to
+cover thyself, 'twould be well for thee." Cried he, "By Allah, I will assuredly
+conquer thee and make thee a byword among the peoples, generation after
+generation!" Rejoined she, "Do penance in advance for thy broken oath." Then he
+asked, "What five things did Allah create before he made man?"; and she
+answered, "Water and earth and light and darkness and the fruits of the earth."
+Q "What did Allah create with the hand of omnipotence?" "The 'Arsh, throne of
+God or the empyreal heaven and the tree Tϊbα[FN#439] and Adam and the garden of
+Eden; these Allah created with the hand of His omnipotence; but to all other
+created things He said, 'Be,'—and they were." Q "Who is thy father in
+Al-Islam?" "Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!" Q "Who was the father in
+Al-Islam of Mohammed?" "Abraham, the Friend of God." Q "What is the Faith of
+Al-Islam?" "The professing that there is no god but the God and that Mohammed
+is the apostle of God." Q "What is thy first and thy last?" "My first is man's
+seed in the shape of foul water and my last filthy carrion: the first of me is
+dust and the last of me is dust. Quoth the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Of dust was I created, and man did I become, * In question ever<br/>
+
+     ready and aye fluent in reply,<br/>
+
+Then, I unto the dust return'd, became of it again, * For that,<br/>
+
+     in very deed, of dust at first create was I.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He continued, "What thing was it, whose first state was wood and its last
+life?" "Moses' staff,[FN#440] when he cast it on the valley-ground and it
+became, by permission of Allah, a writhing serpent." Q "What is the meaning of
+the word of the Lord, 'And I have other occasion for it?'"[FN#441] "He, Moses,
+was wont to plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and
+shade him from the heat and from the cold. Moreover, it would carry him when he
+was weary, and whilst he slept, guard his sheep from lions and wild beasts." Q
+"What woman was born of a man alone and what man of a woman alone?" "Eve of
+Adam and Jesus of Mary.[FN#442]" Q "Tell me of the four fires, what fire eateth
+and drinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh but eateth
+not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?" "The fire of the world eateth
+but drinketh not; the fire which eateth and drinketh is Hell-fire; the fire of
+the sun drinketh but eateth not, and the fire of the moon neither eateth nor
+drinketh." Q "Which is the open door and which the shut?" "The Traditional
+Ordinances are the open door, the Koranic the shut door." Q "Of what doth the
+poet speak, when he saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, * When he<br/>
+
+     eateth of that meat, of words he waxeth fain:<br/>
+
+He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; * And<br/>
+
+     returneth to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.<br/>
+
+No living wight is he, yet, in honour he abides; * Nor dead yet<br/>
+
+     he deserveth that Allah him assain.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She replied, "The reed-pen."[FN#443] Quoth he "What doth the poet refer to in
+these verses,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; * Rosy red ears<br/>
+
+     and mouth wide open lies;<br/>
+
+It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks * And, if you price it,<br/>
+
+     half a dirham buys.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She replied, "The ink-case." Quoth he, "And in these,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore * To sapient, reverend,<br/>
+
+     clever counsellor:<br/>
+
+Tell me what was't you saw that bird bring forth * When wandering<br/>
+
+     Arab-land and Ajam o'er?<br/>
+
+No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, * Nor down nor any<br/>
+
+     feathers e'er it wore.<br/>
+
+'Tis eaten cooked and eke 'tis eaten cold; * 'Tis eaten buried<br/>
+
+     'neath the flames that roar:<br/>
+
+It showeth twofold colours, silver white * And yellow brighter<br/>
+
+     than pure golden ore:<br/>
+
+'Tis not seen living or we count it dead: * So ree my riddle rich<br/>
+
+     in marvel-store!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She replied, "Thou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg worth a mite."
+Q "And this?,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, * With a motion so<br/>
+
+     pleasant, now fast and now slow;<br/>
+
+And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; * 'Your lover<br/>
+
+     friend?'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"No friend, my fan;"[FN#444] said she. Q "How many words did Allah speak to
+Moses?" "It is related of the Apostle that he said, 'God spoke to Moses fifteen
+hundred and fifteen words.'" Q "Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the
+Lord of the Worlds?" "The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say,
+'We come obedient to Thy command.'"[FN#445]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel made the
+answer, the philosopher continued, "Tell me of Adam and how he was first
+created?" and she said, "Allah created Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam
+and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a
+fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water
+He created by His Omnipotence according to His saying (exalted be His name!),
+'His commandment when He willeth aught, is but to say, BE,—and IT IS.'"[FN#446]
+Q "What is meant by the poet in these verses,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'And eater lacking mouth and even maw; * Yet trees and beasts to<br/>
+
+     it are daily bread:<br/>
+
+Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, * But give it water<br/>
+
+     and you do it dead?'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"This," quoth she, "is Fire." "And in these;" he asked,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, * Who through the<br/>
+
+     livelong night embracing lie:<br/>
+
+They guard the folk from all calamities, * But with the rising<br/>
+
+     sun apart they fly?"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She answered, "The leaves of a door." Quoth he, "Tell me of the gates of
+Gehenna?" Quoth she, "They are seven in number and their names are comprised in
+these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Jahannam, next Lazα, and third Hatνm; * Then count Sa'νr and<br/>
+
+     Sakar eke, five-fold,<br/>
+
+Sixth comes Jahνm and Hαwiyah the seventh; * Here are seven Hells<br/>
+
+     in four lines briefly told.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quoth he "To what doth the poet refer when he saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'She wears a pair of ringlets long let down * Behind her, as she<br/>
+
+     comes and goes at speed,<br/>
+
+And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds * A tear, for ne'er<br/>
+
+     a drop it hath at need;<br/>
+
+That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; * Yet robes<br/>
+
+     mankind in every-mode of weed?'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quoth she, "A needle." Q "What is the length and what the breadth of the bridge
+Al-Sirαt?" "Its length is three thousand years' journey, a thousand in descent
+and a thousand in ascent and a thousand level: it is sharper than a sword and
+finer than a hair."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had
+described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said, "Inform me how many
+intercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for each soul?"[FN#447] "Three." Q
+"Was Abu Bakr the first who embraced Al-Islam?" "Yes." Q "Yet Ali became a
+Moslem before him?" "Ali came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years
+old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the way of salvation in his tender
+youth, so that he never prostrated himself to idols." Quoth he, "Tell me which
+is the more excellent, Ali or Abbαs?" Now she knew that, in propounding this
+question, Ibrahim was laying a trap for her; for if she said, "Ali is more
+excellent than Abbas," she would lack excuse with the Caliph for undervaluing
+his ancestor; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, then paling, and
+lastly said, "Thou askest me of two excellent men, each having his own
+excellence. Let us return to what we were about." When the Caliph Harun
+al-Rashid heard her, he stood up and said, "Thou hast spoken well, by the Lord
+of the Ka'abah, O Tawaddud!" Then quoth Ibrahim the rhetorician, "What meaneth
+the poet when he saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, * Likest a lance<br/>
+
+     whereon no head we scan:<br/>
+
+And all the lieges find it work them weal, * Eaten of afternoon<br/>
+
+     in Ramazan.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She answered, "The sugar-cane;" and he said, "Tell me of many things." Asked
+she, "What are they?" and he said, "What is sweeter than honey; what is sharper
+than the sword; what is swifter than poison; what is the delight of a moment
+and what the contentment of three days; what is the pleasantest of days; what
+is the joy of a week; what is that debt the worst debtor denieth not; what is
+the prison of the tomb; what is the joy of the heart; what is the snare of the
+soul; what is death-in-life; what is the disease that may not be healed; what
+is the shame that may not be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in
+cultivated fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and
+hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent beasts?" Quoth
+she, "Hear what I shall say in reply; then put off thy clothes, that I may
+explain to thee;" and the Caliph said, "Expound, and he shall doff his
+clothes." So she said, "Now that, which is sweeter than honey, is the love of
+pious children to their two parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is
+the tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the Envier's eye; the
+delight of a moment is carnal copulation and the contentment of three days is
+the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of days is that of profit on
+merchandise; the joy of a week is the bride; the debt, which the worst debtor
+denieth not, is death; the prison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of the
+heart is a woman obedient to her husband (and it is said also that, when
+fleshmeat descendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the snare of the
+soul is a disobedient slave; death-in-life is poverty; the disease that may not
+be healed is an ill-nature, and the shame that may not be wiped away is an ill
+daughter; lastly, the beast that woneth not in cultivated fields, but lodgeth
+in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath in him somewhat of the
+make of seven strong and violent beasts, is the locust, whose head is as the
+head of a horse, its neck as the neck of the bull, its wings as the wings of
+the vulture, its feet as the feet of the camel, its tail as the tail of the
+serpent, its belly as the belly of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of
+the gazelle." The Caliph was astounded at her quickness and understanding, and
+said to the rhetorician, "Doff thy clothes." So he rose up and cried, "I call
+all who are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned than I
+and every other learned man." And he put off his clothes and gave them to her,
+saying, "Take them and may Allah not bless them to thee!" So the Caliph ordered
+him fresh clothes and said, "O Tawaddud, there is one thing left of that for
+which thou didst engage, namely, chess." And he sent for experts of chess and
+cards[FN#448] and trictrac. The chess-player sat down before her, and they set
+the pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she speedily
+countered,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel was
+playing chess with the expert in presence of the Commander of the Faithful,
+Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made was speedily countered by her, till she
+beat him and he found himself checkmated. Quoth he, "I did but lead thee on,
+that thou mightest think thyself skilful: but set up again, and thou shalt
+see." So they placed the pieces a second time, when he said in himself, "Open
+thine eyes or she will beat thee." And he fell to moving no piece, save after
+calculation, and ceased not to play, till she said, "Thy King is
+dead!—Checkmate." When he saw this he was confounded at her quickness and
+understanding; but she laughed and said, "O professor, I will make a wager with
+thee on this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand castle
+and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my clothes, and if I beat thee,
+I will take thy clothes." Replied he, "I agree to this;" and they replaced the
+pieces, she removing queen, castle and knight.[FN#449] Then said she, "Move, O
+master." So he moved, saying to himself, "I cannot but beat her, with such
+odds," and planned a combination; but, behold, she moved on, little by little,
+till she made one of her pawns[FN#450] a queen and pushing up to him pawns and
+other pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted him to
+take it. Accordingly, he took it and she said to him, "The measure is meted and
+the loads equally balanced.[FN#451] Eat till thou are over-full; naught shall
+be thy ruin, O son of Adam, save thy greed. Knowest thou not that I did but
+tempt thee, that I might finesse thee? See: this is check-mate!" adding, "So
+doff off thy clothes." Quoth he, "Leave me my bag-trousers, so Allah repay
+thee;" and he swore by Allah that he would contend with none, so long as
+Tawaddud abode in the realm of Baghdad. Then he stripped off his clothes and
+gave them to her and went away. Thereupon came the backgammon-player, and she
+said to him, "If I beat thee, this day, what wilt thou give me?" Quoth he, "I
+will give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with gold, and
+ten suits of velvet and a thousand gold pieces; and if I beat thee, I ask
+nothing but that thou write me an acknowledgment of my victory." Quoth she, "To
+it, then, and do thy best." So they played, and he lost and went away,
+chattering in Frankish jargon and saying, "By the bounty of the Commander of
+the Faithful, there is not her like in all the regions of the world!" Then the
+Caliph summoned players on instruments of music and asked her, "Dost thou know
+aught of music?"; when she answered, "Even so!" He bade bring a worn lute,
+polished by use, whose owner forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and
+of which quoth one, describing it
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree * Struck root deep<br/>
+
+     down, and raised head a-sky:<br/>
+
+The birds o'ersang it when green its wood; * And the Fair<br/>
+
+     o'ersing now the wood is dry."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of
+saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out and behold on it
+was graven,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, * whose swift sweet<br/>
+
+     lays at feast men's hearts invade:<br/>
+
+She sings; it follows on her song, as though * The<br/>
+
+     Bulbuls[FN#452] taught her all the modes she played."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it, bent to it with
+the bending of a mother who suckleth her child; then she preluded in twelve
+different modes, till the whole assembly was agitated with delight, like a
+waving sea, and she sang the following,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; * My heart<br/>
+
+     shall love you aye, by youth of you!<br/>
+
+Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, * Pining and<br/>
+
+     yearning for the troth of you."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, "Allah bless thee and be merciful to him
+who taught thee!": whereupon she rose and kissed the ground before him. Then he
+sent for money and paid her master Abu al-Husn an hundred thousand gold pieces
+to her price; after which he said to her, "O Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!"
+Replied she, "I ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me." "'Tis
+well," answered the Caliph and restored her to her master and gave her five
+thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he appointed Abu al-Husn one of his
+cup-companions for a permanence,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph gave the
+damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her to her master whom he
+appointed one of his cup-companions for a permanence and assigned him a monthly
+stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he should live; and he abode with the
+damsel Tawaddud in all solace and delight of life. Marvel then, O King, at the
+eloquence of this damsel and the hugeness of her learning and understanding and
+her perfect excellence in all branches of art and science; and consider the
+generosity of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that he gave
+her master this money and said to her, "Ask a boon of me;" and she besought him
+to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave her five
+thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his boon-companions. Where is
+such generosity to be found after the Abbaside Caliphs?—May Allah Almighty have
+mercy upon them, one and all! And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap56"></a>THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN.</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is related, O auspicious King, that one of the olden monarchs was once
+minded to ride out in state with the Officers of his realm and the Grandees of
+his retinue and display to the folk the marvels of his magnificence. So he
+ordered his Lords and Emirs equip them therefor and commanded his keeper of the
+wardrobe to bring him of the richest of raiment, such as befitted the King in
+his state; and he bade them bring his steeds[FN#453] of the finest breeds and
+pedigrees every man heeds; which being done, he chose out of the raiment what
+rejoiced him most and of the horses that which he deemed best; and, donning the
+clothes, together with a collar set with margarites and rubies and all manner
+jewels, mounted and set forth in state, making his destrier prance and curvet
+among his troops and glorying in his pride and despotic power. And Iblis came
+to him and, laying his hand upon his nose, blew into his nostrils the breath of
+hauteur and conceit, so that he magnified and glorified himself and said in his
+heart, "Who among men is like unto me?" And he became so puffed up with
+arrogance and self-sufficiency, and so taken up with the thought of his own
+splendour and magnificence, that he would not vouchsafe a glance to any man.
+Presently, there stood before him one clad in tattered clothes and saluted him,
+but he returned not his salam; whereupon the stranger laid hold of his horse's
+bridle. "Lift thy hand," cried the King, "thou knowest not whose bridle-rein it
+is whereof thou takest hold." Quoth the other, I have a need of thee." Quoth
+the King, "Wait till I alight and then name thy need." Rejoined the stranger,
+"It is a secret and I will not tell it but in thine ear." So the King bowed his
+head to him and he said, "I am the Angel of Death and I purpose to take thy
+soul." Replied the King, "Have patience with me a little, whilst I return to my
+house and take leave of my people and children and neighbours and wife." "By no
+means so," answered the Angel; "thou shalt never return nor look on them again,
+for the fated term of thy life is past." So saying, he took the soul of the
+King (who fell off his horse's back dead) and departed thence. Presently the
+Death Angel met a devout man, of whom Almighty Allah had accepted, and saluted
+him. He returned the salute, and the Angel said to him, "O pious man, I have a
+need of thee which must be kept secret." "Tell it in my ear," quoth the
+devotee; and quoth the other, "I am the Angel of Death." Replied the man,
+"Welcome to thee! and praised be Allah for thy coming! I am aweary of awaiting
+thine arrival; for indeed long hath been thine absence from the lover which
+longeth for thee." Said the Angel, "If thou have any business, make an end of
+it;" but the other answered, saying, "There is nothing so urgent to me as the
+meeting with my Lord, to whom be honour and glory!" And the Angel said "How
+wouldst thou fain have me take thy soul? I am bidden to take it as thou willest
+and choosest." He replied, "Tarry till I make the Wuzu-ablution and pray; and,
+when I prostrate myself, then take my soul while my body is on the
+ground."[FN#454] Quoth the Angel, "Verily, my Lord (be He extolled and
+exalted!) commanded me not to take thy soul but with thy consent and as thou
+shouldst wish; so I will do thy will." Then the devout man made the minor
+ablution[FN#455] and prayed: and the Angel of Death took his soul in the act of
+prostration and Almighty Allah transported it to the place of mercy and
+acceptance and forgiveness. And they tell another tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap57"></a>THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING.</h3>
+
+<p>
+A certain King had heaped up coin beyond count and gathered store of all
+precious things, which Allah the Most Highest hath created. So, in order that
+he might take his pleasure whenas he should find leisure to enjoy all this
+abounding wealth he had collected, he built him a palace wide and lofty such as
+befitteth and beseemeth Kings; and set thereto strong doors and appointed, for
+its service and its guard, servants and soldiers and doorkeepers to watch and
+ward. One day, he bade the cooks dress him somewhat of the goodliest of food
+and assembled his household and retainers and boon-companions and servants to
+eat with him, and partake of his bounty. Then he sat down upon the sofa of his
+kingship and dominion; and, propping his elbow upon the cushion, addressed
+himself, saying, "O soul, thou hast gathered together all the wealth of the
+world; so now take thy leisure therein and eat of this good at thine ease, in
+long life and prosperity ever rife!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
+and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that hardly had the King made
+an end of saying to himself, "Eat of this weal at thine ease, in long life and
+prosperity ever rife!" when a man clad in tattered raiment, with an asker's
+wallet hanging at his neck, as he were one who came to beg food, knocked with
+the door-ring a knock so loud and terrible that the whole palace shook as with
+quake of earth and the King's throne trembled. The servants were affrighted and
+rushed to the door, and when they saw the man who had knocked they cried out at
+him, saying, "Woe to thee! what manner of unmannerly fashion be this? Wait till
+the King eateth and we will then give thee of what is left." Quoth he, "Tell
+your lord to come out and speak with me, for I have of him a pressing need and
+a matter to heed." They cried, "Away, fool! who art thou that we should bid our
+lord come forth to thee?" But he said, "Tell him of this." So they went in and
+told the King, who said, "Did ye not rebuke him and draw upon him and threaten
+him!" Now as he spoke, behold, there came another knock at the gate, louder
+than the first knock, whereupon the servants sprang at the stranger with staves
+and weapons, to fall upon him and slay him; but he shouted at them, saying,
+"Bide in your steads, for I am the Angel of Death." Hereat their hearts quaked
+and their wits forsook them; their understandings were in confusion, their
+side-muscles quivered in perturbation and their limbs lost the power of motion.
+Then said the King to them, "Tell him to take a substitute[FN#456] in my place
+and one to relieve me in this case." But the Angel answered, saying, "I will
+take no substitute, and I come not but on thine account, to cause separation
+between thee and the goods thou hast gathered together and the riches thou hast
+heaped up and entreasured." When the King heard this, he wept and groaned,
+saying, "Allah curse the treasure which hath deluded and undone me and diverted
+me from the service of my Lord! I deemed it would profit me, but to-day it is a
+regret for me and a calamity to me, and behold, I go forth, empty-handed of it,
+and leave it to my foes." Thereupon Allah caused the Treasure to speak out and
+it said, "Wherefore cursest thou me?[FN#457] Curse thyself, for Allah created
+both me and eke thyself of the dust and appointed me to be in thine hand, that
+thou mightest provide thee with me a viaticum for the next world and give alms
+with me to the poor and the needy and the sick; and build mosques and hospices
+and bridges and aqueducts, so might I be an aidance unto thee in the world to
+come. But thou didst garner me and hoard me up and on thine own vanities
+bestowedst me, neither gavest thou thanks for me, as was due, but wast
+ungrateful to me; and now thou must leave me to thy foes and thou hast naught
+save thy regretting and thy repenting. But what is my sin, that thou shouldest
+revile me?" Then the Angel of Death took the King's soul as he sat on his
+throne before he ate of the food, and he fell down dead. Quoth Allah Almighty,
+"While they were rejoicing for that which had been given them, we suddenly laid
+hold on them; and, behold, they were seized with despair."[FN#458] And they
+tell another tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap58"></a>THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was a puissant despot among the Kings of the Banϊ Isrανl, who sat one day
+upon the throne of his kingship, when he saw come in to him, by the gate of the
+hall, a man of forbidding aspect and horrible presence. The King was affrighted
+at his sudden intrusion and his look terrified him; so he sprang up before him
+and said, "Who art thou, O man? Who gave thee leave to come in to me and who
+invited thee to enter my house?" Quoth the stranger, "Verily the Lord of the
+House sent me to thee, nor can any doorkeeper exclude me, nor need I leave to
+come in to Kings; for I reck not of a Sultan's majesty neither of the multitude
+of his guards. I am he from whom no tyrant is at rest, nor can any man escape
+from my grasp: I am the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies."
+Now when the King heard this a palsy crept over him[FN#459] and he fell on his
+face in a swoon; but presently coming to himself, he asked, "Art thou then the
+Angel of Death?"; and the stranger answered, "Yes." "I conjure thee, by Allah,"
+quoth the King, "grant me one single day's respite, that I may pray pardon of
+my sins and ask absolution of my Lord and restore to their rightful owners the
+monies which are in my treasures, so I may not be burdened with the woe of a
+reckoning nor with the misery of punishment therefor." Replied the Angel,
+"Well-away! well-away! this may be in no way."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Death-messenger
+to the King, "Well-away, well-away! this may be in no way. How can I grant thee
+a reprieve when the days of thy life are counted and thy breaths numbered and
+thy moments fixed and written?" "Grant me an hour," asked the King; but the
+Angel answered saying, "The hour was in the account and hath sped, and thou
+unheeding aught; and hath fled, and thou taking no thought: and now thy
+breathings are accomplished, and there remaineth to thee but one breath." Quoth
+the King, "Who will be with me when I am transported to my tomb?" Quoth the
+Angel, "Naught will be with thee but thy works good or evil." "I have no
+works," said the King; and the Angel, "Doubtless thy long home will be in
+hell-fire and thy doom the wrath of the Almighty." Then he seized the soul of
+the King, and he fell off his throne and dropped on the earth dead. And there
+arose a mighty weeping and wailing and clamour of keening for him among the
+people of his court, and had they known that to which he went of the wrath of
+his Lord, their weeping for him had been sorer and their wailing louder and
+more abounding. And a story is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap59"></a>ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN[FN#460] AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK.</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is related that Iskandar Zu al-Karnayn[FN#461] once came, in his
+journeyings, upon a tribe of small folk, who owned naught of the weals of the
+world and who dug their graves over against the doors of their houses and were
+wont at all times to visit them and sweep the earth from them and keep them
+clean and pray at them and worship Almighty Allah at them; and they had no meat
+save grasses and the growth of the ground. So Iskandar sent a man to summon
+their King, but he refused to come, saying, "I have no need of him." Thereupon
+Iskandar went to him and said, "How is it with you and what manner of men are
+ye?; for I see with you forsooth naught of gold or silver, nor find I with you
+aught of the weals of the world." Answered the King, "None hath his fill of the
+weals of the world." Iskandar then asked "Why do you dig your graves before
+your house-doors?"; and the King answered, "That they may be the prospective of
+our eye-glances; so we may look on them and ever renew talk and thought of
+death, neither forget the world to come; and on this wise the love of the world
+be banished from our hearts and we be not thereby distracted from the service
+of our Lord, the Almighty." Quoth Iskandar, "Why do ye eat grasses?"; and the
+other replied, "Because we abhor to make our bellies the tombs of animals and
+because the pleasure of eating outstrippeth not the gullet." Then putting forth
+his hand he brought out a skull of a son of Adam and, laying it before
+Iskandar, said, "O Zu al-Karnayn, Lord of the Two Horns, knowest thou who owned
+this skull?" Quoth he, "Nay;" and quoth the other, "He who owned this skull was
+a King of the Kings of the world, who dealt tyrannously with his subjects,
+specially wronging the weak and wasting his time in heaping up the rubbish of
+this world, till Allah took his sprite and made the fire his abiding-site; and
+this is his head." He then put forth his hand and produced another skull and,
+laying it before Iskandar, said to him, "Knowest thou this?" "No," answered the
+conqueror; and the other rejoined, "This is the skull of another King, who
+dealt justly by his lieges and was kindly solicitous for the folk of his realm
+and his dominions, till Allah took his soul and lodged him in His Garden and
+made high his degree in Heaven." Then laying his hands on Iskandar's head he
+said, "Would I knew which of these two art thou." Whereupon Iskandar wept with
+sore weeping and straining the King to his bosom cried, "If thou be minded to
+company with me, I will commit to thee as Wazir the government of my affairs
+and share with thee my kingdom." Cried the other, "Well-away, well-away! I have
+no mind to this." "And why so?" asked Iskandar, and the King answered, "Because
+all men are thy foes by reason of the wealth and the worlds thou hast won:
+while all men are my true friends, because of my contentment and pauperdom, for
+that I possess nothing, neither covet aught of the goods of life; I have no
+desire to them nor wish for them, neither reck I aught save contentment." So
+Iskandar pressed him to his breast and kissed him between the eyes and went his
+way.[FN#462] And among the tales they tell is one concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap60"></a>THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN.[FN#463]</h3>
+
+<p>
+It is told of Anushirwan, the Just King, that once upon a time he feigned
+himself sick, and bade his stewards and intendants go round about the provinces
+of his empire and the quarters of his dominion and seek him out a mud-brick
+thrown away from some ruined village, that he might use it as medicine,
+informing his intimates that the leaches had prescribed this to him. So they
+went the round of the provinces of his reign and of all the lands under his
+sway and said to him on return, "In all the realm we have found nor ruined site
+nor castaway mud-brick." At this Anushirwan rejoiced and rendered thanks to the
+Lord, saying, "I was but minded to try my kingdom and prove mine empire, that I
+might know if any place therein remained ruined and deserted, so I might
+rebuild and repeople it; but, since there be no place in it but is inhabited,
+the affairs of the reign are best-conditioned and its ordinance is excellent;
+and its populousness[FN#464] hath reached the pitch of perfection."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high officials
+returned and reported, "We have found in the empire nor ruined site nor rotten
+brick," the Just King thanked his God and said, "Verily the affairs of the
+realm are best-conditioned and its ordinance is excellent and its populousness
+hath reached the pink of perfection." And ken thou, O King, continued
+Shahrazad, that these olden Kings strave not and toiled not for the peopling of
+their possessions, but because they knew that the more populous a country is,
+the more abundant is that which is desired therein; and because they wist the
+saying of the wise and the learned to be true without other view, namely,
+"Religion dependeth on the King, the King on the troops, the troops on the
+treasury, the treasury on the populousness of the country and its prosperity on
+the justice done to the lieges." Wherefore they upheld no one in tyranny or
+oppression; neither suffered their dependants and suite to work injustice,
+knowing that kingdoms are not established upon tyranny, but that cities and
+places fall into ruin when oppressors are set as rulers over them, and their
+inhabitants disperse and flee to other governments; whereby ruin falleth upon
+the realm, the imports fail, the treasuries become empty and the pleasant lives
+of the subjects are perturbed; for that they love not a tyrant and cease not to
+offer up successive prayers against him; so that the King hath no ease of his
+kingdom, and the vicissitudes of fortune speedily bring him to destruction. And
+they tell a tale concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap61"></a>THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Among the Children of Israel one of the Kazis had a wife of surpassing beauty,
+constant in fasting and abounding in patience and long-suffering; and he, being
+minded to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, appointed his own brother Kazi in
+his stead, during his absence, and commended his wife to his charge. Now this
+brother had heard of her beauty and loveliness and had taken a fancy to her. So
+no sooner was his brother gone than he went to her and sought her love-favours;
+but she denied him and held fast to her chastity. The more she repelled him,
+the more he pressed his suit upon her; till, despairing of her and fearing lest
+she should acquaint his brother with his misconduct whenas he should return, he
+suborned false witnesses to testify against her of adultery; and cited her and
+carried her before the King of the time who adjudged her to be stoned. So they
+dug a pit, and seating her therein stoned her, till she was covered with
+stones, and the man said, "Be this hole her grave!" But when it was dark a
+passer-by, making for a neighbouring hamlet, heard her groaning in sore pain;
+and, pulling her out of the pit, carried her home to his wife, whom he bade
+dress her wounds. The peasant woman tended her till she recovered and presently
+gave her her child to be nursed; and she used to lodge with the child in
+another house by night. Now a certain thief saw her and lusted after her. So he
+sent to her seeking her love-favours, but she denied herself to him; wherefore
+he resolved to slay her and, making his way into her lodging by night (and she
+sleeping), thought to strike at her with a knife; but it smote the little one
+and killed it. Now when he knew his misdeed, fear overtook him and he went
+forth the house and Allah preserved from him her chastity. But as she awoke in
+the morning, she found the child by her side with throat cut; and presently the
+mother came and seeing her boy dead, said to the nurse, "Twas thou didst
+murther him." Therewith she beat her a grievous beating and purposed to put her
+to death; but her husband interposed and delivered the woman, saying, "By
+Allah, thou shalt not do on this wise." So the woman, who had somewhat of money
+with her, fled forth for her life, knowing not whither she should wend.
+Presently, she came to a village, where she saw a crowd of people about a man
+crucified to a tree-stump, but still in the chains of life. "What hath he
+done?" she asked, and they answered, "He hath committed a crime, which nothing
+can expiate but death or the payment of such a fine by way of alms." So she
+said to them, "Take the money and let him go;" and, when they did so, he
+repented at her hands and vowed to serve her, for the love of Almighty Allah
+till death should release him. Then he built her a cell and lodged her therein;
+after which he betook himself to woodcutting and brought her daily her bread.
+As for her, she was constant in worship, so that there came no sick man or
+demoniac to her, but she prayed for him and he was straightway healed.—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the woman's cell was
+visited by folk (and she constant in worship), it befel by decree of the
+Almighty that He sent down upon her husband's brother (the same who had caused
+her to be stoned), a cancer in the face, and smote the villager's wife (the
+same who had beaten her) with leprosy, and afflicted the thief (the same who
+had murthered the child) with palsy. Now when the Kazi returned from his
+pilgrimage, he asked his brother of his wife, and he told him that she was
+dead, whereat he mourned sore and accounted her with her Maker. After awhile,
+very many folk heard of the pious recluse and flocked to her cell from all
+parts of the length and breadth of the earth; whereupon said the Kazi to his
+brother, "O my brother, wilt thou not seek out yonder pious woman? Haply Allah
+shall decree thee healing at her hands!" and he replied, "O my brother, carry
+me to her" Moreover, the husband of the leprous woman heard of the pious
+devotee and carried his wife to her, as did also the people of the paralytic
+thief; and they all met at the door of the hermitage. Now she had a place
+wherefrom she could look out upon those who came to her, without their seeing
+her; and they waited till her servant came, when they begged admittance and
+obtained permission. Presently she saw them all and recognized them; so she
+veiled and cloaked face and body and went out and stood in the door, looking at
+her husband and his brother and the thief and the peasant-woman; but they could
+not recognize her. Then said she to them, "Ho folk, ye shall not be relieved of
+what is with you till ye confess your sins; for, when the creature confesseth
+his sins the Creator relenteth towards him and granteth him that wherefore he
+resorteth to him." Quoth the Kazi to his brother, "O my brother, repent to
+Allah and persist not in thy frowardness, for it will be more helpful to thy
+relief." And the tongue of the case spake this speech,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"This day oppressor and oppressed meet, * And Allah sheweth<br/>
+
+     secrets we secrete:<br/>
+
+This is a place where sinners low are brought; * And Allah<br/>
+
+     raiseth saint to highest seat.<br/>
+
+Our Lord and Master shows the truth right clear, * Though sinner<br/>
+
+     froward be or own defeat:<br/>
+
+Alas[FN#465] for those who rouse the Lord to wrath, * As though<br/>
+
+     of Allah's wrath they nothing weet!<br/>
+
+O whoso seekest honours, know they are * From Allah, and His fear<br/>
+
+     with love entreat."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+(Saith the relator), Then quoth the brother, "Now I will tell the truth: I did
+thus and thus with thy wife;" and he confessed the whole matter, adding, "And
+this is my offence." Quoth the leprous woman, "As for me, I had a woman with me
+and imputed to her that of which I knew her to be guiltless, and beat her
+grievously; and this is my offence." And quoth the paralytic, "And I went in to
+a woman to kill her, after I had tempted her to commit adultery and she had
+refused; and I slew a child that lay by her side; and this is my offence." Then
+said the pious woman, "O my God, even as Thou hast made them feel the misery of
+revolt, so show them now the excellence of submission, for Thou over all things
+art Omnipotent!" And Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) made them whole.
+Then the Kazi fell to looking on her and considering her straitly, till she
+asked him why he looked so hard and he said, "I had a wife and were she not
+dead, I had said thou art she." Hereupon, she made herself known to him and
+both began praising Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for that which He
+had vouchsafed them of the reunion of their loves; but the brother and the
+thief and the villager's wife joined in imploring her forgiveness. So she
+forgave them one and all, and they worshipped Allah in that place and rendered
+her due service, till Death parted them. And one of the Sayyids[FN#466] hath
+related this tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap62"></a>THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD.</h3>
+
+<p>
+"I was circuiting the Ka'abah one dark night, when I heard a plaintive voice,
+speaking from a contrite heart and saying, 'O Bountiful One, Thy past boon!
+Indeed, by my heart shall Thy covenant never be undone.' Hearing this voice, my
+heart fluttered so that I was like to die; but I followed the sound and behold,
+it came from a woman, to whom I said, 'Peace be with thee, O handmaid of
+Allah;' whereto she replied, 'And with thee be peace, and the mercy of Allah
+and His blessings!' Quoth I, 'I conjure thee, by Allah the Most Great, tell me
+what is the covenant to which thy heart is constant.' Quoth she, 'But that thou
+adjurest me by the Omnipotent, I would not tell thee my secrets. See what is
+before me.' So I looked and lo! there was a child lying asleep before her and
+breathing heavily in his slumber. Said she, "Know, that I set forth, being big
+with this boy, to make the pilgrimage to this House and took passage in a ship;
+but the waves rose against us and the winds blew contrary and the vessel broke
+up. I saved myself on a plank; and, on that bit of wood, I gave birth to this
+child; and while he lay on my bosom and the waves beating upon me,'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman continued,
+"'Now while the boy lay on my bosom and the waves beat upon me, there swam up
+to me one of the sailors, who climbed on the plank and said, 'By Allah, I
+desired thee whilst thou wast yet in the ship, and now I have come at thee: so
+yield thy body to me, or I will throw thee into the sea.' Said I, 'Out on thee!
+hast thou no memory of that which thou hast seen and is it no warning to thee?'
+Quoth he, 'I have seen the like of this many a time and come off safe and care
+not.' Quoth I, 'O fellow, we are now in a calamity, whence we hope to be
+delivered by obedience to Allah and not by disobedience.' But he persisted with
+me, and I feared him and thought to put him off; so I said to him, 'Wait till
+this babe shall sleep'; but he took the child off my lap and threw him into the
+sea. Now when I saw this desperate deed, my heart sank and sorrow was sore upon
+me; so I raised my eyes heavenwards and said, 'O Thou that interposest between
+a man and his heart, intervene between me and this leonine brute; for Thou over
+all things art Omnipotent!' And by Allah, hardly had I spoken when a beast rose
+out of the sea and snatched him off the plank. When I saw myself alone my
+sorrows redoubled and my grief and longing for my child, and I recited,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'My coolth of eyes, the darling child of me * Is lost, and racked<br/>
+
+     my heart with agony;<br/>
+
+My body wrecked, and red-hot coals of love * Burning my liver<br/>
+
+     with sore pangs, I see.<br/>
+
+In this my sorrow shows no gleam of joy; * Save Thy high grace<br/>
+
+     and my expectancy:<br/>
+
+Hast seen, O Lord, what unto me befel; * My son aye lost and<br/>
+
+     parting pangs I dree:<br/>
+
+Take ruth on us and make us meet again; * For now my stay and<br/>
+
+     only hope's in Thee!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+I abode in this condition a day and a night; and, when morning dawned, I caught
+sight of the sails of a vessel shining afar off, nor did the waves cease to
+drive me and the winds to waft me on, till I reached the ship, whose sails I
+had sighted. The sailors took me up and I looked and behold, my babe was
+amongst them: so I threw myself upon him and said, 'O folk, this is my child:
+how and whence came ye by him?' Quoth they, 'Whilst we were sailing along the
+seas the ship suddenly stood still and lo! that which stayed us was a beast, as
+it were a great city, and this babe on its back, sucking his thumbs. So we took
+him up.' Now when I heard this, I told them my tale and all that had betided me
+and returned thanks to my Lord for His goodness, and vowed to Him that never,
+whilst I lived, would I stir from His House nor swerve from His service; and
+since then I have never asked of Him aught but He hath given it me.' Now when
+she had made an end of her story (quoth the Sayyid), I put my hand to my
+alms-pouch and would have given to her, but she exclaimed, "Away from me, thou
+idle man! Have I not told thee of His mercies and the graciousness of His
+dealings and shall I take an alms from other than His hand?" And I could not
+prevail with her to accept aught of me: so I left her and went away, reciting
+these couplets
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'How many boons conceals the Deity, * Eluding human sight in<br/>
+
+     mystery:<br/>
+
+How many graces come on heels of stresses, * And fill the burning<br/>
+
+     heart with jubilee:<br/>
+
+How many a sorrow in the morn appears, * And turns at night-tide<br/>
+
+     into gladdest gree:<br/>
+
+If things go hard with thee some day, yet trust * Th' Eterne, th'<br/>
+
+     Almighty God of Unity:<br/>
+
+And pray the Prophet that he intercede; * Through intercession<br/>
+
+     every wish shalt see.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she left not the service of her Lord, cleaving unto His House, till death
+came to her." And a tale is also told by Mαlik bin Dνnαr[FN#467] (Allah have
+mercy on him!) of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap63"></a>THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+"We were once afflicted with drought at Bassorah and went forth sundry times to
+pray for rain, but saw no sign of our prayers being accepted. So I went, I and
+'Itaa al-Salamν and Sαbit al-Banαni and Naja al-Bakαa and Mohammed bin Wαsi'a
+and Ayyϊb al-Sukhtiyαni and Habνb al-Farsi and Hassαn bin Abi Sinαn and 'Otbah
+al-Ghulαm and Sαlih al-Muzani,[FN#468] till we reached the oratory,[FN#469]
+when the boys came out of the schools and we prayed for rain, but saw no sign
+of acceptance. So about mid-day the people went away and I and Sabit al-Banani
+tarried in the place of prayer till nightfall, when we saw a black of comely
+face, slender of shank[FN#470] and big of belly, approach us, clad in a pair of
+woollen drawers; if all he wore had been priced, it would not have fetched a
+couple of dirhams. He brought water and made the minor ablution, then, going up
+to the prayer-niche, prayed two inclinations deftly, his standing and bowing
+and prostration being exactly similar in both. Then he raised his glance
+heavenwards, and said, 'O my God and my Lord and Master, how long wilt Thou
+reject Thy servants in that which offereth no hurt to Thy sovereignty? Is that
+which is with Thee wasted or are the treasuries of Thy Kingdom annihilated? I
+conjure Thee, by Thy love to me forthwith to pour out upon us Thy rain-clouds
+of grace!' He spake and hardly had he made an end of speaking, when the heavens
+clouded over and there came a rain, as if the mouths of waterskins had been
+opened; and when we left the oratory, we were knee-deep in water,"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "hardly had he spoken
+when the heavens clouded over and there came a rain, as if the mouths of
+waterskins had been opened. And when we left the oratory we were knee-deep in
+water, and we were lost in wonder at the black. So I accosted him and said to
+him, 'Woe to thee, O black, art thou not ashamed of what thou saidst?' He
+turned to me and asked, 'What said I?'; and I, 'Thy saying to Allah, 'By Thy
+love of me;' and what giveth thee to know that He loveth thee?' Replied he,
+'Away from me, O thou distracted by the world from the care of thine own soul.
+Where was I, when He gave me strength to profess the unity of the Godhead and
+vouchsafed unto me the knowledge of Him? How deemest thou that He aided me thus
+except of His love to me?' adding, 'Verily, His love to me is after the measure
+of my love to Him.' Quoth I, 'Tarry awhile with me, so may Allah have mercy on
+thee!' But he said, 'I am a chattel and the Book enjoineth me to obey my lesser
+master.' So we followed him afar off, till we saw him enter the house of a
+slave-broker. Now the first half of the night was past and the last half was
+longsome upon us, so we went away; but next morning, we repaired to the
+slave-dealer and said to him, 'Hast thou a lad to sell us for service?' He
+answered, 'Yes, I have an hundred lads or so and they are all for sale.' Then
+he showed us slave after slave; till he had shown us some seventy; but my
+friend was not amongst them, and the dealer said, 'These are all I have.' But,
+as we were going out from him we saw a ruinous hut behind his house and going
+in behold, we found the black standing there. I cried, ''Tis he, by the Lord of
+the Ka'abah!' and turning to the dealer, said to him, 'Sell me yonder slave.'
+Replied he, 'O Abu Yahya, this is a pestilent unprofitable fellow, who hath no
+concern by night but weeping and by day but repentance.' I rejoined, 'It is for
+that I want him.' So the dealer called him, and he came out, showing
+drowsiness. Quoth his master, 'Take him at thine own price, so thou hold me
+free of all his faults.' I bought him for twenty dinars and asked 'What is his
+name?' and the dealer answered 'Maymun, the monkey;' and I took him by the hand
+and went out with him, intending to go home; but he turned to me and said, 'O
+my lesser lord, why and wherefore didst thou buy me? By Allah, I am not fit for
+the service of God's creatures!' Replied I, 'I bought thee that I might serve
+thee myself; and on my head be it.' Asked he, 'Why so?' and I answered, 'Wast
+thou not in company with us yesterday in the place of prayer?' Quoth he, 'And
+didst thou hear me?'; and quoth I, 'It was I accosted thee yesterday and spoke
+with thee.' Thereupon he advanced till we came to a mosque, where he entered
+and prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he said, 'O my God and my Lord and
+Master, the secret that was between me and Thee Thou hast discovered unto Thy
+creatures and hast brought me to shame before the worldling. How then shall
+life be sweet to me, now that other than Thou hath happened upon that which is
+between Thee and me? I conjure Thee to take my soul to Thee forthright.[FN#471]
+So saying, he prostrated himself, and I awaited awhile without seeing him raise
+his head; so I shook him and behold, he was indeed dead, the mercy of Almighty
+Allah be upon him! I laid him out stretching his arms and legs and looked at
+him, and lo! he was smiling. Moreover, whiteness had got the better of
+blackness on his brow, and his face was radiant with light like a young moon.
+As we wondered at his case, the door opened and a young man came in to us and
+said, 'Peace be with you! May Allah make great our reward and yours for our
+brother Maymun! Here is his shroud: wrap him in it.' So saying, he gave us two
+robes, never had we seen the like of them, and we shrouded him therein. And now
+his tomb is a place whither men resort to pray for rain and ask their
+requirements of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!); and how excellently well
+saith the poet on this theme,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     'The heart of Gnostic[FN#472] homed in heavenly Garth *<br/>
+
+          Heaven decks, and Allah's porters aid afford.<br/>
+
+     Lo! here they drink old wine commingled with *<br/>
+
+          Tasnνm,[FN#473] the wine of union with the Lord.<br/>
+
+     Safe is the secret 'twixt the Friend and them; *<br/>
+
+          Safe from all hearts but from that Heart adored.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they recount another anecdote of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap64"></a>THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, among the Children of Israel, a man of the worthiest, who was
+strenuous in the service of his Lord and abstained from things worldly and
+drave them away from his heart. He had a wife who was a helpmate meet for him
+and who was at all times obedient to him. They earned their living by making
+trays[FN#474] and fans, whereat they wrought all through the light hours; and,
+at nightfall, the man went out into the streets and highways seeking a buyer
+for what they had made. They were wont to fast continually by day[FN#475] and
+one morning they arose, fasting, and worked at their craft till the light
+failed them, when the man went forth, according to custom, to find purchasers
+for his wares, and fared on till he came to the door of the house of a certain
+man of wealth, one of the sons of this world, high in rank and dignity. Now the
+tray-maker was fair of face and comely of form, and the wife of the master of
+the house saw him and fell in love with him and her heart inclined to him with
+exceeding inclination; so, her husband being absent, she called her handmaid
+and said to her, "Contrive to bring yonder man to us." Accordingly the maid
+went out to him and and called him and stopped him as though she would buy what
+he held in hand.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the maid-servant went out
+to the man and asked him, "Come in; my lady hath a mind to buy some of thy
+wares, after she hath tried them and looked at them." The man thought she spoke
+truly and, seeing no harm in this, entered and sat down as she bade him; and
+she shut the door upon him. Whereupon her mistress came out of her room and,
+taking him by the gaberdine,[FN#476] drew him within and said, "How long shall
+I seek union of thee? Verily my patience is at an end on thine account. See
+now, the place is perfumed and provision prepared and the householder is absent
+this night, and I give to thee my person without reserve, I whose favours kings
+and captains and men of fortune have sought this long while, but I have
+regarded none of them." And she went on talking thus to him, whilst he raised
+not his eyes from the ground, for shame before Allah Almighty and fear of the
+pains and penalties of His punishment; even as saith the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"'Twixt me and riding many a noble dame, * Was naught but shame<br/>
+
+     which kept me chaste and pure:<br/>
+
+My shame was cure to her; but haply were * Shame to depart, she<br/>
+
+     ne'er had known a cure."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The man strove to free himself from her, but could not; so he said to her, "I
+want one thing of thee." She asked, "What is that?": and he answered, "I wish
+for pure water that I may carry it to the highest place of thy house and do
+somewhat therewith and cleanse myself of an impurity, which I may not disclose
+to thee." Quoth she, "The house is large and hath closets and corners and
+privies at command." But he replied, "I want nothing but to be at a height." So
+she said to her slave-girl, "Carry him up to the belvedere on the
+house-terrace." Accordingly the maid took him up to the very top and, giving
+him a vessel of water, went down and left him. Then he made the ablution and
+prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he looked at the ground, thinking to throw
+himself down, but seeing it afar off, feared to be dashed to pieces by the
+fall.[FN#477] Then he bethought him of his disobedience to Allah, and the
+consequences of his sin; so it became a light matter to him to offer up his
+life and shed his blood; and he said, "O my God and my Lord, Thou seest that
+which is fallen on me; neither is my case hidden from Thee. Thou indeed over
+all things art Omnipotent and the tongue of my case reciteth and saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'I show my heart and thoughts to Thee, and Thou * Alone my<br/>
+
+     secret's secrecy canst know.<br/>
+
+If I address Thee fain I cry aloud; * Or, if I'm mute, my signs<br/>
+
+     for speech I show.<br/>
+
+O Thou to whom no second be conjoined! * A wretched lover seeks<br/>
+
+     Thee in his woe.<br/>
+
+I have a hope my thoughts as true confirm; * And heart that<br/>
+
+     fainteth as right well canst trow.<br/>
+
+To lavish life is hardest thing that be, * Yet easy an Thou bid<br/>
+
+     me life forego;<br/>
+
+But, an it be Thy will to save from stowre, * Thou, O my Hope, to<br/>
+
+     work this work hast power!'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then the man cast himself down from the belvedere; but Allah sent an angel who
+bore him up on his wings and brought him down to the ground, whole and without
+hurt or harm. Now when he found himself safe on the ground, he thanked and
+praised Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for His merciful protection
+of his person and his chastity; and he went straight to his wife who had long
+expected him, and he empty-handed. Then seeing him, she asked him why he had
+tarried and what was come of that he had taken with him and why he returned
+empty-handed; whereupon he told her of the temptation which had befallen him,
+and she said, "Alhamdolillah—praised be God-for delivering thee from seduction
+and intervening between thee and such calamity!" Then she added, "O man, the
+neighbours use to see us light our oven every night; and, if they see us
+fireless this night, they will know that we are destitute. Now it behoveth in
+gratitude to Allah, that we hide our destitution and conjoin the fast of this
+night to that of the past and continue it for the sake of Allah Almighty." So
+she rose and, filling the oven with wood, lighted it, to baffle the curiosity
+of her woman-neighbours, reciting these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Now I indeed will hide desire and all repine; * And light up<br/>
+
+     this my fire that neighbours see no sign:<br/>
+
+Accept I what befals by order of my Lord; * Haply He too accept<br/>
+
+     this humble act of mine."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that after the goodwife had
+lit the fire to baffle the curiosity of her women-neighbours, she and her
+husband made the Wuzu-ablution and stood up to pray, when behold, one of the
+neighbours' wives came and asked leave to take a fire-brand from the oven. "Do
+what thou wilt with the oven," answered they; but, when she came to the fire,
+she cried out, saying, "Ho, such an one (to the tray-maker's wife) take up thy
+bread ere it burn!" Quoth the wife to her husband, "Hearest thou what she
+saith?" Quoth he, "Go and look." So she went up to the oven, and behold, it was
+full of fine bread and white. She took up the scones and carried them to her
+husband, thanking Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!) for His abounding
+good and great bounty; and they ate of the bread and drank water and praised
+the Almighty. Then said the woman to her husband, "Come let us pray to Allah
+the Most Highest, so haply He may vouchsafe us what shall enable us to dispense
+with the weariness of working for daily bread and devote ourselves wholly to
+worshipping and obeying Him." The man rose in assent and prayed, whilst his
+wife said, "Amen," to his prayer, when the roof clove in sunder and down fell a
+ruby, which lit the house with its light. Hereat, they redoubled in praise and
+thanksgiving to Allah praying what the Almighty willed,[FN#478] and rejoiced at
+the ruby with great joy. And the night being far spent, they lay down to sleep
+and the woman dreamt that she entered Paradise and saw therein many chairs
+ranged and stools set in rows. She asked what the seats were and it was
+answered her, "These are the chairs of the prophets and those are the stools of
+the righteous and the pious." Quoth she, "Which is the stool of my husband such
+an one?"; and it was said to her, "It is this." So she looked and seeing a hole
+in its side asked, "What may be this hole?"; and the reply came, "It is the
+place of the ruby that dropped upon you from your house-roof." Thereupon she
+awoke, weeping and bemoaning the defect in her husband's stool among the seats
+of the Righteous; so she told him the dream and said to him, "Pray Allah, O
+man, that this ruby return to its place; for endurance of hunger and poverty
+during our few days here were easier than a hole in thy chair among the just in
+Paradise."[FN#479] Accordingly, he prayed to his Lord, and lo! the ruby flew up
+to the roof and away whilst they looked at it. And they ceased not from their
+poverty and their piety, till they went to the presence of Allah, to whom be
+Honour and Glory! And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap65"></a>AL-HAJJAJ AND THE PIOUS MAN.</h3>
+
+<p>
+Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi had been long in pursuit of a certain man of the
+notables, and when at last he was brought before him, he said, "O enemy of
+Allah, He hath delivered thee over to me;" and cried, "Hale him to prison and
+lay him by the heels in heavy fetters and build a closet over him, that he may
+not come forth of it nor any go into him." So they bore him to jail and
+summoned the blacksmith with the irons; and every time the smith gave a stroke
+with his hammer, the prisoner raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Is not the
+whole Creation and the Empire thereof His?"[FN#480] Then the gaolers built the
+cage[FN#481] over him and left him therein, lorn and lone, whereupon longing
+and consternation entered into him and the tongue of his case recited in
+extempore verse,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"O, Wish of wistful men, for Thee I yearn; * My heart seeks grace<br/>
+
+     of one no heart shall spurn.<br/>
+
+Unhidden from thy sight is this my case; * And for one glance of<br/>
+
+     thee I pine and burn.<br/>
+
+They jailed and tortured me with sorest pains: * Alas for lone<br/>
+
+     one can no aid discern!<br/>
+
+But, albe lone, I find Thy name befriends * And cheers, though<br/>
+
+     sleep to eyes shall ne'er return:<br/>
+
+An thou accept of me, I care for naught; * And only Thou what's<br/>
+
+     in my heart canst learn!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now when night fell dark, the gaoler left his watchmen to guard him and went to
+his house; and on the morrow, when he came to the prison, he found the fetters
+lying on the ground and the prisoner gone; whereat he was affrighted and made
+sure of death. So he returned to his place and bade his family farewell, after
+which he took in his sleeve his shroud and the sweet herbs for his corpse, and
+went in to Al-Hajjaj. And as he stood before the presence, the Governor smelt
+the perfumes and asked, "What is that?" when the gaoler answered, "O my lord,
+it is I who have brought it." "And what moved thee to that?" enquired the
+Governor; whereupon he told him his case,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the gaoler told his
+case to Al-Hajjaj, the Governor cried, "Woe to thee! Didst thou hear him say
+aught?" Answered the gaoler, "Yes! whilst the blacksmith was hammering his
+irons, he ceased not to look up heavenwards and say, 'Is not the whole Creation
+and the Empire thereof His?'" Rejoined Al-Hajjaj, "Dost thou not know that He,
+on whom he called in thy presence, delivered him in thine absence?" And the
+tongue of the case recited on this theme,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"O Lord, how many a grief from me hast driven * Nor can I sit or<br/>
+
+     stand without Thy hold:<br/>
+
+How many many things I cannot count, * Thou sav'st from many many<br/>
+
+     and manifold!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap66"></a>THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE WITHOUT HURT.</h3>
+
+<p>
+It reached the ears of a certain pious man that there abode in such a town a
+blacksmith, who could put his hand into the fire and pull out the iron red-hot,
+without the flames doing him aught of hurt.[FN#482] So he set out for the town
+in question and asked for the blacksmith; and, when the man was shown to him,
+he watched him at work and saw him do as had been reported to him. He waited
+till he had made and end of his day's work; then, going up to him, saluted him
+with the salam and said, "I would be thy guest this night." Replied the smith,
+"With gladness and goodly gree!" and carried him to his place, where they
+supped together and lay down to sleep. The guest watched, but saw no sign in
+his host of praying through the night or of special devoutness and said in his
+mind, "Haply he hideth himself from me." So he lodged with him a second and a
+third night, but found that he did not exceed the devotions prescribed by the
+law and custom of the Prophet and rose but little in the dark hours to pray. At
+last he said to him, "O my brother, I have heard of the gift with which Allah
+hath favoured thee and have seen the truth of it with mine eyes. Moreover, I
+have taken note of thine assiduity in religious exercises, but find in thee no
+such piety as distinguisheth those who work saintly miracles: whence, then,
+cometh this to thee?" "I will tell thee," answered the smith, "Know that I was
+once passionately enamoured of a slave-girl and ofttimes sued her for
+love-liesse, but could not prevail upon her, because she still held fast by her
+chastity. Presently there came a year of drought and hunger and hardship; food
+failed and there befel a sore famine. As I was sitting one day at home,
+somebody knocked at the door; so I went out and behold, she was standing there;
+and she said to me, 'O my brother, I am sorely an-hungered and I lift mine eyes
+to thee, beseeching thee to feed me for Allah's sake!' Quoth I, 'Wottest thou
+not how I love thee and what I have suffered for thy sake? Now I will not give
+thee one bittock of bread except thou yield thy person to me.' Quoth she,
+'Death, but not disobedience to the Lord!' Then she went away and returned
+after two days with the same prayer for food as before. I made her a like
+answer, and she entered and sat down in my house being nigh upon death. I set
+food before her, whereupon her eyes brimmed with tears and she cried, 'Give me
+meat for the love of Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory!' But I answered,
+'Not so, by Allah, except thou yield thyself to me.' Quoth she, 'Better is
+death to me than the wrath and wreak of Allah the Most Highest;' and she rose
+and left the food untouched"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man set food
+before her, the woman said, "Give me meat for the love of Allah to whom be
+Honour and Glory!' But I answered, 'Not so, by Allah, except thou yield to me
+thy person.' Quoth she, 'Better is death than the wrath and wreak of Allah;'
+and she rose and left the food untouched and went away repeating these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'O Thou, the One, whose grace doth all the world embrace; * Thine<br/>
+
+     ears have heard, Thine eyes have seen my case!<br/>
+
+Privation and distress have dealt me heavy blows; * The woes that<br/>
+
+     weary me no utterance can trace.<br/>
+
+I am like one athirst who eyes the landscape's eye, * Yet may not<br/>
+
+     drink a draught of streams that rail and race.<br/>
+
+My flesh would tempt me by the sight of savoury food * Whose joys<br/>
+
+     shall pass away and pangs maintain their place.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She then disappeared for two days, when she again came and knocked at the door;
+so I went out to her, and lo! hunger had taken away her voice; but, after a
+rest she said, 'O my brother, I am worn out with want and know not what to do,
+for I cannot show my face to any man but to thee. Say, wilt thou feed me for
+the love of Allah Almighty?' But I answered, 'Not so, except thou yield to me
+thy person.' And she entered my house and sat down. Now I had no food ready;
+but, when the meat was dressed and I laid it in a saucer, behold, the grace of
+Almighty Allah entered into me and I said to myself, 'Out on thee! This woman,
+weak of wit and faith, hath refrained from food till she can no longer, for
+stress of hunger; and, while she refuseth time after time, thou canst not
+forbear from disobedience to the Lord!' And I said, 'O my God, I repent to Thee
+of that which my flesh purposed!' Then I took the food and carrying it to her,
+said, 'Eat, for no harm shall betide thee: this is for the love of Allah, to
+whom belong Honour and Glory!' Then she raised her eyes to heaven and said, 'O
+my God, if this man say sooth, I pray Thee forbid fire to harm him in this
+world and the next, for Thou over all things art Omnipotent and Prevalent in
+answering the prayer of the penitent!' Then I left her and went to put out the
+fire in the brasier.[FN#483] Now the season was winter and the weather cold,
+and a live coal fell on my body: but by the decree of Allah (to whom be Honour
+and Glory!) I felt no pain and it became my conviction that her prayer had been
+answered. So I took the coal in my hand, and it burnt me not; and going in to
+her, I said, 'Be of good cheer, for Allah hath granted thy prayer!'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the blacksmith continued:
+"So I went in to her and said, 'Be of good cheer, for Allah hath granted thy
+prayer!' Then she dropped the morsel from her hand and said, 'O my God, now
+that Thou hast shown me my desire of him and hast granted me my prayer for him,
+take Thou my soul, for Thou over all things art Almighty!' And straightway He
+took her soul to Him, the mercy of Allah be upon her!" And the tongue of the
+case extemporised and spake on this theme,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"She prayed: the Lord of grace her prayer obeyed; * And spared<br/>
+
+     the sinner, who for sin had prayed:<br/>
+
+He showed her all she prayed Him to grant; * And Death (as prayed<br/>
+
+     she) her portion made:<br/>
+
+Unto his door she came and prayed for food, * And sued his ruth<br/>
+
+     for what her misery made:<br/>
+
+He leant to error following his lusts, * And hoped to enjoy her<br/>
+
+     as her wants persuade;<br/>
+
+But he knew little of what Allah willed; * Nor was Repentance,<br/>
+
+     though unsought, denayed.<br/>
+
+Fate comes to him who flies from Fate, O Lord, * And lot and<br/>
+
+     daily bread by Thee are weighed."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they also tell of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap67"></a>THE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT KING.</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, among the children of Israel, a man of the devout, for piety
+acclaimed and for continence and asceticism enfamed, whose prayers were ever
+granted and who by supplication obtained whatso he wanted; and he was a
+wanderer in the mountains and was used to pass the night in worship. Now
+Almighty Allah had subjected to him a cloud which travelled with him wherever
+he went, and poured on him its water-treasures in abundance that he might make
+his ablutions and drink. After a long time when things were thus, his fervour
+somewhat abated, whereupon Allah took the cloud away from him and ceased to
+answer his prayers. On this account, great was his grief and long was his woe,
+and he ceased not to regret the time of grace and the miracle vouchsafed to him
+and to lament and bewail and bemoan himself, till he saw in a dream one who
+said to him, "An thou wouldest have Allah restore to thee thy cloud, seek out a
+certain King, in such a town, and beg him to pray for thee: so will Allah (be
+He extolled and exalted!) give thee back thy cloud and bespread it over thee by
+virtue of his pious prayers." And he began repeating these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Wend to that pious prayerful Emir, * Who can with gladness thy<br/>
+
+     condition cheer;<br/>
+
+An he pray Allah, thou shalt win thy wish; * And heavy rain shall<br/>
+
+     drop from welkin clear.<br/>
+
+He stands all Kings above in potent worth; * Nor to compare with<br/>
+
+     him doth aught appear:<br/>
+
+Near him thou soon shalt hap upon thy want, * And see all joy and<br/>
+
+     gladness draw thee near:<br/>
+
+Then cut the wolds and wilds unfounted till * The goal thou goest<br/>
+
+     for anigh shalt speer!"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So the hermit set out for the town named to him in the dream; and, coming
+thither after long travel, enquired for the King's palace which was duly shown
+to him. And behold, at the gate he found a slave-officer sitting on a great
+chair and clad in gorgeous gear; so he stood to him and saluted him; and he
+returned his salam and asked him, "What is thy business?" Answered the devotee,
+"I am a wronged man, and come to submit my case to the King." Quoth the
+officer, "Thou hast no access to him this day; for he hath appointed unto
+petitioners and enquirers one day in every seven" (naming the day), "on which
+they may go in to him; so wend thy ways in welfare till then." The hermit was
+vexed with the King for thus veiling himself from the folk and said in thought,
+"How shall this man be a saint of the saints of Allah (to whom belong Majesty
+and Might!) and he on this wise?" Then he went away and awaited the appointed
+day. "Now" (quoth he)"when it came, I repaired to the palace, where I found a
+great number of folk at the gate, expecting admission; and I stood with them,
+till there came out a Wazir robed in gorgeous raiment and attended by guards
+and slaves, who said, 'Let those, who have petitions to present, enter.' So I
+entered with the rest and found the King seated facing his officers and
+grandees who were ranged according to their several ranks and degrees. The
+Wazir took up his post and brought forward the petitioners, one by one, till it
+came to my turn, when the King looked on me and said, 'Welcome to the 'Lord of
+the Cloud'! Sit thee down till I make leisure for thee.' I was confounded at
+his words and confessed his dignity and superiority; and, when the King had
+answered the petitioners and had made an end with them, he rose and dismissed
+his Wazirs and Grandees; then, taking my hand he led me to the door of the
+private palace, where we found a black slave, splendidly arrayed, with helm on
+head, and on his right hand and his left, bows and coats of mail. He rose to
+the King; and, hastening to obey his orders and forestall his wishes, opened
+the door. We went in, hand in hand, till we came to a low wicket, which the
+King himself opened and led me into a ruinous place of frightful desolation and
+thence passed into a chamber, wherein was naught but a prayer-carpet, an ewer
+for ablution and some mats of palm-leaves. Here the King doffed his royal robes
+and donned a coarse gown of white wool and a conical bonnet of felt. Then he
+sat down and making me sit, called out to his wife, 'Ho, such an one!' and she
+answered from within saying, 'Here am I.' Quoth he, 'Knowest thou who is our
+guest to-day?' Replied she, 'Yes, it is the Lord of the Cloud.' The King said,
+'Come forth: it mattereth not for him.' And behold, there entered a woman, as
+she were a vision, with a face that beamed like the new moon; and she wore a
+gown and veil of wool."-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that 'when the King called to
+his wife, she came forth from the inner room; and her face beamed like the new
+moon; and she wore a gown and a veil of wool. Then said the King, 'O my
+brother, dost thou desire to hear our story or that we should pray for thee and
+dismiss thee?' Answered the hermit; 'Nay, I wish to hear the tale of you twain,
+for that to me were preferable.' Said the King, 'My forefathers handed down the
+throne, one to the other, and it descended from great one to great one, in
+unbroken succession, till the last died and it came to me. Now Allah had made
+this hateful to me, for I would fain have gone awandering over earth and left
+the folk to their own affairs; but I feared lest they should fall into
+confusion and anarchy and misgovernment so as to swerve from divine law, and
+the union of the Faith be broken up. Wherefore, abandoning my own plans, I took
+the kingship and appointed to every head of them a regular stipend; and donned
+the royal robes; and posted slave-officers at the doors, as a terror to the
+dishonest and for the defence of honest folk and the maintenance of law and
+limitations. Now when free of this, I entered this place and, doffing my royal
+habit, donned these clothes thou seest; and this my cousin, the daughter of my
+father's brother, hath agreed with me to renounce the world and helpeth me to
+serve the Lord. So we are wont to weave these palm-leaves and earn, during the
+day, a wherewithal to break our fast at nightfall; and we have lived on this
+wise nigh upon forty years. Abide thou with us (so Allah have mercy on thee!)
+till we sell our mats; and thou shalt sup and sleep with us this night and on
+the morrow wend thy ways with that thou wishest, Inshallah!' So he tarried with
+them till the end of the day, when there came a boy five years old who took the
+mats they had made and carrying them to the market, sold them for a
+carat;[FN#484] and with this bought bread and beans and returned with them to
+the King. The hermit broke his fast and lay down to sleep with them; but in the
+middle of the night they both arose and fell to praying and weeping. When
+daybreak was near, the King said, "O my God, this Thy servant beseecheth Thee
+to return him his cloud; and to do this Thou art able; so, O my God, let him
+see his prayer granted and restore him his cloud." The Queen amen'd to his
+orisons and behold, the cloud grew up in the sky; whereupon the King gave the
+hermit joy and the man took leave of them and went away, the cloud companying
+him as of old. And whatsoever he required of Allah after this, in the names of
+the pious King and Queen, He granted it without fail and the man made thereon
+these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"My Lord hath servants fain of piety; * Hearts in the Wisdom-<br/>
+
+    garden ranging free:<br/>
+
+Their bodies' lusts at peace, and motionless * For breasts that<br/>
+
+     bide in purest secresy.<br/>
+
+Thou seest all silent, awesome of their Lord, * For hidden things<br/>
+
+     unseen and seen they see."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap68"></a>THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN DAMSEL.</h3>
+
+<p>
+The Commander of the Faithful, Omar bin al-Khattαb (whom Allah accept!), once
+levied for holy war an army of Moslems, to encounter the foe before Damascus,
+and they laid close siege to one of the Christians' strongholds. Now there were
+amongst the Moslems two men, brothers, whom Allah had gifted with fire and bold
+daring against the enemy; so that the commander of the besieged fortress said
+to his chiefs and braves, "Were but yonder two Moslems ta'en or slain, I would
+warrant you against the rest of their strain." Wherefore they left not to set
+for them all manner of toils and snares and ceased not to manoeuvre and lie in
+wait and ambush for them, till they took one of them prisoner and slew the
+other, who died a martyr. They carried the captive to the Captain of the fort,
+who looked at him and said, "Verily, to kill this man were indeed a pity; but
+his return to the Moslem would be a calamity."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the enemy carried
+their Moslem captive before the Captain of the fort, the Christian looked at
+him and said, "Verily to kill this man were a pity indeed; but his return to
+the Moslem would be a calamity. Oh that he might be brought to embrace the
+Nazarene Faith and be to us an aid and an arm!" Quoth one of his Patrician
+Knights, "O Emir, I will tempt him to abjure his faith, and on this wise: we
+know that the Arabs are much addicted to women, and I have a daughter, a
+perfect beauty, whom when he sees, he will be seduced by her." Quoth the
+Captain, "I give him into thy charge." So he carried him to his place and clad
+his daughter in raiment, such as added to her beauty and loveliness. Then he
+brought the Moslem into the room and set before him food and made the fair girl
+stand in his presence, as she were a handmaid obedient to her lord and awaiting
+his orders that she might do his bidding. When the Moslem saw the evil sent
+down upon him, he commended himself to Allah Almighty and closing his eyes,
+applied himself to worship and to reciting the Koran. Now he had a pleasant
+voice and a piercing wit; and the Nazarene damsel presently loved him with
+passionate love and pined for him with extreme repine. This lasted seven days,
+at the end of which she said to herself, "Would to Heaven he would admit me
+into the Faith of Al-Islam!" And the tongue of her case recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Wilt turn thy face from heart that's all thine own, * This heart<br/>
+
+     thy ransom and this soul thy wone?<br/>
+
+I'm ready home and kin to quit for aye, * And every Faith for<br/>
+
+     that of sword[FN#485] disown:<br/>
+
+I testify that Allah hath no mate: * This proof is stablished and<br/>
+
+     this truth is known.<br/>
+
+Haply shall deign He union grant with one * Averse, and hearten<br/>
+
+     heart love-overthrown;<br/>
+
+For ofttimes door erst shut, is opened wide, * And after evil<br/>
+
+     case all good is shown."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last her patience failed her and her breast was straitened and she threw
+herself on the ground before him, saying, "I conjure thee by thy Faith, that
+thou give ear to my words!" Asked he, "What are they?" and she answered,
+"Expound unto me Al-Islam." So he expounded to her the tenets of the Faith, and
+she became a Moslemah, after which she was circumcised[FN#486] and he taught
+her to pray. Then said she to him, "O my brother, I did but embrace Al-Islam
+for thy sake and to win thy favours." Quoth he, "The law of Al-Islam forbiddeth
+sexual commerce save after a marriage before two legal witnesses, and a dowry
+and a guardian are also requisite. Now I know not where to find witnesses or
+friend or parapherne; but, an thou can contrive to bring us out of this place,
+I may hope to make the land of Al-Islam, and pledge myself to thee that none
+other than thou in all Al-Islam shall be wife to me." Answered she, "I will
+manage that"; and, calling her father and mother, said to them, "Indeed this
+Moslem's heart is softened and he longeth to enter the faith, so I will grant
+him that which he desireth of my person; but he saith: 'It befitteth me not to
+do this in a town where my brother was slain. Could I but get outside it my
+heart would be solaced and I would do that which is wanted of me.' Now there is
+no harm in letting me go forth with him to another town, and I will be a surety
+to you both and to the Emir for that which ye wish of him." Therefore her
+father went to their Captain and told him this, whereat he joyed with exceeding
+joy and bade him carry them forth to a village that she named. So they went out
+and made the village where they abode the rest of their day, and when night
+fell, they got ready for the march and went their way, even as saith the poet,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"'The time of parting,' cry they, 'draweth nigh': * 'How oft this<br/>
+
+     parting-threat?' I but reply:<br/>
+
+I've naught to do but cross the wild and wold * And, mile by<br/>
+
+     mile, o'er fountless wastes to fly,<br/>
+
+If the beloved seek another land * Sons of the road, whereso they<br/>
+
+     wend, wend I.<br/>
+
+I make desire direct me to their side, * The guide to show me<br/>
+
+     where the way doth lie."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the prisoner and the lady
+abode in the village the rest of their day and, when night fell, made ready for
+the march and went upon their way; and travelled all night without stay or
+delay. The young Moslem, mounting a swift blood-horse and taking up the maiden
+behind him, ceased not devouring the ground till it was bright morning, when he
+turned aside with her from the highway and, alighting, they made the
+Wuzu-ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer. Now as they were thus engaged behold,
+they heard the clank of swords and clink of bridles and men's voices and tramp
+of horse; whereupon he said to her, "Ho, such an one, the Nazarenes are after
+us! What shall we do?: the horse is so jaded and broken down that he cannot
+stir another step." Exclaimed she, "Woe to thee! art thou then afraid and
+affrighted?" "Yes," answered he; and she said, "What didst thou tell me of the
+power of thy Lord and His readiness to succour those who succour seek? Come,
+let us humble ourselves before Him and beseech Him: haply He shall grant us His
+succour and endue us with His grace, extolled and exalted be He!" Quoth he, "By
+Allah, thou sayest well!" So they began humbling themselves and supplicating
+Almighty Allah and he recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Indeed I hourly need thy choicest aid, * And should, though<br/>
+
+     crown were placed upon my head:<br/>
+
+Thou art my chiefest want, and if my hand * Won what it wisheth,<br/>
+
+     all my wants were sped.<br/>
+
+Thou hast not anything withholdest Thou; * Like pouring rain Thy<br/>
+
+     grace is showered:<br/>
+
+I'm shut therefrom by sins of me, yet Thou, * O Clement, deignest<br/>
+
+     pardon-light to shed.<br/>
+
+O Care-Dispeller, deign dispel my grief! * None can, save Thou,<br/>
+
+     dispel a grief so dread."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst he was praying and she was saying, "Amen," and the thunder of
+horse-tramp nearing them, lo! the brave heard the voice of his dead brother,
+the martyr, speaking and saying, "O my brother, fear not, nor grieve! for the
+host whose approach thou hearest is the host of Allah and His Angels, whom He
+hath sent to serve as witnesses to your marriage. Of a truth Allah hath made
+His Angels glorify you and He bestoweth on you the meed of the meritorious and
+the martyrs; and He hath rolled up the earth for you as it were a rug so that,
+by morning, you will be in the mountains of Al-Medinah. And thou, when thou
+foregatherest with Omar bin al-Khattab (of whom Allah accept!) give him my
+salutation and say to him: 'Allah abundantly requite thee for Al-Islam, because
+thou hast counselled faithfully and hast striven diligently.'" Thereupon the
+Angels lifted up their voices in salutation to him and his bride, saying,
+"Verily, Almighty Allah appointed her in marriage to thee two thousand years
+before the creation of your father Adam (with whom be peace evermore!)." Then
+joy and gladness and peace and happiness came upon the twain; confidence was
+confirmed and established was the guidance of the pious pair. So when dawn
+appeared, they prayed the accustomed prayer and fared forward. Now it was the
+wont of Omar, son of Al-Khattab (Allah accept him!), to rise for
+morning-prayer in the darkness before dawn and at times he would stand in the
+prayer-niche with two men behind him, and begin reciting the Chapter entitled
+"Cattle"[FN#487] or that entitled "Women,"[FN#488] whereupon the sleeper awoke
+and he who was making his Wuzu-ablution accomplished it and he who was afar
+came to prayer; nor had he made an end of the first bow, ere the mosque was
+full of folk; then he would pray his second bow quickly, repeating a short
+chapter. But, on that morning he hurried over both first and second
+inclinations, repeating in each a short chapter; then, after the concluding
+salutation, turning to his companions, he said to them, "Come, let us fare
+forth to meet the bride and bridegroom"; at which they wondered, not
+understanding his words. But he went out and they followed him, till they came
+to the gate of the city, where they met the young Moslem who, when the day
+broke and the standards of Al-Medinah appeared to him, had pushed forward for
+the gate closely followed by his bride. There he was met by Omar who bade make
+a marriage feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then the young Moslem went in
+unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed him children,—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Omar (on whom be peace!)
+bade make a marriage-feast; and the Moslems came and ate. Then the young Moslem
+went in unto his bride and Almighty Allah vouchsafed him children, who fought
+in the Lord's way and preserved genealogies, for they gloried therein. And how
+excellent is what is said on such theme,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"I saw thee weep before the gates and 'plain, * Whilst only<br/>
+
+     curious wight reply would deign:<br/>
+
+Hath eye bewitcht thee, or hath evil lot * 'Twixt thee and door<br/>
+
+     of friend set bar of bane?<br/>
+
+Wake up this day, O wretch, persist in prayer, * Repent as wont<br/>
+
+     repent departed men.<br/>
+
+Haply shall wash thy sins Forgiveness-showers; * And on thine<br/>
+
+     erring head some ruth shall rain:<br/>
+
+And prisoner shall escape despite his bonds; * And slave from<br/>
+
+     thraldom freedom shall attain."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they ceased not to be in all solace and delight of life, till there came to
+them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And a tale is
+told by Sνdi Ibrahim bin Al-Khawwαs[FN#489](on whom be the mercy of Allah!)
+concerning himself and
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap69"></a>THE CHRISTIAN KING'S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM.</h3>
+
+<p>
+"My spirit urged me, once upon a time, to go forth into the country of the
+Infidels; and I strove with it and struggled to put away from me this
+inclination; but it would not be rejected. So I fared forth and journeyed about
+the land of the Unbelievers and traversed it in all its parts; for divine grace
+enveloped me and heavenly protection encompassed me, so that I met not a single
+Nazarene but he turned away his eyes and drew off from me, till I came to a
+certain great city at whose gate I found a gathering of black slaves, clad in
+armour and bearing iron maces in their hands. When they saw me, they rose to
+their feet and asked me, 'Art thou a leach?'; and I answered, 'Yes.' Quoth
+they, 'Come speak to our King,' and carried me before their ruler, who was a
+handsome personage of majestic presence. When I stood before him, he looked at
+me and said, 'Art a physician, thou?' 'Yes,' quoth I; and quoth he to his
+officers, 'Carry him to her, and acquaint him with the condition before he
+enter.' So they took me out and said to me, 'Know that the King hath a
+daughter, and she is stricken with a sore disease, which no doctor hath been
+able to cure: and no leach goeth in to her and treateth, without healing her,
+but the King putteth him to death. So bethink thee what thou seest fitting to
+do.' I replied, 'The King drove me to her; so carry me to her.' Thereupon they
+brought me to her door and knocked; and behold, I heard her cry out from
+within, saying, 'Admit to me the physician, lord of the wondrous secret!' And
+she began reciting,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Open the door! the leach now draweth near; * And in my soul a<br/>
+
+     wondrous secret speer:<br/>
+
+How many of the near far distant are![FN#490] * How many distant<br/>
+
+     far are nearest near!<br/>
+
+I was in strangerhood amidst you all: * But willed the<br/>
+
+     Truth[FN#491] my solace should appear.<br/>
+
+Joined us the potent bonds of Faith and Creed; * We met as<br/>
+
+     dearest fere greets dearest fere:<br/>
+
+He sued for interview whenas pursued * The spy, and blamed us<br/>
+
+     envy's jibe and jeer:<br/>
+
+Then leave your chiding and from blame desist, * For fie upon<br/>
+
+     you! not a word I'll hear.<br/>
+
+I care for naught that disappears and fleets; * My care's for<br/>
+
+     Things nor fleet nor disappear.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And lo! a Shaykh, a very old man, opened the door in haste and said to me,
+'Enter.' So I entered and found myself in a chamber strewn with sweet-scented
+herbs and with a curtain drawn across one corner, from behind which came a
+sound of groaning and grame, weak as from an emaciated frame. I sat down before
+the curtain and was about to offer my salam when I bethought me of his words
+(whom Allah save and assain!), 'Accost not a Jew nor a Christian with the salam
+salutation;[FN#492] and, when ye meet them in the way, constrain them to the
+straitest part thereof.' So I withheld my salutation, but she cried out from
+behind the curtain, saying, 'Where is the salutation of Unity and
+Indivisibility, O Khawwas?' I was astonished at her speech and asked, 'How
+knowest thou me?'; whereto she answered, 'When the heart and thoughts are
+whole, the tongue speaketh eloquently from the secret recesses of the soul. I
+begged Him yesterday to send me one of His saints, at whose hands I might have
+deliverance, and behold, it was cried to me from the dark places of my house,
+'Grieve not; for we soon will send thee Ibrahim the Basket-maker.' Then I asked
+her, 'What of thee?' and she answered, 'It is now four years since there
+appeared to me the Manifest Truth, and He is the Relator and the Ally, and the
+Uniter and the Sitter-by; whereupon my folk looked askance upon me with an evil
+eye and taxed me with insanity and suspected me of depravity, and there came
+not in to me doctor but terrified me, nor visitor but confounded me.' Quoth I,
+'And who led thee to the knowledge of what thou wottest?' Quoth she, 'The
+manifest signs and visible portents of Allah; and, when the path is patent to
+thee, thou espiest with thine own eyes both proof and prover.' Now whilst we
+were talking, behold, in came the old man appointed to guard her and said,
+'What doth thy doctor?'; and she replied, 'He knoweth the hurt and hath hit
+upon the healing.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the Shaykh, her
+guardian, went in to her he said, 'What doth thy doctor?'; and she replied, 'He
+knoweth the hurt and hath hit upon the healing.' Hereupon he manifested joy and
+gladness and accosted me with a cheerful countenance, then went and told the
+King, who enjoined to treat me with all honour and regard. So I visited her
+daily for seven days, at the end of which time she said to me, 'O Abu Ishak,
+when shall be our flight to the land of Al-Islam?' 'How canst thou go forth,'
+replied I, 'and who would dare to aid thee?' Rejoined she, 'He who sent thee to
+me, driving thee as it were;' and I observed, 'Thou sayest sooth.' So when the
+morrow dawned, we fared forth by the city-gate and all eyes were veiled from
+us, by commandment of Him who when He desireth aught, saith to it, 'Be,' and it
+becometh;[FN#493] so that I journeyed with her in safety to Meccah, where she
+made a home hard by the Holy House of Allah and lived seven years; till the
+appointed day of her death. The earth of Meccah was her tomb, and never saw I
+any more steadfast in prayer and fasting than she; Allah send down upon her His
+mercies and have compassion on him who saith,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'When they to me had brought the leach (and surely showed *<br/>
+
+     The signs of flowing tears and pining malady),<br/>
+
+The face-veil he withdrew from me, and 'neath it naught *<br/>
+
+     Save breath of one unsouled, unbodied, could he see.<br/>
+
+Quoth he, 'This be a sickness Love alone shall cure; *<br/>
+
+     Love hath a secret from all guess of man wide free.'<br/>
+
+Quoth they, 'An folk ignore what here there be with him *<br/>
+
+     Nature of ill and eke its symptomology,<br/>
+
+How then shall medicine work a cure?' At this quoth I *<br/>
+
+     'Leave me alone; I have no guessing specialty.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap70"></a>THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+A certain Prophet[FN#494] made his home for worship on a lofty mountain, at
+whose foot was a spring of running water, and he was wont to sit by day on the
+summit, that no man might see him, calling upon the name of Allah the Most
+Highest and watching those who frequented the spring. One day, as he sat
+looking upon the fountain, behold, he espied a horseman who came up and
+dismounted thereby and taking a bag from his neck, set it down beside him,
+after which he drank of the water and rested awhile, then he rode away, leaving
+behind him the bag which contained gold pieces. Presently up came another man
+to drink of the spring, who saw the bag and finding it full of money took it
+up; then, after satisfying his thirst, he made off with it in safety. A little
+after came a woodcutter wight with a heavy load of fuel on his back, and sat
+down by the spring to drink, when lo! back came the first horseman in great
+trouble and asked him, "Where is the bag which was here?" and when he answered,
+"I know nothing of it," the rider drew his sword and smote him and slew him.
+Then he searched his clothes, but found naught; so he left him and wended his
+ways. Now when the Prophet saw this, he said, "O Lord, one man hath taken a
+thousand dinars and another man hath been slain unjustly." But Allah answered
+him, saying, "Busy thyself with thy devotions, for the ordinance of the
+universe is none of thine affair. The father of this horseman had violently
+despoiled of a thousand dinars the father of the second horseman; so I gave the
+son possession of his sire's money. As for the woodcutter, he had slain the
+horseman's father, wherefore I enabled the son to obtain retribution for
+himself." Then cried the Prophet, "There is none other god than Thou! Glory be
+to Thee only! Verily, Thou art the Knower of Secrets."[FN#495]—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prophet was
+bidden by inspiration of Allah to busy himself with his devotions and learned
+the truth of the case, he cried, "There is none other god but Thou! Glory be to
+Thee only! Verily, Thou and Thou alone wottest hidden things." Furthermore, one
+of the poets hath made these verses on the matter,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"The Prophet saw whatever eyes could see, * And fain of other<br/>
+
+     things enquired he;<br/>
+
+And, when his eyes saw things misunderstood, * Quoth he, 'O Lord,<br/>
+
+     this slain from sin was free.<br/>
+
+This one hath won him wealth withouten work; * Albe appeared he<br/>
+
+     garbed in penury.<br/>
+
+And that in joy of life was slain, although * O man's Creator<br/>
+
+     free of sin he be.'<br/>
+
+God answered ''Twas his father's good thou saw'st * Him take; by<br/>
+
+     heirship not by roguery;<br/>
+
+Yon woodman too that horseman's sire had slain; * Whose son<br/>
+
+     avenged him with just victory:<br/>
+
+Put off, O slave of Me, this thought for I * In men have set<br/>
+
+     mysterious secrecy!<br/>
+
+Bow to Our Law and humble thee, and learn * For good and evil<br/>
+
+     issues Our decree.'"[FN#496]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And a certain pious man hath told us the tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap71"></a>THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT.</h3>
+
+<p>
+"I was once a ferryman on the Nile and used to ply between the eastern and the
+western banks. Now one day, as I sat in my boat, there came up to me an old man
+of a bright and beaming countenance, who saluted me and I returned his
+greeting; and he said to me, 'Wilt thou ferry me over for the love of Allah
+Almighty?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he continued, 'Wilt thou moreover give me
+food for Allah's sake?'; to which again I answered, 'With all my heart.' So he
+entered the boat and I rowed him over to the eastern side, remarking that he
+was clad in a patched gown and carried a gourd-bottle and a staff. When he was
+about to land, he said to me, 'I desire to lay on thee a heavy trust.' Quoth I,
+'What is it?' Quoth he, 'It hath been revealed to me that my end is nearhand
+and that to-morrow about noon thou wilt come and find me dead under yonder
+tree. Wash me and wrap me in the shroud thou wilt see under my head and after
+thou hast prayed over me, bury me in this sandy ground and take my gown and
+gourd and staff, which do thou deliver to one who shall come and demand them of
+thee.' I marvelled at his words, and I slept there. On the morrow I awaited
+till noon the event he had announced, and then I forgot what he had said till
+near the hour of afternoon-prayer, when I remembered it and hastening to the
+appointed place, found him under the tree, dead, with a new shroud under his
+head, exhaling a fragrance of musk. So I washed him and shrouded him and prayed
+over him, then dug a hole in the sand and buried him, after I had taken his
+ragged gown and bottle and staff, with which I crossed the Nile to the western
+side and there nighted. As soon as morning dawned and the city gate opened, I
+sighted a young man known to me as a loose fellow, clad in fine clothes and his
+hands stained with Henna, who said to me, 'Art thou not such an one?' 'Yes,'
+answered I; and he said, 'Give me the trust.' Quoth I, 'What is that?' Quoth
+he, 'The gown, the gourd and the staff.' I asked him, 'Who told thee of them?'
+and he answered, 'I know nothing save that I spent yesternight at the wedding
+of one of my friends singing and carousing till daylight, when I lay me down to
+sleep and take my rest; and behold, there stood by me a personage who said,
+'Verily Allah Almighty hath taken such a saint to Himself and hath appointed
+thee to fill his place; so go thou to a certain person (naming the ferryman),
+and take of him the dead man's gown and bottle and staff, for he left them with
+him for thee.' So I brought them out and gave them to him; whereupon he doffed
+his clothes and, donning the gown, went his way and left me.[FN#497] And when
+the glooms closed around me, I fell a-weeping; but, that night, while sleeping
+I saw the Lord of Holiness (glorified and exalted be He!) in a dream saying, 'O
+my servant, is it grievous to thee that I have granted to one of My servants to
+return to Me? Indeed, this is of My bounty, that I vouchsafe to whom I will,
+for I over all things am Almighty.' So I repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Lover with loved[FN#498] loseth will and aim! * All choice (an<br/>
+
+     couldst thou know) were sinful shame.<br/>
+
+Or grant He favour and with union grace, * Or from thee turn<br/>
+
+     away, He hath no blame.<br/>
+
+An from such turning thou no joy enjoy * Depart! the place for<br/>
+
+     thee no place became.<br/>
+
+Or canst His near discern not from His far? * Then Love's in vain<br/>
+
+     and thou'rt a-rear and lame.<br/>
+
+If pine for Thee afflict my sprite, or men * Hale me to death,<br/>
+
+     the rein Thy hand shall claim!<br/>
+
+So turn Thee to or fro, to me 'tis one; * What Thou ordainest<br/>
+
+     none shall dare defame:<br/>
+
+My love hath naught of aim but Thine approof * And if Thou say we<br/>
+
+     part I say the same.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And of the tales they tell is one concerning
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap72"></a>THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE.</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once a notable of the Children of Israel, a man of wealth who had a
+pious and blessed son. When his last hour drew nigh, his son sat down at his
+head and said to him, "O my lord, give me an injunction." Quoth the father, "O
+dear son, I charge thee, swear not by Allah or truly or falsely." Then he died
+and certain lewd fellows of the Children of Israel heard of the charge he had
+laid on his son and began coming to the latter and saying, "Thy father had such
+and such monies of mine, and thou knowest it; so give me what was entrusted to
+him or else make oath that there was no trust." The good son would not disobey
+his sire's injunction, so gave them all they claimed; and they ceased not to
+deal thus with him, till his wealth was spent and he fell into straitest
+predicament. Now the young man had a pious and blessed wife, who had borne him
+two little sons; so he said to her, "The folk have multiplied their demands on
+me and, while I had the wherewithal to free myself of debt, I rendered it
+freely; but naught is now left us, and if others make demands upon me, we shall
+be in absolute distress, I and thou; our best way were to save ourselves by
+fleeing to some place, where none knoweth us, and earn our bread among the
+lower of the folk." Accordingly, he took ship with her and his two children,
+knowing not whither he should wend; but, "When Allah judgeth, there is none to
+reverse His judgment;"[FN#499] and quoth the tongue of the case,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"O flier from thy home when foes affright! * Whom led to weal and<br/>
+
+     happiness such flight,<br/>
+
+Grudge not this exile when he flees abroad * Where he on wealth<br/>
+
+     and welfare may alight.<br/>
+
+An pearls for ever did abide in shell, * The kingly crown they<br/>
+
+     ne'er had deckt and dight."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ship was wrecked, yet the man saved himself on a plank and his wife and
+children also saved themselves, but on other planks. The waves separated them
+and the wife was cast up in one country and one of the boys in another. The
+second son was picked up by a ship, and the surges threw the father on a desert
+island, where he landed and made the Wuzu-ablution. Then he called the
+prayer-call,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eightieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the man landed upon
+the island, he made the Wuzu-ablution to free himself from the impurities of
+the sea and called the call to prayer and stood up to his devotions, when,
+behold, there came forth of the sea, creatures of various kinds and prayed with
+him. When he had finished, he went up to a tree and stayed his hunger with its
+fruits; after which he found a spring of water and drank thereof and praised
+Allah, to whom be honour and glory! He abode thus three days and whenever he
+stood up to pray, the sea-creatures came out and prayed in the same manner as
+he prayed. Now after the third day, he heard a voice crying aloud and saying,
+"O thou just man, and pious, who didst so honour thy father and revere the
+decrees of thy Lord, grieve not, for Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) shall
+restore to thee all which left thy hand. In this isle are hoards and monies and
+things of price which the Almighty willeth thou shalt inherit, and they are in
+such a part of this place. So bring thou them to light; and verily, we will
+send ships unto thee; and do thou bestow charity on the folk and bid them to
+thee." So he sought out that place, and the Lord discovered to him the
+treasures in question. Then ships began resorting to him, and he gave abundant
+largesse to the crews, saying to them, "Be sure ye direct the folk unto me and
+I will give them such and such a thing and appoint to them this and that."
+Accordingly, there came folk from all parts and places, nor had ten years
+passed over him ere the island was peopled and the man became its King.[FN#500]
+No one came to him but he entreated him with munificence, and his name was
+noised abroad, through the length and breadth of the earth. Now his elder son
+had fallen into the hands of a man who reared him and taught him polite
+accomplishments; and, in like manner, the younger was adopted by one who gave
+him a good education and brought him up in the ways of merchants. The wife also
+happened upon a trader who entrusted to her his property and made a covenant
+with her that he would not deal dishonestly by her, but would aid her to obey
+Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!); and he used to make her the
+companion of his voyages and his travels. Now the elder son heard the report of
+the King and resolved to visit him, without knowing who he was; so he went to
+him and was well received by the King, who made him his secretary. Presently
+the other son heard of the King's piety and justice and was also taken into his
+service as a steward. Then the brothers abode awhile, neither knowing the
+other, till it chanced that the merchant, in whose home was their mother, also
+hearing of the King's righteous and generous dealing with the lieges, freighted
+a ship with rich stuffs and other excellent produce of the land, and taking the
+woman with him, set sail for the island. He made it in due course and landing,
+presented himself with his gift before the King; who rejoiced therein with
+exceeding joy and ordered him a splendid return-present. Now, there were, among
+the gifts, certain aromatic roots of which he would have the merchant acquaint
+him with the names and uses; so he said to him, "Abide with us this night."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King said,
+"Abide with us this night," the merchant replied, "We have in the ship one to
+whom I have promised to entrust the care of her to none save myself; and the
+same is a holy woman whose prayers have brought me weal and I have felt the
+blessing of her counsels." Rejoined the King, "I will send her some trusty men,
+who shall pass the night in the ship and guard her and all that is with her."
+The merchant agreed to this and abode with the King, who called his secretary
+and steward and said to them, "Go and pass the night in this man's ship and
+keep it safe, Inshallah!" So they went up into the ship and seating themselves,
+this on the poop and that on the bow, passed a part of the night in repeating
+the names of Allah (to whom belong Majesty and Might!). Then quoth one to the
+other, "Ho, such an one! The King bade us keep watch and I fear lest sleep
+overtake us; so, come, let us discourse of stories of fortune and of the good
+we have seen and the trials of life." Quoth the other, "O my brother, as for my
+trials Fate parted me from my mother and a brother of mine, whose name was even
+as thine; and the cause of our parting was this. My father took ship with us
+from such a place, and the winds rose against us and were contrary, so that the
+ship was wrecked and Allah broke our fair companionship." Hearing this the
+first asked, "What was the name of thy mother, O my brother?"; and the second
+answered, "So and so." Thereat brother threw himself upon brother saying, "By
+Allah, thou art my very brother!" And each fell to telling the other what had
+befallen him in his youth, whilst the mother heard all they said, but held her
+peace and in patience possessed her soul. Now when it was morning, one said to
+the other, "Come, brother, let us go to my lodging and talk there;" and the
+other said, "'Tis well." So they went away and presently, the merchant came
+back and finding the woman in great trouble, said to her, "What hath befallen
+thee and why this concern?" Quoth she, "Thou sentest to me yesternight men who
+tempted me to evil, and I have been in sore annoy with them." At this, he was
+wroth and, repairing to the King, reported the conduct of his two trusty
+wights. The King summoned the twain forthwith, as he loved them for their
+fidelity and piety; and, sending for the woman, that he might hear from her own
+lips what she had to say against them, thus bespake her, "O woman, what hath
+betided thee from these two men in whom I trust?" She replied, "O King, I
+conjure thee by the Almighty, the Bountiful One, the Lord of the Empyrean, bid
+them repeat the words they spoke yesternight." So he said to them, "Say what ye
+said and conceal naught thereof." Accordingly, they repeated their talk, and
+lo! the King rising from his throne, gave a great cry and threw himself upon
+them, embracing them and saying, "By Allah, ye are my very sons!" Therewith the
+woman unveiled her face and said, "And by Allah, I am their very mother." So
+they were united and abode in all solace of life and its delight till death
+parted them; and so glory be to Him who delivereth His servant when he
+restoreth to Him, and disappointeth not his hope in Him and his trust! And how
+well saith the poet on the subject,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Each thing of things hath his appointed tide * When 'tis, O<br/>
+
+     brother, granted or denied.<br/>
+
+Repine not an affliction hit thee hard; * For woe and welfare aye<br/>
+
+     conjoint abide:<br/>
+
+How oft shall woman see all griefs surround * Yet feel a joyance<br/>
+
+     thrill what lies inside!<br/>
+
+How many a wretch, on whom the eyes of folk * Look down, shall<br/>
+
+     grace exalt to pomp and pride!<br/>
+
+This man is one long suffering grief and woe; * Whom change and<br/>
+
+     chance of Time hath sorely tried:<br/>
+
+The World divided from what held he dearest, * After long union<br/>
+
+     scattered far and wide;<br/>
+
+But deigned his Lord unite them all again, * And in the Lord is<br/>
+
+     every good descried.<br/>
+
+Glory to Him whose Providence rules all * Living, as surest<br/>
+
+     proofs for us decide.<br/>
+
+Near is the Near One; but no wisdom clearer * Shows him, nor<br/>
+
+     distant wayfare brings Him nearer."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And this tale is told of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap73"></a>ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA'AFAR THE LEPER.[FN#501]</h3>
+
+<p>
+"I had been many times to Meccah (Allah increase its honour!) and the folk used
+to follow me for my knowledge of the road and remembrance of the
+water-stations. It happened one year that I was minded to make the pilgrimage
+to the Holy House and visitation of the Tomb of His Prophet (on whom be
+blessing and peace!) and I said in myself, 'I well know the way and will fare
+alone.' So I set out and journeyed till I came to Al-Kadisνyah[FN#502] and,
+entering the mosque there, saw a man suffering from black leprosy seated in the
+prayer-niche. Quoth he on seeing me, 'O Abu al-Hasan, I crave thy company to
+Meccah.' Quoth I to myself, 'I fled from all my companions, and how shall I
+company with lepers?' So I said to him, 'I will bear no man company'; and he
+was silent at my words. Next day I walked on alone, till I came to
+Al-Akabah,[FN#503] where I entered the mosque and found the leper seated in the
+prayer-niche. So I said to myself, 'Glory be to Allah! how hath this fellow
+preceded me hither?' But he raised his head to me and said with a smile, 'O Abu
+al-Hasan, He doth for the weak that which surpriseth the strong!' I passed that
+night confounded at what I had seen; and, as soon as morning dawned, set out
+again by myself; but when I came to Arafat[FN#504] and entered the mosque,
+behold, there was the leper seated in the niche! So I threw myself upon him and
+kissing his feet said, 'O my lord, I crave thy company.' But he answered, 'This
+may in no way be.' Then I began weeping and wailing at the loss of his
+converse, when he said, 'Spare thy tears which will avail thee naught!'"-And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Hasan continued:
+"Now when I saw the leper-man seated in the prayer-niche, I threw myself upon
+him and said, 'O my lord, I crave thy company;' and fell to kissing his feet.
+But he answered, 'This may in no way be!' Then I began weeping and wailing at
+the loss of his company when he said, 'Spare thy tears which will avail thee
+naught!'; and he recited these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Why dost thou weep when I depart and thou didst parting claim; *<br/>
+
+     And cravest union when we ne'er shall reunite the same?<br/>
+
+Thou lookedest on nothing save my weakness and disease; * And<br/>
+
+     saidst 'Nor goes nor comes, or night or day, this sickly<br/>
+
+     frame.<br/>
+
+Seest not how Allah (glorified His glory ever be!) * Deigneth to<br/>
+
+     grant His slave's petition wherewithal he came.<br/>
+
+If I, to eyes of men be that and only that they see, * And this<br/>
+
+     my body show itself so full of grief and grame,<br/>
+
+And have I naught of food that shall supply me to the place *<br/>
+
+     Where crowds unto my Lord resort impelled by single aim,<br/>
+
+I have a high Creating Lord whose mercies aye are hid; * A Lord<br/>
+
+     who hath none equal and no fear is known to Him.<br/>
+
+So fare thee safe and leave me lone in strangerhood to wone * For<br/>
+
+     He, the only One, consoles my loneliness so lone.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Accordingly, I left him; but every station I came to, I found he had foregone
+me, till I reached Al-Medinah, where I lost sight of him and could hear no
+tidings of him. Here I met Abu Yazνd al-Bustαmi and Abu Bakr al-Shibli and a
+number of other Shaykhs and learned men, to whom with many complaints, I told
+my case and they said, 'Heaven forbid that thou shouldst gain his company after
+this! He was Abu Ja'afar the leper, in whose name folk at all times pray for
+rain and by whose blessing-prayers their end attain.' When I heard their words,
+my desire for his company redoubled and I implored the Almighty to reunite me
+with him. Whilst I was standing on Arafat,[FN#505] one pulled me from behind,
+so I turned and behold, it was my man. At this sight I cried out with a loud
+cry and fell down in a fainting fit; but, when I came to myself he had
+disappeared from my sight. This increased my yearning for him and the
+ceremonies were tedious to me and I prayed Almighty Allah to give me sight of
+him; nor was it but a few days after, when lo! one pulled me from behind, and I
+turned and it was he again. Thereupon he said, 'Come, I conjure thee and ask
+thy want of me.' So I begged him to pray for me three prayers; first, that
+Allah would make me love poverty; secondly, that I might never lie down at
+night upon provision assured to me; and thirdly, that He would vouchsafe me to
+look upon His bountiful Face. So he prayed for me as I wished, and departed
+from me. And indeed Allah hath granted me what the devotee asked in prayer: to
+begin with He hath made me so love poverty that, by the Almighty! there is
+naught in the world dearer to me than it, and secondly since such a year, I
+have never lain down to sleep upon assured provision; withal hath He never let
+me lack aught. As for the third prayer, I trust that He will vouchsafe me that
+also, even as He hath granted the two precedent, for right Bountiful and
+Beneficent is His Godhead, and Allah have mercy on him who said:[FN#506]-
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Garb of Fakir, renouncement, lowliness;<br/>
+
+His robe of tatters and of rags his dress;<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And pallor ornamenting brow as though<br/>
+
+'Twere wanness such as waning crescents show.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Wasted him prayer a-through the long-lived night,<br/>
+
+And flooding tears ne'er cease to dim his sight.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Memory of Him shall cheer his lonely room:<br/>
+
+Th' Almighty nearest is in nightly gloom.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Refuge helpeth such Fakir in need;<br/>
+
+Help e'en the cattle and the winged breed:<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Allah for sake of him of wrath is fain,<br/>
+
+And for the grace of him shall fall the rain;<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And if he pray one day for plague to stay,<br/>
+
+'Twill stay, and 'bate man's wrong and tyrants slay.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While folk are sad, afflicted one and each,<br/>
+
+He in his mercy's rich, the generous leach:<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Bright shines his brow; an thou regard his face<br/>
+
+Thy heart illumined shines by light of grace.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+O thou who shunnest souls of worth innate<br/>
+
+Departs thee (woe to thee!) of sins the weight.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Thou thinkest to overtake them, while thou bearest<br/>
+
+Follies, which slay thee whatso way thou farest.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Didst wot their worth thou hadst all honour showed,<br/>
+
+And tears in streamlets from thine eyes had flowed.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To catarrh-troubled men flowers lack their smell;<br/>
+
+And brokers ken for how much clothes can sell;<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So haste and with thy Lord reunion sue,<br/>
+
+And haply Fate shall lend thee aidance due,<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Rest from rejection and estrangement-stress,<br/>
+
+And Joy thy wish and will shall choicely bless.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His court wide open for the suer is dight:—<br/>
+
+One, very God, the Lord, th' Almighty might.'"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they also tell a tale of
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap74"></a>THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS.[FN#507]</h3>
+
+<p>
+There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before, a
+Grecian sage called Daniel, who had disciples and scholars and the wise men of
+Greece were obedient to his bidding and relied upon his learning. Withal had
+Allah denied him a man child. One night, as he lay musing and weeping over the
+lack of a son who might inherit his lore, he bethought him that Allah (extolled
+and exalted be He!) heareth the prayer of those who resort to Him and that
+there is no doorkeeper at the door of His bounties and that He favoureth whom
+He will without compt and sendeth no supplicant empty away; nay He filleth
+their hands with favours and benefits. So he besought the Almighty, the
+Bountiful, to vouchsafe him a son to succeed him, and to endow him abundantly
+with His beneficence. Then he returned home and carnally knew his wife who
+conceived by him the same night.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Grecian sage returned
+home and knew his wife who conceived by him the same night. A few days after
+this he took ship for a certain place, but the ship was wrecked and he saved
+himself on one of her planks, while only five leaves remained to him of all the
+books he had. When he returned home, he laid the five leaves in a box and
+locking it, gave the key to his wife (who then showed big with child), and said
+to her, "Know that my decease is at hand and that the time draweth nigh for my
+translation from this abode temporal to the home which is eternal. Now thou art
+with child and after my death wilt haply bear a son: if this be so, name him
+Hαsib Karνm al-Dνn[FN#508] and rear him with the best of rearing. When the boy
+shall grow up and shall say to thee, 'What inheritance did my father leave
+me?'' give him these five leaves, which when he shall have read and understood,
+he will be the most learned man of his time." Then he farewelled her and
+heaving one sigh, departed the world and all that is therein—the mercy of Allah
+the Most Highest be upon Him! His family and friends wept over him and washed
+him and bore him forth in great state and buried him; after which they wended
+their ways home. But few days passed ere his widow bare a handsome boy and
+named him Hasib Karim al-Din, as her husband charged her; and immediately after
+his birth she summoned the astrologers, who calculated his ascendants and
+drawing his horoscope, said to her, "Know, O woman! that this birth will live
+many a year; but that will be after a great peril in the early part of his
+life, wherefrom can he escape, he will be given the knowledge of all the exact
+sciences." So saying they went their ways. She suckled him two years,[FN#509]
+then weaned him, and when he was five years old, she placed him in a school to
+learn his book, but he would read nothing. So she took him from school and set
+him to learn a trade; but he would not master any craft and there came no work
+from his hands. The mother wept over this and the folk said to her, "Marry him:
+haply he will take heart for his wife and learn him a trade." So she sought out
+a girl and married him to her; but, despite marriage and the lapse of time, he
+remained idle as before, and would do nothing. One day, some neighbours of
+hers, who were woodcutters, came to her and said, "Buy thy son an ass and cords
+and an axe and let him go with us to the mountain and we will all of us cut
+wood for fuel. The price of the wood shall be his and ours, and he shall
+provide thee and his wife with his share." When she heard this, she joyed with
+exceeding joy and bought her son an ass and cords and hatchet; then, carrying
+him to the woodcutters, delivered him into their hands and solemnly committed
+him to their care. Said they, "Have no concern for the boy, our Lord will
+provide for him: he is the son of our Shaykh." So they carried him to the
+mountain, where they cut firewood and loaded their asses therewith; then
+returned to the city and, selling what they had cut, spent the monies on their
+families. This they did on the next day and the third and ceased not for some
+time, till it chanced one day, a violent storm of rain broke over them, and
+they took refuge in a great cave till the downfall should pass away. Now Hasib
+Karim al-Din went apart from the rest into a corner of the cavern and sitting
+down, fell to smiting the floor with his axe. Presently he noted that the
+ground sounded hollow under the hatchet; so he dug there awhile and came to a
+round flagstone with a ring in it. When he saw this, he was glad and called his
+comrades the woodcutters,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib Karim al-Din
+saw the flagstone with the ring, he was glad and called his comrades the
+woodcutters, who came to him and, finding it was fact, soon pulled up the stone
+and discovered under it a trap-door, which, being opened, showed a cistern full
+of bees' honey.[FN#510] Then said they to one another, "This is a large store
+and we have nothing for it but to return to the city and fetch vessels wherein
+to carry away the honey, and sell it and divide the price, whilst one of us
+stands by the cistern, to guard it from outsiders." Quoth Hasib, "I will stay
+and keep watch over it till you bring your pots and pans." So they left him on
+guard there and, repairing to the city, fetched vessels, which they filled with
+honey and loading their asses therewith, carried them to the streets and sold
+the contents. They returned on the morrow and thus they did several days in
+succession, sleeping in the town by night and drawing off the stuff by day,
+whilst Hasib abode on guard by it till but little remained, when they said one
+to other, "It was Hasib Karim al-Din found the honey, and tomorrow he will come
+down to the city and complain against us and claim the price of it, saying,
+Twas I found it;' nor is there escape for us but that we let him down into the
+cistern, to bale out the rest of the honey, and leave him there; so will he die
+of hunger, and none shall know of him." They all fell in with this plot as they
+were making for the place; and, when they reached it, one said to him, "O
+Hasib, go down into the pit and bale out for us the rest of the honey." So he
+went down and passed up to them what remained of the honey, after which he said
+to them, "Draw me up, for there is nothing left." They made him no answer; but,
+loading their asses, went off to the city and left him alone in the cistern.
+Thereupon he fell to weeping and crying, "There is no Majesty and there is no
+Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Such was his case; but as
+regards his comrades, when they reached the city and sold the honey, they
+repaired to Hasib's mother, weeping, and said to her, "May thy head outlive thy
+son Hasib!" She asked, "What brought about his death?" and they answered, "We
+were cutting wood on the mountain- top, when there fell on us a heavy downfall
+of rain and we took shelter from it in a cavern; and suddenly thy son's ass
+broke loose and fled into the valley, and he ran after it, to turn it back,
+when there came out upon them a great wolf, who tore thy son in pieces and
+ravined the ass." When the mother heard this, she beat her face and strewed
+dust on her head and fell to mourning for her son; and she kept life and soul
+together only by the meat and drink which they brought her every day. As for
+the woodcutters they opened them shops and became merchants and spent their
+lives in eating and drinking and laughing and frolicking. Meanwhile Hasib Karim
+al-Din, who ceased not to weep and call for help, sat down upon the cistern
+edge when behold, a great scorpion fell down on him; so he rose and killed it.
+Then he took thought and said, "The cistern was full of honey; how came this
+scorpion here?" Accordingly he got up and examined the well right and left,
+till he found a crevice from which the scorpion had fallen and saw the light of
+day shining through it. So he took out his woodman's knife and enlarged the
+hole, till it was big as a window, then he crept through it and, after walking
+for some time, came to a vast gallery, which led him to a huge door of black
+iron bearing a padlock of silver wherein was a key of gold. He stole up to the
+door and, looking through the chink, saw a great light shining within; so he
+took the key and, opening the door, went on for some time, till he came to a
+large artificial lake, wherein he caught sight of something that shimmered like
+silver. He walked up to it and at last he saw, hard by a hillock of green
+jasper and on the hill top, a golden throne studded with all manner gems,—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasib reached the
+hillock he found it of green jasper surmounted by a golden throne studded with
+all manner gems, round which were set many stools, some of gold, some of silver
+and others of leek green emerald. He clomb the hillock and, counting the
+stools, found them twelve thousand in number; then he mounted the throne which
+was set on the centre and, seating himself thereon, fell to wondering at the
+lake and the stools, and he marvelled till drowsiness overcame him and he drops
+asleep. Presently, he was aroused by a loud snorting and hissing and rustling,
+so he opened his eyes; and, sitting up, saw each stool occupied by a huge
+serpent, an hundred cubits in length. At this sight, great fear get hold of
+him; his spittle dried up for the excess of his dread and he despaired of life,
+as all their eyes were blazing like live coals. Then he turned towards the lake
+and saw that what he had taken for shimmering water was a multitude of small
+snakes, none knoweth their compt save Allah the Most High. After awhile, there
+came up to him a serpent as big as a mule, bearing on its back a tray of gold,
+wherein lay another serpent which shone like crystal and whose face was as that
+of a woman[FN#511] and who spake with human speech. And as soon as she was
+brought up to Hasib, she saluted him and he returned the salutation. There
+upon, one of the serpents seated on the stools came up and, lifting her off the
+tray, set her on one of the seats and she cried out to the other serpents in
+their language, whereupon they all fell down from their stools and did her
+homage. But she signed to them to sit and they did so. Then she addressed
+Hasib, saying, "Have no fear of us, O youth; for I am the Queen of the Serpents
+and their Sultαnah." When he heard her speak on this wise, he took heart and
+she bade the serpents bring him somewhat of food.[FN#512] So they brought
+apples and grapes and pomegranates and pistachio-nuts and filberts and walnuts
+and almonds and bananas and set them before him, and the Queen-serpent said,
+"Welcome, O youth! What is thy name?" Answered he, "Hasib Karim al-Din;" and
+she rejoined, "O Hasib, eat of these fruits, for we have no other meat and fear
+thou have nothing from us at all." Hearing this, he ate his fill and praised
+Allah Almighty; and presently they took away the trays from before him, and the
+Queen said, "Tell me, O Hasib, whence thou art and how camest thou hither and
+what hath befallen thee." So he told her his story from first to last, the
+death of his father; his birth; his being sent to school where he learnt
+nothing; his becoming a wood cutter; his finding the honey- cistern; his being
+abandoned therein; his killing the scorpion; his widening the crevice; his
+finding the iron door and his coming upon the Queen, and he ended his long tale
+with saying, "These be my adventures from beginning to end and only Allah
+wotteth what will betide me after all this!" Quoth the Queen, after listening
+to his words, "Nothing save good shall betide thee:"—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Serpent-queen
+had heard his story she said, "Nothing save good shall betide thee: but I would
+have thee, O Hasib, abide with me some time, that I may tell thee my history
+and acquaint thee with the wondrous adventures which have happened to me." "I
+hear and obey thy hest," answered he; and she began to tell in these words,
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap75"></a>The Adventures of Bulukiya.</h3>
+
+<p>
+"Know thou, O Hasib, there was once in the city of Cairo a King of the Banu
+Isra'νl, a wise and a pious, who was bent double by poring over books of
+learning, and he had a son named Bulϊkiyα. When he grew old and weak and was
+nigh upon death, his Grandees and Officers of state came up to salute him, and
+he said to them, 'O folk, know that at hand is the hour of my march from this
+world to the next, and I have no charge to lay on you, save to commend to your
+care my son Bulukiya.' Then said he, 'I testify that there is no god save the
+God;' and, heaving one sigh, departed the world the mercy of Allah be upon him!
+They laid him out and washed him and buried him with a procession of great
+state. Then they made his son Bulukiya Sultan in his stead; and he ruled the
+kingdom justly and the people had peace in his time. Now it befell one day that
+he entered his father's treasuries, to look about him, and coming upon an inner
+compartment and finding the semblance of a door, opened it and passed in. And
+lo! he found himself in a little closet, wherein stood a column of white
+marble, on the top of which was a casket of ebony; he opened this also and saw
+therein another casket of gold, containing a book. He read the book and found
+in it an account of our lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!) and how
+he should be sent in the latter days[FN#513] and be the lord of the first
+Prophets and the last. On seeing the personal description Bulukiya's heart was
+taken with love of him, so he at once assembled all the notables of the
+Children of Israel, the Cohens or diviners, the scribes and the priests, and
+acquainted them with the book, reading portions of it to them and, adding, 'O
+folk, needs must I bring my father out of his grave and burn him.' The lieges
+asked, 'Why wilt thou burn him?'; and he answered, 'Because he hid this book
+from me and imparted it not to me.' Now the old King had excerpted it from the
+Torah or Pentateuch and the Books of Abraham; and had set it in one of his
+treasuries and concealed it from all living. Rejoined they, 'O King, thy father
+is dead; his body is in the dust and his affair is in the hands of his Lord;
+thou shalt not take him forth of his tomb.' So he knew that they would not
+suffer him to do this thing by his sire and leaving them he repaired to his
+mother, to whom said he, 'O my mother, I have found, in one of my father's
+treasuries, a book containing a description of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+keep!), a prophet who shall be sent in the latter days; and my heart is
+captivated with love of him. Wherefore am I resolved to wander over the earth,
+till I foregather with him; else I shall die of longing for his love.' Then he
+doffed his clothes and donned an Aba gown of goat's hair and coarse sandals,
+saying, 'O my mother, forget me not in thy prayers.' She wept over him and
+said, 'What will become of us after thee?'; but Bulukiya answered, 'I can
+endure no longer, and I commit my affair and thine to Allah who is Almighty.'
+Then he set out on foot Syria wards without the knowledge of any of his folk,
+and coming to the sea board found a vessel whereon he shipped as one of the
+crew. They sailed till he made an island, where Bulukiya landed with the crew,
+but straying away from the rest he sat down under a tree and sleep got the
+better of him. When he awoke, he sought the ship but found that she had set
+sail without him, and in that island he saw serpents as big as camels and palm
+trees, which repeated the names of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) and
+blessed Mohammed (whom the Lord assain and save!), proclaiming the Unity and
+glorifying the Glorious; whereat he wondered."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya saw the
+serpents glorifying God and proclaiming the Unity, he wondered with extreme
+wonder. When they saw him, they flocked to him and one of them said to him,
+'Who and whence art thou and whither goest thou. and what is thy name?' Quoth
+he, 'My name is Bulukiya; I am of the Children of Israel and, being distracted
+for love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!), I come in quest of him. But
+who are ye, O noble creatures?' Answered they, 'We are of the dwellers in the
+Jahannam-hell; and Almighty Allah created us for the punishment of Kafirs.'
+'And how came ye hither?' asked he, and the Serpents answered, 'Know, O
+Bulukiya, that Hell[FN#514] of the greatness of her boiling, breatheth twice a
+year, expiring in the summer and inspiring in the winter, and hence the summer
+heat and winter cold. When she exhaleth, she casteth us forth of her maw, and
+we are drawn in again with her inhaled breath.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'Say me, are
+there greater serpents than you in Hell?'; and they said, 'Of a truth we are
+cast out with the expired breath but by reason of our smallness; for in Hell
+every serpent is so great, that were the biggest of us to pass over its nose it
+would not feel us.[FN#515]' Asked Bulukiya, 'Ye sing the praises of Allah and
+invoke blessings on Mohammed, whom the Almighty assain and save! Whence wot ye
+of Mohammed?'; and they answered, 'O Bulukiya, verily his name is written on
+the gates of Paradise; and, but for him, Allah had not created the
+worlds[FN#516] nor Paradise, nor heaven nor hell nor earth, for He made all
+things that be, solely on his account, and hath conjoined his name with His own
+in every place; wherefore we love Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!' Now
+hearing the serpents' converse did but inflame Bulukiya's love for Mohammed and
+yearning for his sight; so he took leave of them; and, making his way to the
+sea-shore, found there a ship made fast to the beach; he embarked therein as a
+seaman and sailed nor ceased sailing till he came to another island. Here he
+landed and walking about awhile found serpents great and small, none knoweth
+their number save Almighty Allah, and amongst them a white Serpent, clearer
+than crystal, seated in a golden tray borne on the back of another serpent as
+big as an elephant. Now this, O Hasib, was the Serpent-queen, none other than
+myself." Quoth Hasib, "And what answer didst thou make him?" Quoth she, "Know,
+O Hasib, that when I saw Bulukiya, I saluted him with the salam, and he
+returned my salutation, and I said to him, 'Who and what art thou and what is
+thine errand and whence comest thou and whither goest thou?' Answered he, 'I am
+of the Children of Israel; my name is Bulukiya, and I am a wanderer for the
+love of Mohammed, whose description I have read in the revealed scriptures, and
+of whom I go in search. But what art thou and what are these serpents about
+thee?' Quoth I, 'O Bulukiya, I am the Queen of the Serpents; and when thou
+shalt foregather with Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) bear him my
+salutation.' Then Bulukiya took leave of me and journeyed till he came to the
+Holy City which is Jerusalem. Now there was in that stead a man who was deeply
+versed in all sciences, more especially in geometry and astronomy and
+mathematics, as well as in white magic[FN#517] and Spiritualism; and he had
+studied the Pentateuch and the Evangel and the Psalms and the Books of Abraham.
+His name was Affan; and he had found in certain of his books, that whoso should
+wear the seal ring of our lord Solomon, men and Jinn and birds and beasts and
+all created things would be bound to obey him. Moreover, he had discovered that
+our lord Solomon had been buried in a coffin which was miraculously transported
+beyond the Seven Seas to the place of burial;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Affan had found in
+certain books that none, mortal or spirit, could pluck the seal ring from the
+lord Solomon's finger; and that no navigator could sail his ship upon the Seven
+Seas over which the coffin had been carried. Moreover, he had found out by
+reading that there was a herb of herbs and that if one express its juice and
+anoint therewith his feet, he should walk upon the surface of any sea that
+Allah Almighty had created without wetting his soles, but none could obtain
+this herb, without he had with him the Serpent-queen. When Bulukiya arrived at
+the Holy City, he at once sat down to do his devotions and worship the Lord;
+and, whilst he was so doing, Affan came up and saluted him as a True Believer.
+Then seeing him reading the Pentateuch and adoring the Almighty, he accosted
+him saying, 'What is thy name, O man; and whence comest thou and whither goest
+thou?' He answered, 'My name is Bulukiya; I am from the city of Cairo and am
+come forth wandering in quest of Mohammed, whom Allah bless and preserve!'
+Quoth Affan, 'Come with me to my lodging that I may entertain thee.' 'To hear
+is to obey,' replied Bulukiya So the devotee took him by the hand and carried
+him to his house where he entreated him with the utmost honour and presentry
+said to him, 'Tell me thy history, O my brother, and how thou camest by the
+knowledge of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) that thy heart hath been
+taken with love of him and compelled thee to fare forth and seek him; and
+lastly tell me who it was directed thee in this road.' So he related to him his
+tale in its entirety; whereupon Affan, who well nigh lost his wits for wonder,
+said to him, 'Make tryst for me with the Queen of the Serpents and I will bring
+thee in company with Mohammed, albeit the date of his mission is yet far
+distant. We have only to prevail upon the Queen and carry her in a cage to a
+certain mountain where the herbs grow; and, as long as she is with us, the
+plants as we pass them will parley with human speech and discover their virtues
+by the ordinance of Allah the Most High. For I have found in my books that
+there is a certain herb and all who express its juice and anoint therewith
+their feet shall walk upon whatsoever sea Almighty Allah hath made, without
+wetting sole. When we have found the magical herb, we will let her go her way;
+and then will we anoint our feet with the juice and cross the Seven Seas, till
+we come to the burial place of our lord Solomon. Then we will take the ring off
+his finger and rule even as he ruled and win all our wishes; we will enter the
+Main of Murks[FN#518] and drink of the Water of Life, and so the Almighty will
+let us tarry till the End of Time and we shall foregather with Mohammed, whom
+Allah bless and preserve!' Hearing these words Bulukiya replied, 'O Affan, I
+will make tryst for thee with the Serpent-queen and at once show thee her
+abiding place.' So Affan made him a cage of iron; and, providing himself with
+two bowls, one full of wine and the other of milk, took ship with Bulukiya and
+sailed till they came to the island, where they landed and walked upon it. Then
+Affan set up the cage, in which he laid a noose and withdrew after placing in
+it the two bowls; when he and Bulukiya concealed themselves afar off.
+Presently, up came the Queen of the Serpents (that is, myself) and examined the
+cage. When she (that is I) smelt the savour of the milk, she came down from the
+back of the snake which bore her tray and, entering the cage, drank up the
+milk. Then she went to the bowl of wine and drank of it, whereupon her head
+became giddy and she slept. When Affan saw this, he ran up and locking the cage
+upon her, set it on his head and made for the ship, he and Bulukiya. After
+awhile she awoke and finding herself in a cage of iron on a man's head and
+seeing Bulukiya walking beside the bearer, said to him, 'This is the reward of
+those who do no hurt to the sons of Adam.' Answered he, 'O Queen, have no fear
+of us, for we will do thee no hurt at all. We wish thee only to show us the
+herb which, when pounded and squeezed yieldeth a juice, and this rubbed upon
+the feet conferreth the power of walking dryshod upon what sea soever Almighty
+Allah hath created; and when we have found that, we will return thee to thy
+place and let thee wend thy way.' Then Affan and Bulukiya fared on for the
+hills where grew the herbs; and, as they went about with the Queen, each plant
+they passed began to speak and avouch its virtues by permission of Allah the
+Most High. As they were thus doing and the herbs speaking right and left,
+behold, a plant spoke out and said, 'I am the herb ye seek, and all who gather
+and crush me and anoint their feet with my juice, shall fare over what sea
+soever Allah Almighty hath created and yet ne'er wet sole.' When Affan heard
+this, he set down the cage from his head and, gathering what might suffice them
+of the herb, crushed it and filling two vials with the juice kept them for
+future use; and with what was left they anointed their feet. Then they took up
+the Serpent-queen's cage and journeyed days and nights, till they reached the
+island, where they opened the cage and let out her that is me. When I found
+myself at liberty, I asked them what use they would make of the juice; and they
+answered, 'We design to anoint our feet and to cross the Seven Seas to the
+burial place of our lord Solomon[FN#519] and take the seal ring from his
+finger.' Quoth I, 'Far, far is it from your power to possess yourselves of the
+ring!' They enquired, 'Wherefore?' and I replied, 'Because Almighty Allah
+vouchsafed unto our lord Solomon the gift of this ring and distinguished him
+thereby, for that he said to him, 'O Lord, give me a kingdom which may not be
+obtained after me; for Thou verily art the Giver of kingdoms.[FN#520]' 'So that
+ring is not for you.' And I added, 'Had ye twain taken the herb, whereof all
+who eat shall not die until the First Blast,[FN#521] it had better availed you
+than this ye have gotten; for ye shall nowise come at your desire thereby.' Now
+when they heard this, they repented them with exceeding penitence and went
+their ways."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya and Affan
+heard these words, they repented them with exceeding penitence and went their
+ways. Such was their case; but as regards myself" (continued the Serpent-queen)
+"I went in quest of my host and found it fallen in piteous case, the stronger
+of them having grown weak in my absence and the weaker having died. When they
+saw me, they rejoiced and flocking about me, asked, 'What hath befallen thee,
+and where hast thou been?' So I told them what had passed, after which I
+gathered my forces to "ether and repaired with them to the mountain Kaf, where
+I was wont to winter, summer-freshing in the place where thou now seest me, O
+Hasib Karim al-Din. This, then, is my story and what befell me." Thereupon
+Hasib marvelled at her words and said to her, "I beseech thee, of thy favour,
+bid one of thy guards bear me forth to the surface of the earth, that I may go
+to my people." She replied, "O Hasib, thou shalt not have leave to depart from
+us till winter come, and needs must thou go with us to the Mountain Kaf and
+solace thyself with the sight of the hills and sands and trees and birds
+magnifying the One God, the Victorious; and look upon Marids and Ifrits and
+Jinn, whose number none knoweth save Almighty Allah." When Hasib heard this, he
+was sore chafed and chagrined: then he said to her, "Tell me of Affan and
+Bulukiya; when they departed from thee and went their way, did they cross the
+Seven Seas and reach the burial-place of our lord Solomon or not; and if they
+did had they power to take the ring or not?" Answered she, "Know, that when
+they left me, they anointed their feet with the juice; and, walking over the
+water, fared on from sea to sea, diverting themselves with the wonders of the
+deep, nor ceased they faring till they had traversed the Seven Seas and came in
+sight of a mountain, soaring high in air, whose stones were emeralds and whose
+dust was musk; and in it was a stream of running water. When they made it they
+rejoiced, saying each to the other, 'Verily we have won our wish'; and they
+entered the passes of the mountain and walked on, till they saw from afar a
+cavern surmounted by a great dome, shining with light. So they made for the
+cavern, and entering it beheld therein a throne of gold studded with all manner
+jewels, and about it stools whose number none knoweth save Allah Almighty. And
+they saw lying at full length upon the throne our lord Solomon, clad in robes
+of green silk inwoven with gold and broidered with jewels and precious
+minerals: his right hand was passed over his breast and on the middle finger
+was the seal ring whose lustre outshone that of all other gems in the place.
+Then Affan taught Bulukiya adjurations and conjurations galore and said to him,
+'Repeat these conjurations and cease not repeating until I take the ring.' Then
+he went up to the throne; but, as he drew near unto it lo' c mighty serpent
+came forth from beneath it and cried out at him with so terrible a cry that the
+whole place trembled and sparks flew from its mouth, saying, 'Begone, or thou
+art a dead man' But Affan busied himself with his incantations and suffered
+himself not to be startled thereby. Then the serpent blew such a fiery blast at
+him, that the place was like to be set on fire, and said to him, Woe to thee!
+Except thou turn back, I will consume thee' Hearing these words Bulukiya left
+the cave, but Affan, who suffered himself not to be troubled, went up to the
+Prophet: then he put out his hand to the ring and touched it and strove to draw
+it off the lord Solomon's finger; and behold, the serpent blew on him once more
+and he became a heap of ashes. Such was his case; but as regards Bulukiya he
+fell down in a swoon."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
+say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"When Bulukiya saw Affan burnt up by the fire and become a heap of ashes, he
+fell down in a swoon. Thereupon the Lord (magnified be His Majesty!) bade
+Gabriel descend earthwards and save him ere the serpent should blow on him. So
+Gabriel descended without delay and, finding Affan reduced to ashes and
+Bulukiya in a fit, aroused him from his trance and saluting him asked, 'How
+camest thou hither?' Bulukiya related to him his history from first to last,
+adding, 'Know that I came not hither but for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah
+assain and save!), of whom Affan informed me that his mission would take place
+at the End of Time; moreover that none should foregather with him but those who
+endured to the latter days by drinking of the Water of Life through means of
+Solomon's seal. So I companied him hither and there befell him what befell; but
+I escaped the fire and now it is my desire that thou inform me where Mohammed
+is to be found.' Quoth Gabriel, 'O Bulukiya, go thy ways, for the time of
+Mohammed's coming is yet far distant.' Then he ascended up to heaven
+forthright, and Bulukiya wept with sore weeping and repented of that which he
+had done, calling to mind my words, whenas I said to them, 'Far is it from
+man's power to possess himself of the ring.' Then he descended from the
+mountain and returned in exceeding confusion to the sea shore and passed the
+night there, marvelling at the mountains and seas and islands around him. When
+morning dawned, he anointed his feet with the herb-juice and descending to the
+water, set out and fared on over the surface of the seas days and nights,
+astonied at the terrors of the main and the marvels and wonders of the deep,
+till he came to an island as it were the Garden of Eden. So he landed and,
+finding himself in a great and pleasant island, paced about it and saw with
+admiration that its dust was saffron and its gravel carnelian and precious
+minerals; its hedges were of jessamine, its vegetation was of the goodliest of
+trees and of the brightest of odoriferous shrubs; its brushwood was of Comorin
+and Sumatran aloes-wood and its reeds were sugar-canes. Round about it were
+roses and narcissus and amaranths and gilly-flowers and chamomiles and white
+lilies and violets, and other flowers of all kinds and colours. Of a truth the
+island was the goodliest place, abounding in space, rich in grace, a compendium
+of beauty material and spiritual. The birds warbled on the boughs with tones
+far sweeter than chaunt of Koran and their notes would console a lover whom
+longings unman. And therein the gazelle frisked free and fain and wild cattle
+roamed about the plain. Its trees were of tallest height; its streams flowed
+bright; its springs welled with waters sweet and light; and all therein was a
+delight to sight and sprite. Bulukiya marvelled at the charms of the island but
+knew that he had strayed from the way he had first taken in company with Affan.
+He wandered about the place and solaced him with various spectacles until
+nightfall, when he climbed into a tree to sleep; but as he sat there, musing
+over the beauty of the site, behold, the sea became troubled and there rose up
+to the surface a great beast, which cried out with a cry so terrible that every
+living thing upon the isle trembled. As Bulukiya gazed upon him from the tree
+and marvelled at the bigness of his bulk, he was presently followed
+unexpectedly by a multitude of other sea beasts in kind manifolds, each holding
+in his fore-paw a jewel which shone like a lamp, so that the whole island
+became as light as day for the lustre of the gems. After awhile, there
+appeared, from the heart of the island, wild beasts of the land, none knoweth
+their number save Allah the Most High; amongst which Bulukiya noted lions and
+panthers and lynxes and other ferals; and these land beasts flocked down to the
+shore; and, foregathering with the sea beasts, conversed with them till
+daybreak, when they separated and each went his own way. Thereupon Bulukiya,
+terrified by what he had seen, came down from the tree and, making the sea
+shore, anointed his feet with the magical juice, and set out once more upon the
+surface of the water. He fared on days and nights over the Second Sea, till he
+came to a great mountain skirting which ran a Wady without end, the stones
+whereof were magnetic iron and its beasts, lions and hares and panthers. He
+landed on the mountain foot and wandered from place to place till nightfall,
+when he sat down sheltered by one of the base hills on the sea side, to eat of
+the dried fish thrown up by the sea. Presently, he turned from his meal and
+behold, a huge panther was creeping up to rend and ravin him; so he anointed
+his feet in haste with the juice and, descending to the surface of the water,
+fled walking over the Third Sea, in the darkness, for the night was black and
+the wind blew stark. Nor did he stay his course till he reached another island,
+whereon he landed and found there trees bearing fruits both fresh and
+dry.[FN#522] So he took of these fruits and ate and praised Allah Almighty;
+after which he walked for solace; about the island till eventide."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya (continued the
+Queen) walked for solace about the island till eventide, when he lay down to
+sleep. As soon as day brake, he began to explore the place and ceased not for
+ten days, after which he again made the shore and anointed his feet and,
+setting out over the Fourth Sea, walked upon it many nights and days, till he
+came to a third island of fine white sand without sign of trees or grass. He
+walked about it awhile but, finding its only inhabitants sakers which nested in
+the sand, he again anointed his feet and trudged over the Fifth Sea, walking
+night and day till he came to a little island, whose soil and hills were like
+crystal. Therein were the veins wherefrom gold is worked; and therein also were
+marvellous trees whose like he had never seen in his wanderings, for their
+blossoms were in hue as gold. He landed and walked about for diversion till it
+was nightfall, when the flowers began to shine through the gloom like stars.
+Seeing this sight, he marvelled and said, 'Assuredly, the flowers of this
+island are of those which wither under the sun and fall to the earth, where the
+winds smite them and they gather under the rocks and become the Elixir[FN#523]
+which the folk collect and thereof make gold.' He slept there all that night
+and at sunrise he again anointed his feet and, descending to the shore, fared
+on over the Sixth Sea nights and days, till he came to a fifth island. Here he
+landed and found, after walking an hour or so, two mountains covered with a
+multitude of trees, whose fruits were as men's heads hanging by the hair, and
+others whose fruits were green birds hanging by the feet; also a third kind,
+whose fruits were like aloes, if a drop of the juice fell on a man it burnt
+like fire; and others, whose fruits wept and laughed, besides many other
+marvels which he saw there. Then he returned to the sea shore and, finding
+there a tall tree, sat down beneath it till supper time when he climbed up into
+the branches to sleep. As he sat considering the wonderful works of Allah
+behold, the waters became troubled, and there rose therefrom the daughters of
+the sea, each mermaid holding in her hand a jewel which shone like the morning.
+They came ashore and, foregathering under the trees, sat down and danced and
+sported and made merry whilst Bulukiya amused himself with watching and
+wondering at their gambols, which were prolonged till the morning, when they
+returned to the sea and disappeared. Then he came down and, anointing his feet,
+set out on the surface of the Seventh Sea, over which he journeyed two whole
+months, without getting sight of highland or island or broadland or lowland or
+shoreland, till he came to the end thereof. And so doing he suffered exceeding
+hunger, so that he was forced to snatch up fishes from the surface of the sea
+and devour them raw, for stress of famine. In such case he pushed on till in
+early forenoon he came to the sixth island, with trees a-growing and rills a
+flowing, where he landed and walked about, looking right and left, till he came
+to an apple tree and put forth his hand to pluck of the fruit, when lo! one
+cried out to him from the tree, saying, 'An thou draw near to this tree and cut
+of it aught, I will cut thee in twain.' So he looked and saw a giant forty
+cubits high, being the cubit of the people of that day; whereat he feared with
+sore fear and refrained from that tree. Then said he to the giant, 'Why cost
+thou forbid me to eat of this tree?' Replied the other, 'Because thou art a son
+of Adam and thy father Adam forgot the covenant of Allah and sinned against Him
+and ate of the tree.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'What thing art thou and to whom
+belongeth this island, with its trees, and how art thou named?' Quoth the tall
+one, 'My name is Sharαhiyα and trees and island belong to King Sakhr;[FN#524] I
+am one of his guards and in charge of his dominion,' presently adding, 'But who
+art thou and whence comest thou hither?' Bulukiya told him his story from
+beginning to end and Sharahiya said, 'Be of good cheer,' and brought him to
+eat. So he ate his fill and, taking leave of the giant, set out again and
+ceased not faring on over the mountains and sandy deserts for ten days; at the
+end of which time he saw, in the distance, a dust cloud hanging like a canopy
+in air; and, making towards it, he heard a mighty clamour, cries and blows and
+sounds of mellay. Presently he reached a great Wady, two months' journey long;
+and, looking whence the shouts came, he saw a multitude of horse men engaged in
+fierce fight and the blood running from them till it railed like a river. Their
+voices were thunderous and they were armed with lance and sword and iron mace
+and bow and arrow, and all fought with the utmost fury. At this sight he felt
+sore affright"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"When Bulukiya saw the host in fight, he felt sore affright and was perplexed
+about his case; but whilst he hesitated, behold, they caught sight of him and
+held their hands one from other and left fighting. Then a troop of them came up
+to him, wondering at his make, and one of the horsemen said to him, 'What art
+thou and whence camest thou hither and whither art wending; and who showed thee
+the way that thou hast come to our country?' Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of
+Adam and am come out, distracted for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+preserve!); but I have wandered from my way.' Quoth the horseman, 'Never saw we
+a son of Adam till now, nor did any ever come to this land.' And all marvelled
+at him and at his speech. 'But what are ye, O creatures?' asked Bulukiya; and
+the rider replied, 'We are of the Jαnn.' So he said, 'O Knight, what is the
+cause of the fighting amongst you and where is your abiding place and what is
+the name of this valley and this land?' He replied, 'Our abiding- place is the
+White Country; and, every year, Allah Almighty commandeth us to come hither and
+wage war upon the unbelieving Jann.' Asked Bulukiya, 'And where is the White
+Country?' and the horseman answered, 'It is behind the mountain Kaf, and
+distant seventy-five years journey from this place which is termed the Land of
+Shaddαd son of 'Αd: we are here for Holy War; and we have no other business,
+when we are not doing battle, than to glorify God and hallow him. More over, we
+have a ruler, King Sakhr highs, and needs must thou go with us to him, that he
+may look upon thee for his especial delight.' Then they fared on (and he with
+them) till they came to their abiding place; where he saw a multitude of
+magnificent tents of green silk, none knoweth their number save Allah the Most
+High, and in their midst a pavilion of red satin, some thousand cubits in
+compass, with cords of blue silk and pegs of gold and silver. Bulukiya
+marvelled at the sight and accompanied them as they fared on and behold, this
+was the royal pavilion. So they carried him into the presence of King Sakhr,
+whom he found seated upon a splendid throne of red gold, set with pearls and
+studded with gems; the Kings and Princes of the Jann being on his right hand,
+and on his left his Councillors and Emirs and Officers of state, and a
+multitude of others. The King seeing him bade introduce him, which they did;
+and Bulukiya went up to him and saluted him after kissing the ground before
+him. The King returned his salute and said, 'Draw near me, O mortal!' and
+Bulukiya went close up to him. Hereupon the King, commanding a chair to be set
+for him by his royal side, bade him sit down and asked him 'Who art thou?'; and
+Bulukiya answered, 'I am a man, and one of the Children of Israel.' 'Tell me
+thy story,' cried King Sakhr, 'and acquaint me with all that hath befallen thee
+and how thou camest to this my land.' So Bulukiya related to him all that had
+occurred in his wanderings from beginning to end."—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"When Bulukiya related to Sakhr what befell him in his wanderings, he marvelled
+thereat. Then he bade the servants bring food and they spread the tables and
+set on one thousand and five hundred platters of red gold and silver and
+copper, some containing twenty and some fifty boiled camels, and others some
+fifty head of sheep; at which Bulukiya marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then
+they ate and he ate with them, till he was satisfied and returned thanks to
+Allah Almighty; after which they cleared the tables and set on fruits, and they
+ate thereof, glorifying the name of God and invoking blessings on His prophet
+Mohammed (whom Allah bless and preserve!) When Bulukiya heard them make mention
+of Mohammed, he wondered and said to King Sakhr, 'I am minded to ask thee some
+questions.' Rejoined the King, 'Ask what thou wilt,' and Bulukiya said, 'O
+King, what are ye and what is your origin and how came ye to know of Mohammed
+(whom Allah assain and save!) that ye draw near to him and love him?' King
+Sakhr answered, 'O Bulukiya, of very sooth Allah created the fire in seven
+stages, one above the other, and each distant a thousand years journey from its
+neighbour. The first stage he named Jahannam[FN#525] and appointed the same for
+the punishment of the transgressors of the True-believers, who die unrepentant;
+the second he named Lazα and appointed for Unbelievers: the name of the third
+is Jahνm and is appointed for Gog and Magog.[FN#526] The fourth is called Sa'νr
+and is appointed for the host of Iblis. The fifth is called Sakar and is
+prepared for those who neglect prayer. The sixth is called Hatamah and is
+appointed for Jews and Christians. The seventh is named Hαwiyah and is prepared
+for hypocrites. Such be the seven stages.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'Haply Jahannam hath
+least of torture for that it is the uppermost.' 'Yes,' quoth King Sakhr, 'the
+most endurable of them all is Jahannam; natheless in it are a thousand
+mountains of fire, in each mountain seventy thousand cities of fire, in each
+city seventy thousand castles of fire, in each castle seventy thousand houses
+of fire, in each house seventy thousand couches of fire and in each couch
+seventy thousand manners of torment. As for the other hells, O Bulukiya, none
+knoweth the number of kinds of torment that be therein save Allah Most
+Highest.' When Bulukiya heard this, he fell down in a fainting-fit, and when he
+came to himself, he wept and said, 'O King what will be my case?' Quoth Sakhr,
+'Fear not, and know thou that whoso loveth Mohammed (whom Allah bless and
+keep!) the fire shall not burn him, for he is made free therefrom for his sake;
+and whoso belongeth to his Faith the fire shall fly him. As for us, the
+Almighty Maker created us of the fire for the first that he made in Jahannam
+were two of His host whom he called Khalνt and Malνt. Now Khalνt was fashioned
+in the likeness of a lion, with a tail like a tortoise twenty years' journey in
+length and ending in a member masculine; while Malνt was like a pied wolf whose
+tail was furnished with a member feminine. Then Almighty Allah commanded the
+tails to couple and copulate and do the deed of kind, and of them were born
+serpents and scorpions, whose dwelling is in the fire, that Allah may there
+with torment those whom He casteth therein; and these increased and multiplied.
+Then Allah commanded the tails of Khalit and Malit to couple and copulate a
+second time, and the tail of Malit conceived by the tail of Khalit and bore
+fourteen children, seven male and seven female, who grew up and intermarried
+one with the other. All were obedient to their sire, save one who disobeyed him
+and was changed into a worm which is Iblis (the curse of Allah be upon him!).
+Now Iblis was one of the Cherubim, for he had served Allah till he was raised
+to the heavens and cherished[FN#527] by the especial favour of the Merciful
+One, who made him chief of the Cherubim.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"'Iblis served God and became chief of Cherubim. When, however, the Lord
+created Adam (with whom be peace!), He commanded Iblis to prostrate himself to
+him, but he drew back; so Allah Almighty expelled him from heaven and cursed
+him.[FN#528] This Iblis had issue and of his lineage are the devils; and as for
+the other six males, who were his elders, they are the ancestors of the true
+believing Jann, and we are their descendants. Such, O Bulukiya is our
+provenance.[FN#529]' Bulukiya marvelled at the King's words and said, 'O King,
+I pray thee bid one of thy guards bear me back to my native land.' 'Naught of
+this may we do,' answered Sakhr, 'save by commandment of Allah Almighty;
+however, an thou desire to leave us and return home, I will mount thee on one
+of my mares and cause her carry thee to the farthest frontiers of my dominions,
+where thou wilt meet with the troops of another King, Barαkhiyα highs, who will
+recognize the mare at sight and take thee off her and send her back to us; and
+this is all we can do for thee, and no more.' When Bulukiya heard these words
+he wept and said, 'Do whatso thou wilt.' So King Sakhr caused bring the mare
+and, setting Bulukiya on her back, said to him, 'Beware lest thou alight from
+her or strike her or cry out in her face; for if thou do so she will slay thee;
+but abide quietly riding on her back till she stop with thee; then dismount and
+wend thy ways.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'I hear and I obey;' he then mounted and
+setting out, rode on a long while between the rows of tents; and stinted not
+riding till he came to the royal kitchens where he saw the great cauldrons,
+each holding fifty camels, hung up over the fires which blazed fiercely under
+them. So he stopped there and gazed with a marvel ever increasing till King
+Sakhr thinking him to be anhungered, bade bring him two roasted camels; and
+they carried them to him and bound them behind him on the mare's crupper. Then
+he took leave of them and fared on, till he came to the end of King Sakhr's
+dominions, where the mare stood still and Bulukiya dismounted and began to
+shake the dust of the journey from his raiment. And behold, there accosted him
+a party of men who, recognising the mare, carried her and Bulukiya before their
+King Barakhiya. So he saluted him, and the King returned his greeting and
+seated him beside himself in a splendid pavilion, in the midst of his troops
+and champions and vassal Princes of the Jann ranged to right and left; after
+which he called for food and they ate their fill and pronounced the
+Alhamdolillah. Then they set on fruits, and when they had eaten thereof, King
+Barakhiya, whose estate was like that of King Sakhr, asked his guest, 'When
+didst thou leave King Sakhr?' And Bulukiya answered, 'Two days ago.' Quoth
+Barakhiya, 'Dost thou know, how many days' journey thou hast come in these two
+days?' Quoth he, 'No,' and the King rejoined, 'Thou hast come a journey of
+threescore and ten months.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"Barakhiya said to Bulukiya, 'In two days thou hast come a journey of
+threescore and ten months; moreover when thou mountedst the mare, she was
+affrighted at thee, knowing thee for a son of Adam, and would have thrown thee;
+so they bound on her back these two camels by way of weight to steady her.'
+When Bulukiya heard this, he marvelled and thanked Allah Almighty for safety.
+Then said the King, 'Tell me thy adventures and what brought thee to this our
+land.' So he told him his story from first to last, and the King marvelled at
+his words, and kept Bulukiya with him two months." Upon this Hasib Karim al-Din
+after he had marvelled at her story, again besought the Serpent-queen saying,
+"I pray thee of thy goodness and graciousness command one of thy subjects
+conduct me to the surface of the earth, that I may return to my family;" but
+she answered, "O Hasib, I know that the first thing thou wilt do, after seeing
+the face of the earth will be to greet thy family and then repair to the Hammam
+bath and bathe; and the moment thou endest thine ablutions will see the last of
+me, for it will be the cause of my death." Quoth Hasib, "I swear that I will
+never again enter the Hammam bath so long as I live, but when washing is
+incumbent on me, I will wash at home." Rejoined the Queen, "I would not trust
+thee though thou shouldst swear to me an hundred oaths; for such abstaining is
+not possible, and I know thee to be a son of Adam for whom no oath is sacred.
+Thy father Adam made a covenant with Allah the most High, who kneaded the clay
+whereof He fashioned him forty mornings and made His angels prostrate
+themselves to him; yet after all his promise did he forget and his oath
+violate, disobeying the commandment of his Lord." When Hasib heard this, he
+held his peace and burst into tears; nor did he leave weeping for the space of
+ten days, at the end of which time he said to the Queen, "Prithee acquaint me
+with the rest of Bulukiya's adventures." Accordingly, she began again as
+follows: "Know, O Hasib, that Bulukiya, after abiding two months with King
+Barakhiya, farewelled him and fared on over wastes and deserts nights and days'
+till he came to a high mountain which he ascended. On the summit he beheld
+seated a great Angel glorifying the names of God and invoking blessings on
+Mohammed. Before him lay a tablet covered with characters, these white and
+those black,[FN#530] whereon his eyes were fixed, and his two wings were
+outspread to the full, one to the western and the other to the eastern horizon.
+Bulukiya approached and saluted the Angel, who returned his salam adding, 'Who
+art thou and whence comest thou and whither wendest thou and what is thy
+story?' Accordingly, he repeated to him his history, from first to last, and
+the Angel marvelled mightily thereat, whereupon Bulukiya said to him, 'I pray
+thee in return acquaint me with the meaning of this tablet and what is writ
+thereon; and what may be thine occupation and thy name.' Replied the Angel, 'My
+name is Michael, and I am charged with the shifts of night and day; and this is
+my occupation till the Day of Doom.' Bulukiya wondered at his words and at his
+aspect and the vastness of his stature and, taking leave of him, fared onwards,
+night and day, till he came to a vast meadow over which he walked observing
+that it was traversed by seven streams and abounded in trees. He was struck by
+its beauty and in one corner thereof he saw a great tree and under it four
+Angels. So he drew near to them and found the first in the likeness of a man,
+the second in the likeness of a wild beast, the third in the likeness of a bird
+and the fourth in the likeness of a bull, engaged in glorifying Almighty Allah,
+and saying, 'O my God and my Master and my Lord, I conjure Thee, by Thy truth
+and by the decree of Thy Prophet Mohammed (on whom be blessings and peace!) to
+vouchsafe Thy mercy and grant Thy forgiveness to all things created in my
+likeness; for Thou over all things art Almighty!' Bulukiya marvelled at what he
+heard but continued his journey till he came to another mountain and ascending
+it, found there a great Angel seated on the summit, glorifying God and
+hallowing Him and invoking blessings on Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!),
+and he saw that Angel continually opening and shutting his hands and bending
+and extending his fingers. He accosted him and saluted him; whereupon the Angel
+returned his salam and enquired who he was and how he came thither. So Bulukiya
+acquainted him with his adventures including his having lost the way; and
+besought him to tell him, in turn, who he was and what was his function and
+what mountain was that. Quoth the Angel, 'Know, O Bulukiya, that this is the
+mountain Kaf, which encompasseth the world; and all the countries the Creator
+hath made are in my grasp. When the Almighty is minded to visit any land with
+earthquake or famine or plenty or slaughter or prosperity, He biddeth me carry
+out His commands and I carry them out without stirring from my place; for know
+thou that my hands lay hold upon the roots of the earth,' "—And Shahrazed
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"When the angel said, 'And know thou that my hands lay hold upon the roots of
+the earth,' he asked, 'And hath Allah created other worlds than this within the
+mountain Kaf?' The Angel answered, 'Yes, He hath made a world white as silver,
+whose vastness none knoweth save Himself, and hath peopled it with Angels,
+whose meat and drink are His praise and hallowing and continual blessings upon
+His Prophet Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). Every Thursday night[FN#531]
+they repair to this mountain and worship in congregation Allah until the
+morning, and they assign the future recompense of their lauds and litanies to
+the sinners of the Faith of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and to all
+who make the Ghusl ablution of Friday; and this is their function until the Day
+of Resurrection.' Asked Bulukiya, 'And hath Allah created other mountains
+behind the mountain Kaf?'; whereto he answered, 'Yes, behind this mountain is a
+range of mountains five hundred years' journey long, of snow and ice, and this
+it is that wardeth off the heat of Jahannam from the world, which verily would
+else be consumed thereby. Moreover, behind the mountain Kaf are forty worlds,
+each one the bigness of this world forty times told, some of gold and some of
+silver and others of carnelian. Each of these worlds hath its own colour, and
+Allah hath peopled them with angels, that know not Eve nor Adam nor night nor
+day, and have no other business than to celebrate His praises and hallow Him
+and make profession of His Unity and proclaim His Omnipotence and supplicate
+Him on behalf of the followers of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). And
+know, also, O Bulukiya, that the earths were made in seven stages, one upon
+another, and that Allah hath created one of His Angels, whose stature and
+attributes none knoweth but Himself and who beareth the seven stages upon his
+shoulders. Under this Angel Almighty Allah hath created a great rock, and under
+the rock a bull, and under the bull a huge fish, and under the fish a mighty
+ocean.[FN#532] God once told Isa (with whom be peace! ) of this fish, and he
+said, 'O Lord show me the fish, that I may look upon it.' So the Almighty
+commanded an angel to take Isa and show him the fish. Accordingly, he took him
+up and carried him (with whom be peace!) to the sea, wherein the fish dwelt,
+and said, 'Look, O Isa, upon the fish.' He looked but at first saw nothing,
+when, suddenly, the fish darted past like lightning. At this sight Isa fell
+down aswoon, and when he came to himself, Allah spake to him by inspiration,
+saying, 'O Isa, hast thou seen the fish and comprehended its length and its
+breadth?' He replied, 'By Thy honour and glory, O Lord, I saw no fish; but
+there passed me by a great bull, whose length was three days' journey, and I
+know not what manner of thing this bull is.' Quoth Allah, 'O Isa, this that
+thou sawest and which was three days in passing by thee, was but the head of
+the fish;[FN#533] and know that every day I create forty fishes like unto
+this.' And Isa hearing this marvelled at the power of Allah the Almighty. Asked
+Bulukiya, 'What hath Allah made beneath this sea which containeth the fish?';
+and the Angel answered, 'Under the sea the Lord created a vast abyss of air,
+under the air fire, and under the fire a mighty serpent, by name Falak; and
+were it not for fear of the Most Highest, this serpent would assuredly swallow
+up all that is above it, air and fire and the Angel and his burden, without
+sensing it.'"—And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the angel said to
+Bulukiya when describing the serpent, "'And were it not for fear of the Most
+Highest, this serpent would assuredly swallow up all that is above it, air and
+fire, and the Angel and his burden, without sensing it. When Allah created this
+serpent He said to it by inspiration, 'I will give thee somewhat to keep for
+me, so open thy mouth.' The serpent replied, 'Do whatso Thou wilt;' and opened
+his mouth and God placed Hell into his maw, saying, 'Keep it until the Day of
+Resurrection. When that time comes, the Almighty will send His angels with
+chains to bring Hell and bind it until the Day when all men shall meet; and the
+Lord will order Hell to go open its gates and there will issue therefrom sparks
+bigger than the mountains.' When Bulukiya heard these things he wept with sore
+weeping and, taking leave of the Angel, fared on westwards, till he came in
+sight of two creatures sitting before a great shut gate. As he drew near, he
+saw that one of the gatekeepers had the semblance of a lion and the other that
+of a bull; so he saluted them and they returned his salam and enquired who and
+whence he was and whither he was bound. Quoth he, 'I am of the sons of Adam, a
+wanderer for the love of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!) and I have
+strayed from my way.' Then he asked them what they were and what was the gate
+before which they sat, and they answered, 'We are the guardians of this gate
+thou seest and we have no other business than the praise and hallowing of Allah
+and the invocation of blessings on Mohammed (whom may He bless and keep!).'
+Bulukiya wondered and asked them, 'What is within the gate?'; and they
+answered, 'We wot not.' Then quoth he, 'I conjure you, by the truth of your
+glorious Lord, open to me the gate, that I may see that which is therein.'
+Quoth they, 'We cannot, and none may open this gate, of all created beings save
+Gabriel, the Faithful One, with whom be peace!' Then Bulukiya lifted up his
+voice in supplication to Allah, saying, 'O Lord, send me thy messenger Gabriel,
+the Faithful One, to open for me this gate that I may see what be therein;' and
+the Almighty gave ear unto his prayer and commanded the Archangel to descend to
+earth and open to him the gate of the Meeting-place of the Two Seas. So Gabriel
+descended and, saluting Bulukiya, opened the gate to him, saying, 'Enter this
+door, for Allah commandeth me to open to thee.' So he entered and Gabriel
+locked the gate behind him and flew back to heaven. When Bulukiya found himself
+within the gate, he looked and beheld a vast ocean, half salt and half fresh,
+bounded on every side by mountain ranges of red ruby whereon he saw angels
+singing the praises of the Lord and hallowing Him. So he went up to them and
+saluted them and having received a return of his salam, questioned them of the
+sea and the mountains. Replied they, 'This place is situate under the Arsh or
+empyreal heaven; and this Ocean causeth the flux and flow of all the seas of
+the world; and we are appointed to distribute them and drive them to the
+various parts of the earth, the salt to the salt and the fresh to the
+fresh,[FN#534] and this is our employ until the Day of Doom. As for the
+mountain ranges they serve to limit and to contain the waters. But thou, whence
+comest thou and whither art thou bound?' So he told them his story and asked
+them of the road. They bade him traverse the surface of the ocean which lay
+before him: so he anointed his feet with the juice of the herb he had with him,
+and taking leave of the angels, set out upon the face of the sea and sped on
+over the water nights and days; and as he was faring, behold, he met a handsome
+youth journeying along like himself, whereupon he greeted him and he returned
+his greeting. After they parted he espied four great Angels wayfaring over the
+face of the sea, and their going was like the blinding lightning; so he
+stationed himself in their road, and when they came up to him, he saluted them
+and said to them, 'I ask you by the Almighty, the Glorious, to tell me your
+names and whither are ye bound?' Replied the first Angel, 'My name is Gabriel
+and these my companions are called Isrαfνl and Mνkα'νl and Azrα'νl. There hath
+appeared in the East a mighty dragon, which hath laid waste a thousand cities
+and devoured their inhabitants; wherefore Allah Almighty hath commanded us to
+go to him and seize him and cast him into Jahannam.' Bulukiya marvelled at the
+vastness of their stature and fared on, as before, days and nights, till he
+came to an island where he landed and walked about for a while,"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Bulukiya landed on the
+island and walked about for a while, till he saw a comely young man with light
+shining from his visage, sitting weeping and lamenting between two built tombs.
+So he saluted him and he returned his salutation, and Bulukiya said to him,
+'Who art thou and what are these two built tombs between which thou sittest,
+and wherefore this wailing?' He looked at him and wept with sore weeping, till
+he drenched his clothes with his tears; then said, 'Know thou, O my brother,
+mine is a marvellous story and a wondrous; but I would have thee sit by me and
+first tell me thy name and thine adventures and who thou art and what brought
+thee hither; after which I will, in turn, relate to thee my history.' So
+Bulukiya sat down by him and related to him all that had befallen him from his
+father's death,[FN#535] adding, 'Such is my history, the whole of it, and Allah
+alone knoweth what will happen to me after this.' When the youth heard his
+story, he sighed and said, 'O thou unhappy! How few things thou hast seen in
+thy life compared with mine. Know, O Bulukiya, that unlike thyself I have
+looked upon our lord Solomon, in his life, and have seen things past count or
+reckoning. Indeed, my story is strange and my case out of range, and I would
+have thee abide with me, till I tell thee my history and acquaint thee how I
+come to be sitting here.'" Hearing this much Hasib again interrupted the Queen
+of the Serpents and said to her, "Allah upon thee, O Queen, release me and
+command one of thy servants carry me forth to the surface of the earth, and I
+will swear an oath to thee that I will never enter the Hammam-bath as long as I
+live." But she said, "This is a thing which may not be nor will I believe thee
+upon thine oath." When he heard this, he wept and all the serpents wept on his
+account and took to interceding for him with their Queen, saying, "We beseech
+thee, bid one of us carry him forth to the surface of the earth, and he will
+swear thee an oath never to enter the bath his life long." Now when Yamlaykhα
+(for such was the Queen's name) heard their appeal, she turned to Hasib and
+made him swear to her an oath; after which she bade a serpent carry him forth
+to the surface of the earth. The serpent made ready, but as she was about to go
+away with him, he turned to Queen Yamlaykha and said, "I would fain have thee
+tell me the history of the youth whom Bulukiya saw sitting between two tombs."
+So she said: "Know, O Hasib, that when Bulukiya sat down by the youth and told
+him his tale, from first to last, in order that the other might also recount
+his adventures and explain the cause of his sitting between the two tombs."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Four Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen continued:
+"When Bulukiya ended his recount, the youth said, 'How few things of marvel
+hast thou seen in thy life, O unhappy! Now I have looked upon our lord Solomon
+while he was yet living and I have witnessed wonders beyond compt and
+conception.' And he began to relate
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3><a name="chap76"></a>The Story of Janshah.[FN#536]</h3>
+
+<p>
+'Know, O my brother, that my sire was a King called TeghmÏŠs, who reigned over
+the land of Kabul and the Banu Shahlαn, ten thousand warlike chiefs, each
+ruling over an hundred walled cities and a hundred citadels; and he was
+suzerain also over seven vassal princes, and tribute was brought to him from
+the broad lands between East and West. He was just and equitable in his rule
+and Allah Almighty had given him all this and had bestowed on him such mighty
+empire, yet had He not vouchsafed him a son (though this was his dearest wish)
+to inherit the kingdom after his decease. So one day it befell that he summoned
+the Olema and astrologers, the mathematicians and almanac-makers, and said,
+'Draw me my horoscope and look if Allah will grant me a son to succeed me.'
+Accordingly, they consulted their books and calculated his dominant star and
+the aspects thereof; after which they said to him, 'Know, O King, that thou
+shalt be blessed with a son, but by none other than the daughter of the King of
+Khorαsαn.' Hearing this Teghmus joyed with exceeding joy and, bestowing on the
+astrologers and wizards treasure beyond numbering or reckoning, dismissed them.
+His chief Wazir was a renowned warrior, by name Ayn Zαr, who was equal to a
+thousand cavaliers in battle; so him he summoned and, repeating to him what the
+astrologers had predicted, he said, 'O Wazir, it is my will that thou equip
+thee for a march to Khorasan and demand for me the hand of its King Bahrwan's
+daughter.' Receiving these orders the Wazir at once proceeded to get ready for
+the journey and encamped without the town with his troops and braves and
+retinue, whilst King Teghmus made ready as presents for the King of Khorasan
+fifteen hundred loads of silks and precious stones, pearls and rubies and other
+gems, besides gold and silver; and he also prepared a prodigious quantity of
+all that goeth to the equipment of a bride; then, loading them upon camels and
+mules, delivered them to Ayn Zar, with a letter to the following purport.
+'After invoking the blessing of Heaven, King Teghmus to King Bahrwan, greeting.
+Know that we have taken counsel with the astrologers and sages and
+mathematicians, and they tell us that we shall have boon of a boy child, and
+that by none other than thy daughter. Wherefore I have despatched unto thee my
+Wazir Ayn Zar, with great store of bridal gear, and I have appointed him to
+stand in my stead and to enter into the marriage-contract in my name.
+Furthermore I desire that of thy favour thou wilt grant him his request without
+stay or delay; for it is my own, and all graciousness thou showest him, I take
+for myself; but beware of crossing me in this, for know, O King Bahrwan, that
+Allah hath bestowed upon me the Kingdom of Kabul, and hath given me dominion
+over the Banu Shahlan and vouchsafed me a mighty empire; and if I marry thy
+daughter, we will be, I and thou, as one thing in kingship; and I will send
+thee every year as much treasure as will suffice thee. And this is my desire of
+thee.' Then King Teghmus sealed the letter with his own ring and gave it to the
+Wazir, who departed with a great company and journeyed till he drew near the
+capital of Khorasan. When King Bahrwan heard of his approach, he despatched his
+principal Emirs to meet him,[FN#537] with a convoy of food and drink and other
+requisites, including forage for the steeds. So they fared forth with the train
+till they met the Wazir; then, alighting without the city, they exchanged
+salutations and abode there, eating and drinking, ten days; at the end of which
+time they mounted and rode on into the town, where they were met by King
+Bahrwan, who came out to greet the Wazir of King Teghmus and alighting,
+embraced him and carried him to his citadel. Then Ayn Zar brought out the
+presents and laid them before King Bahrwan, together with the letter of King
+Teghmus, which when the King read and understood, he joyed with joy exceeding
+and welcomed the Wazir, saying, 'Rejoice in winning thy wish; and know that if
+King Teghmus sought of me my life, verily I would give it to him.' Then he went
+in forthright to his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk, and acquainting
+them with the King of Kabul's demand sought counsel of them, and they said, 'Do
+what seemeth good to thee.'—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundredth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Bahrwan consulted
+his daughter and her mother and his kinsfolk and they said, 'Do what seemeth
+good to thee.' So he returned straightway to the Minister Ayn Zar and notified
+to him that his desire had been fulfilled; and the Wazir, abode with him two
+months, at the end of which time he said to him, 'We beseech thee to bestow
+upon us that wherefore we came, so we may depart to our own land.' 'I hear and
+obey,' answered the King. Then he prepared all the gear wanted for the wedding;
+and when this was done he assembled his Wazirs and all his Emirs and the
+Grandees of his realm and the monks and priests who tied the knot of marriage
+between his daughter and King Teghmus by proxy. And King Bahrwan bade decorate
+the city after the goodliest fashion and spread the streets with carpets. Then
+he equipped his daughter for the journey and gave her all manner of presents
+and rarities and precious metals, such as none may describe; and Ayn Zar
+departed with the Princess to his own country. When the news of their approach
+reached King Teghmus, he bade celebrate the wedding festivities and adorn the
+city; after which he went in unto the Princess and abated her maidenhead; nor
+was it long before she conceived by him and, accomplishing her months, bare a
+man-child like the moon on the night of its full. When King Teghmus knew that
+his wife had given birth to a goodly son, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and,
+summoning the sages and astrologers and mathematicians, said to them, 'I would
+that ye draw the horoscope of the newborn child with his ascendant and its
+aspects and acquaint me what shall befall him in his lifetime.' So they made
+their calculations and found them favourable; but, that he would, in his
+fifteenth year, be exposed to perils and hardships, and that if he survived, he
+would be happy and fortunate and become a greater king than his father and a
+more powerful. The King rejoiced greatly in this prediction and named the boy
+Janshah. Then he delivered him to the nurses, wet and dry, who reared him
+excellently well till he reached his fifth year, when his father taught him to
+read the Evangel and instructed him in the art of arms and lunge of lance and
+sway of sword, so that in less than seven years he was wont to ride a-hunting,
+and a-chasing; he became a doughty champion, perfect in all the science of the
+cavalarice and his father was delighted to hear of his knightly prowess. It
+chanced one day that King Teghmus and his son accompanied by the troops rode
+out for sport into the woods and wilds and hunted till mid afternoon of the
+third day, when the Prince started a gazelle of a rare colour, which fled
+before him. So he gave chase to it, followed by seven of King Teghmus's white
+slaves all mounted on swift steeds, and rode at speed after the gazelle, which
+fled before them till she brought them to the sea shore. They all ran at her to
+take her as their quarry, but she escaped from them and, throwing herself into
+the waves,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and First Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Janshah and the
+Mamelukes ran at the gazelle, to take her as their quarry, she escaped from
+them and, throwing herself into the waves, swam out to a fishing bark, that was
+moored near the shore, and sprang on board. Janshah and his followers
+dismounted and, boarding the boat, made prize of the gazelle and were minded to
+return to shore with her, when the Prince espied a great island in the offing
+and said to his merry men, 'I have a longing to visit yonder island.' They
+answered, 'We hear and obey,' and sailed on till they came to the island, where
+they landed and amused themselves with exploring the place. Then they again
+embarked and taking with them the gazelle, set out to return homeward, but the
+murk of evening overtook them and they missed their way on the main. Moreover a
+strong wind arose and crave the boat into mid-ocean, so that when they awoke in
+the morning, they found themselves lost at sea. Such was their case; but as
+regards King Teghmus, when he missed his son, he commanded his troops to make
+search for him in separate bodies; so they dispersed on all sides and a company
+of them, coming to the sea shore, found there the Prince's white slave whom he
+had left in charge of the horses. They asked him what was become of his master
+and the other six, and he told them what had passed whereupon they took him
+with them and returned to the King and acquainted him with what they had
+learnt. When Teghmus heard their report, he wept with sore weeping and cast the
+crown from his head, biting his hands for vexation. Then he rose forthright and
+wrote letters and despatched them to all the islands of the sea. Moreover he
+got together an hundred ships and filling them with troops, sent them to sail
+about in quest of Janshah, while he himself withdrew with his troops to his
+capital, where he abode in sore concern. As for Janshah's mother, when she
+heard of his loss she buffeted her face and began the mourning ceremonies for
+her son making sure that he was dead. Meanwhile, Janshah and his men ceased not
+driving before the wind and those in search of them cruised about for ten days
+till, finding no trace they returned and reported failure to the King. But a
+stiff gale caught the Prince's craft which went spooning till they made a
+second island, where they landed and walked about. Presently they came upon a
+spring of running water in the midst of the island and saw from afar a man
+sitting hard by it. So they went up to him and saluted him, and he returned
+their salam, speaking in a voice like the whistle[FN#538] of birds. Whilst
+Janshah stood marvelling at the man's speech he looked right and left and
+suddenly split himself in twain, and each half went a different way.[FN#539]
+Then there came down from the hills a multitude of men of all kinds, beyond
+count and reckoning; and they no sooner reached the spring, than each one
+divided into two halves and rushed on Janshah and his Mamelukes to eat them.
+When the voyagers saw this, they turned and fled seawards; but the cannibals
+pursued them and caught and ate three of the slaves, leaving only three slaves
+who with Janshah reached the boat in safety; then launching her made for the
+water and sailed nights and days without knowing whither their ship went. They
+killed the gazelle, and lived on her flesh, till the winds drove them to a
+third island which was full of trees and waters and flower-gardens and orchards
+laden with all fashion of fruits: and streams strayed under the tree shade:
+brief, the place was a Garden of Eden. The island pleased the Prince and he
+said to his companions, 'Which of you will land and explore?' Then said one of
+the slaves, 'That will I do'; but he replied, 'This thing may not be; you must
+all land and explore the place while I abide in the boat.' So he set them
+ashore,"— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Prince set them
+ashore, and they searched the island, East and West, but found no one; then
+they fared on inland to the heart thereof, till they came to a Castle compassed
+about with ramparts of white marble, within which was a palace of the clearest
+crystal and, set in its centre a garden containing all manner fruits beyond
+description, both fresh and dry, and flowers of grateful odour and trees and
+birds singing upon the boughs. Amiddlemost the garden was a vast basin of
+water, and beside it a great open hall with a raised dais whereon stood a
+number of stools surrounding a throne of red gold, studded with all kinds of
+jewels and especially rubies and seeing the beauty of the Castle and of the
+Garden they entered and explored in all directions, but found no one there, so
+after rummaging the Castle they returned to Janshah and told him what they had
+seen. When he heard their report, he cried, 'Needs must I solace myself with a
+sight of it;' so he landed and accompanied them to the palace, which he entered
+marvelling at the goodliness of the place. They then visited every part of the
+gardens and ate of the fruits and continued walking till it waxed dark, when
+they returned to the estrade and sat down, Janshah on the throne in the centre
+and the three others on the stools ranged to the right and left. Then the
+Prince, there seated, called to mind his separation from his father's
+throne-city[FN#540] and country and friends and kinsfolk; and fell a-weeping
+and lamenting over their loss whilst his men wept around him. And as they were
+thus sorrowing behold, they heard a mighty clamour, that came from seaward and
+looking in the direction of the clamour saw a multitude of apes, as they were
+swarming locusts. Now the castle and the island belonged to these apes, who,
+finding the strangers' boat moored to the strand, had scuttled it and after
+repaired to the palace, where they came upon Janshah and his men seated." Here
+the Serpent- queen again broke off her recital saying, "All this, O Hasib, was
+told to Bulukiya by the young man sitting between the two tombs." Quoth Hasib,
+"And what did Janshah do with the apes?"; so the Queen resumed her tale: "He
+and his men were sore affrighted at the appearance of the apes, but a company
+of them came up to the throne whereon he sat and, kissing the earth before him,
+stood awhile in his presence with their paws upon their breasts in posture of
+respect. Then another troop brought to the castle gazelles which they
+slaughtered and skinned; and roasting pieces of the flesh till fit for food
+they laid them on platters of gold and silver and spreading the table, made
+signs to Janshah and his men to eat. The Prince and his followers came down
+from their seats and ate, and the apes ate with them, till they were satisfied,
+when the apes took away the meat and set on fruits of which they partook and
+praised Allah the most Highest. Then Janshah asked the apes by signs what they
+were and to whom the palace belonged, and they answered him by signals, 'Know
+ye that this island belonged of yore to our lord Solomon, son of David (on both
+of whom be peace!), and he used to come hither once every year for his
+solace,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Janshah asked the
+apes by signs to whom the palace belonged, they answered him by signals, "'Of a
+truth this place belonged of yore to our lord Solomon, son of David (on both of
+whom be peace!), who used to come hither once every year for his solace, and
+then wend his ways.' Presently the apes continued, 'And know, O King, that thou
+art become our Sultan and we are thy servants; so eat and drink, and whatso
+thou ever bid us, that will we do.' So saying, they severally kissed the earth
+between the hands of Janshah and all took their departure. The Prince slept
+that night on the throne and his men on the stools about him, and on the
+morrow, at daybreak, the four Wazirs or Captains of the apes presented
+themselves before him, attended by their troops, who ranged themselves about
+him, rank after rank, until the place was crowded. Then the Wazirs approached
+and exhorted him by signs to do justice amongst them and rule them righteously;
+after which the apes cried out to one another and went away, all save a small
+party which remained in presence to serve him. After awhile, there came up a
+company of apes with huge dogs in the semblance of horses, each wearing about
+his head a massive chain; and signed to Janshah and his three followers to
+mount and go with them. So they mounted, marvelling at the greatness of the
+dogs, and rode forth, attended by the four Wazirs and a host of apes like
+swarming locusts, some riding on dogs and others afoot till they came to the
+sea-shore. Janshah looked for the boat which brought him and finding it
+scuttled turned to the Wazirs and asked how this had happened to it; whereto
+they answered, 'Know, O King, that, when thou camest to our island, we kenned
+that thou wouldst be Sultan over us and we feared lest ye all flee from us, in
+our absence; and embark in the boat, so we sank it.' When Janshah heard this,
+he turned to his Mamelukes and said to them, 'We have no means of escaping from
+these apes, and we must patiently await the ordinance of the Almighty.' Then
+they fared on inland and ceased not faring till they came to the banks of a
+river, on whose other side rose a high mountain, whereon Janshah saw a
+multitude of Ghuls. So he turned to the apes and asked them, 'What are these
+Ghuls?' and they answered, 'Know, O King, that these Ghuls are our mortal foes
+and we come hither to do battle with them.' Janshah marvelled to see them
+riding horses, and was startled at the vastness of their bulk and the
+strangeness of their semblance; for some of them had heads like bulls and
+others like camels. As soon as the Ghuls espied the army of the apes, they
+charged down to the river bank and standing there, fell to pelting them with
+stones as big as maces; and between them there befell a sore fight. Presently,
+Janshah, seeing that the Ghuls were getting the better of the apes, cried out
+to his men, saying, 'Unease your bows and arrows and shoot at them your best
+shafts and keep them off from us.' They did so and slew of the Ghuls much
+people, when there fell upon them sore dismay and they turned to flee; but the
+apes, seeing Janshah's prowess, forded the river and headed by their Sultan
+chased the Ghuls, killing many of them in the pursuit, till they reached the
+high mountain where they disappeared. And while exploring the said mountain
+Janshah found a tablet of alabaster, whereon was written, 'O thou who enterest
+this land, know that thou wilt become Sultan over these apes and that from them
+there is no escape for thee, except by the passes that run east and west
+through the mountains. If thou take the eastern pass, thou wilt fare through a
+country swarming with Ghuls and wild beasts, Marids and Ifrits, and thou wilt
+come, after three months' journeying, to the ocean which encompasseth the
+earth; but, if thou travel by the western pass, it will bring thee, after four
+months' journeying, to the head of the Wady of Emmets.[FN#541] When thou hast
+followed the road, that leads through this mountain, ten days,' "—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Janshah read this much
+upon the tablet and found, at the end of the inscription, "'Then thou wilt come
+to a great river, whose current is so swift that it blindeth the eyes. Now this
+river drieth up every Sabbath,[FN#542] and on the opposite bank lies a city
+wholly inhabited by Jews, who the faith of Mohammed refuse; there is not a
+Moslem among the band nor is there other than this city in the land. Better
+therefore lord it over the apes, for so long as thou shalt tarry amongst them
+they will be victorious over the Ghuls. And know also that he who wrote this
+tablet was the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!).' When Janshah
+read these words, he wept sore and repeated them to his men. Then they mounted
+again and, surrounded by the army of the apes who were rejoicing in their
+victory, returned to the castle. Here Janshah abode, Sultaning over them, for a
+year and a half. And at the end of this time, he one day commanded the ape-army
+to mount and go forth a hunting with him, and they rode out into the woods and
+wilds, and fared on from place to place, till they approached the Wady of
+Emmets, which Janshah knew by the description of it upon the alabaster tablet.
+Here he bade them dismount and they all abode there, eating and drinking a
+space of ten days, after which Janshah took his men apart one night and said,
+'I purpose we flee through the Valley of Emmets and make for the town of the
+Jews; it may be Allah will deliver us from these apes and we will go God's
+ways.' They replied, 'We hear and we obey:' so he waited till some little of
+the night was spent then, donning his armour and girding his sword and dagger
+and such like weapons, and his men doing likewise, they set out and fared on
+westwards till morning. When the apes awoke and missed Janshah and his men,
+they knew that they had fled. So they mounted and pursued them, some taking the
+eastern pass and others that which led to the Wady of Emmets, nor was it long
+before the apes came in sight of the fugitives, as they were about to enter the
+valley, and hastened after them. When Janshah and his men saw them, they fled
+into the Emmet-valley; but the apes soon overtook them and would have slain
+them, when behold, there rose out of the earth a multitude of ants like
+swarming locusts, as big as dogs, and charged home upon the apes. They devoured
+many of their foes, and these also slew many of the ants; but help came to the
+emmets: now an ant would go up to an ape and smite him and cut him in twain,
+whilst ten apes could hardly master one ant and bear him away and tear him in
+sunder. The sore battle lasted till the evening but the emmets were victorious.
+In the gloaming Janshah and his men took to flight and fled along the sole of
+the Wady."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "in the gloaming Janshah
+and his men took to flight and fled along the sole of the Wady till the
+morning. With the break of day, the apes were up and at them, which when the
+Prince saw, he shouted to his men, 'Smite with your swords.' So they bared
+their blades and laid on load right and left, till there ran at them an ape,
+with tusks like an elephant, and smote one of the Mamelukes and cut him in
+sunder. Then the apes redoubled upon Janshah and he fled with his followers
+into the lower levels of the valley, where he saw a vast river and by its side
+a mighty army of ants. When the emmets espied Janshah they pushed on and
+surrounded him, and one of the slaves fell to smiting them with his sword and
+cutting them in twain; whereupon the whole host set upon him and slew him. At
+this pass, behold, up came the apes from over the mountain and fell in numbers
+upon Janshah; but he tore off his clothes and, plunging into the river, with
+his remaining servant, struck out for the middle of the stream. Presently, he
+caught sight of a tree on the other bank; so he swam up to it and laying hold
+of one of its branches, hung to it and swung himself ashore, but as for the
+last Mameluke the current carried him away and dashed him to pieces against the
+mountain. Thereupon Janshah fell to wringing his clothes and spreading them in
+the sun to dry, what while there befell a fierce fight between the apes and the
+ants, until the apes gave up the pursuit and returned to their own land.
+Meanwhile, Janshah, who abode alone on the river-bank, could do naught but shed
+tears till nightfall, when he took refuge in a cavern and there passed the dark
+hours, in great fear and feeling desolate for the loss of his slaves. At
+daybreak awaking from his sleep he set out again and fared on nights and days,
+eating of the herbs of the earth, till he came to the mountain which burnt like
+fire, and thence he made the river which dried up every Sabbath. Now it was a
+mighty stream and on the opposite bank stood a great city, which was the
+capital of the Jews mentioned in the tablet. Here he abode till the next
+Sabbath, when the river dried up and he walked over to the other side and
+entered the Jew city, but saw none in the streets. So he wandered about till he
+came to the door of a homestead, which he opened and entering, espied within
+the people of the house sitting in silence and speaking not a syllable. Quoth
+he, 'I am a stranger and anhungered;' and they signed to him, as to say, 'Eat
+and drink, but speak not.'[FN#543] So he ate and drank and slept that night
+and, when morning dawned, the master of the house greeted him and bade him
+welcome and asked him, 'Whence comest thou and whither art thou bound?' At
+these words Janshah wept sore and told him all that had befallen him and how
+his father was King of Kabul; whereat the Jew marvelled and said, 'Never heard
+we of that city, but we have heard from the merchants of the caravans that in
+that direction lieth a land called Al-Yaman.' 'How far is that land from this
+place?' asked Janshah, and the Jew answered, 'The Cafilah merchants pretend
+that it is a two years and three months' march from their land hither.' Quoth
+Janshah, 'And when doth the caravan come?' Quoth the Jew, 'Next year 'twill
+come.' "—And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Jew was
+questioned anent the coming of the caravan, he replied, "'Next year 'twill
+come.' At these words the Prince wept sore and fell a-sorrowing for himself and
+his Mamelukes; and lamenting his separation from his mother and father and all
+which had befallen him in his wanderings. Then said the Jew, 'O young man, do
+not weep, but sojourn with us till the caravan shall come, when we will send
+thee with it to thine own country.' So he tarried with the Jew two whole months
+and every day he went out walking in the streets for his solace and diversion.
+Now it chanced one day, whilst he paced about the main thoroughfares, as of
+wont, and was bending his steps right and left, he heard a crier crying aloud
+and saying, 'Who will earn a thousand gold pieces and a slave- girl of
+surpassing beauty and loveliness by working for me between morning and
+noontide?' But no one answered him and Janshah said in his mind, 'Were not this
+work dangerous and difficult, he would not offer a thousand diners and a fair
+girl for half a day's labour.' Then he accosted the crier and said, 'I will do
+the work;' so the man carried him to a lofty mansion where they found one who
+was a Jew and a merchant, seated on an ebony chair, to whom quoth the crier,
+standing respectfully before him, 'O merchant, I have cried every day these
+three months, and none hath answered, save this young man.' Hearing his speech
+the Jew welcomed Janshah, led him into a magnificent sitting-room and signalled
+to bring food. So the servants spread the table and set thereon all manner
+meats, of which the merchant and Janshah ate, and washed their hands. Then wine
+was served up and they drank; after which the Jew rose and bringing Janshah a
+purse of a thousand diners and a slave-girl of rare beauty, said to him, 'Take
+maid and money to thy hire.' Janshah took them and seated the girl by his side
+when the trader resumed, 'To-morrow to the work!'; and so saying he withdrew
+and Janshah slept with the damsel that night. As soon as it was morning, the
+merchant bade his slaves clothe him in a costly suit of silk whenas he came out
+of the Hammam-Bath. So they did as he bade them and brought him back to the
+house, whereupon the merchant called for harp and lute and wine and they drank
+and played and made merry till the half of the night was past, when the Jew
+retired to his Harim and Janshah lay with his slave-girl till the dawn. Then he
+went to the bath and on his return, the merchant came to him and said, 'Now I
+wish thee to do the work for me.' 'I hear and obey,' replied Janshah. So the
+merchant bade his slaves bring two she- mules and set Janshah on one, mounting
+the other himself. Then they rode forth from the city and fared on from morn
+till noon, when they made a lofty mountain, to whose height was no limit. Here
+the Jew dismounted, ordering Janshah to do the same; and when he obeyed the
+merchant gave him a knife and a cord, saying, 'I desire that thou slaughter
+this mule.' So Janshah tucked up his sleeves and skirts and going up to the
+mule, bound her legs with the cord, then threw her and cut her throat; after
+which he skinned her and lopped off her head and legs and she became a mere
+heap of flesh. Then said the Jew, 'Slit open the mule's belly and enter it and
+I will sew it up on thee. There must thou abide awhile and whatsoever thou
+seest in her belly, acquaint me therewith.' So Janshah slit the mule's belly
+and crept into it, whereupon the merchant sewed it up on him and withdrew to a
+distance,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the merchant sewed up
+the mule's belly on Janshah and, withdrawing to a distance, hid himself in the
+skirts of the mountain. After a while a huge bird swooped down on the dead mule
+and snatching it up, flew up with it to the top of the mountain, where it set
+down the quarry and would have eaten it; but Janshah, feeling the bird begin to
+feed, slit the mule's belly and came forth. When the bird saw him, it took
+fright at him and flew right away; whereupon he stood up and looking right and
+left, saw nothing but the carcasses of dead men, mummied by the sun, and
+exclaimed, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the
+Glorious, the Great!' Then he looked down the precipice and espied the merchant
+standing at the mountain-foot, looking for him. As soon as the Jew caught sight
+of him, he called out to him, 'Throw me down of the stones which are about
+thee, that I may direct thee to a way whereby thou mayst descend.' So Janshah
+threw him down some two hundred of the stones, which were all rubies,[FN#544]
+chrysolites and other gems of price; after which he called out to him, saying,
+'Show me the way down and I will throw thee as many more.' But the Jew gathered
+up the stones and, binding them on the back of the mule, went his way without
+answering a word and left Janshah alone on the mountain-top. When the Prince
+found himself deserted, he began to weep and implore help of Heaven, and thus
+he abode three days; after which he rose and fared on over the mountainous
+ground two month's space, feeding upon hill-herbs; and he ceased not faring
+till he came to its skirts and espied afar off a Wady full of fruitful trees
+and birds harmonious, singing the praises of Allah, the One, the Victorious. At
+this sight he joyed with great joy and stayed not his steps till, after an hour
+or so, he came to a ravine in the rocks, through which the rain torrents fell
+into the valley. He made his way down the cleft till he reached the Wady which
+he had seen from the mountain-top and walked on therein, gazing right and left,
+nor ceased so doing until he came in sight of a great castle, towering high in
+air. As he drew near the gates he saw an old man of comely aspect and face
+shining with light standing thereat with a staff of carnelian in his hand, and
+going up to him, saluted him. The Shaykh returned his salam and bade him
+welcome, saying, 'Sit down, O my son.' So he sat down at the door of the castle
+and the old man said to him, 'How camest thou to this land, untrodden by son of
+Adam before thee, and whither art thou bound?' When Janshah heard his words he
+wept bitterly at the thought of all the hardships he had suffered and his tears
+choked his speech. Quoth the Shaykh, 'O my son, leave weeping; for indeed thou
+makest my heart ache.' So saying, he rose and set somewhat of food before him
+and said to him, 'Eat.' He ate and praised Allah Almighty; after which the old
+man besought him saying, 'O my son, I would have thee tell me thy tale and
+acquaint me with thine adventures.' So Janshah related to him all that had
+befallen him, from first to last, whereat the Shaykh marvelled with exceeding
+marvel. Then said the Prince, 'Prithee inform me who is the lord of this valley
+and to whom doth this great castle belong?' Answered the old man, 'Know, O my
+son, this valley and all that is therein and this castle with all it containeth
+belong to the lord Solomon, son of David (on both be peace!). As for me, my
+name is Shaykh Nasr,[FN#545] King of the Birds; for thou must know that the
+lord Solomon committed this castle to my charge,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shaykh Nasr pursued,
+'Thou must know that the lord Solomon com misted this castle to my charge and
+taught me the language of birds and made me ruler over all the fowls which be
+in the world; wherefore each and every come hither once in the twelvemonth, and
+I pass them in review: then they depart; and this is why I dwell here.' When
+Janshah heard this, he wept sore and said to the Shaykh, 'O my father, how
+shall I do to get back to my native land?' Replied the old man, 'Know, O my
+son, that thou art near to the mountain Kaf, and there is no departing for thee
+from this place till the birds come, when I will give thee in charge to one of
+them, and he will bear thee to thy native country. Meanwhile tarry with me here
+and eat and drink and divert thyself with viewing the apartments of this
+castle.' So Janshah abode with Shaykh Nasr, taking his pleasure in the Wady and
+eating of its fruits and laughing and making merry with the old man, and
+leading a right joyous life till the day appointed for the birds to pay their
+annual visit to the Governor. Thereupon the Shaykh said to him, 'O Janshah,
+take the keys of the castle and solace thyself with exploring all its
+apartments and viewing whatever be therein, but as regards such a room, beware
+and again beware of opening its door; and if thou gainsay me and open it and
+enter there, through nevermore shalt thou know fair fortune.' He repeated this
+charge again and again with much instance; then he went forth to meet the
+birds, which came up, kind by kind, and kissed his hands. Such was his case;
+but as regards Janshah, he went round about the castle, opening the various
+doors and viewing the apartments into which they led, till he came to the room
+which Shaykh Nasr had warned him not to open or enter. He looked at the door
+and its fashion pleased him, for it had on it a padlock of gold, and he said to
+himself, 'This room must be goodlier than all the others; would Heaven I wist
+what is within it, that Shaykh Nasr should forbid me to open its door! There is
+no help but that I enter and see what is in this apartment; for whatso is
+decreed unto the creature perforce he must fulfil.' So he put out his hand and
+unlocked the door and entering, found himself before a great basin; and hard by
+it stood a little pavilion, builded all of gold and silver and crystal, with
+lattice-windows of jacinth. The floor was paved with green beryl and balas
+rubies and emeralds and other jewels, set in the ground-work mosaic-fashion,
+and in the midmost of the pavilion was a jetting fountain in a golden basin,
+full of water and girt about with figures of beasts and birds, cunningly
+wrought of gold and silver and casting water from their mouths. When the zephyr
+blew on them, it entered their ears and therewith the figures sang out with
+birdlike song, each in its own tongue. Beside the fountain was a great open
+saloon with a high dais whereon stood a vast throne of carnelian, inlaid with
+pearls and jewels, over which was spread a tent of green silk fifty cubits in
+width and embroidered with gems fit for seal rings and purfled with precious
+metals. Within this tent was a closet containing the carpet of the lord Solomon
+(on whom be peace!); and the pavilion was compassed about with a vast garden
+full of fruit trees and streams; while near the palace were beds of roses and
+basil and eglantine and all manner sweet-smelling herbs and flowers. And the
+trees bore on the same boughs fruits fresh and dry and the branches swayed
+gracefully to the wooing of the wind. All this was in that one apartment and
+Janshah wondered thereat till he was weary of wonderment; and he set out to
+solace himself in the palace and the garden and to divert himself with the
+quaint and curious things they contained. And first looking at the basin he saw
+that the gravels of its bed were gems and jewels and noble metals; and many
+other strange things were in that apartment."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
+of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah saw many strange
+things and admirable in that apartment. Then he entered the pavilion and
+mounting the throne, fell asleep under the tent set up thereover. He slept for
+a time and, presently awaking, walked forth and sat down on a stool before the
+door. As he sat, marvelling at the goodliness of that place, there flew up from
+mid sky three birds, in dove-form but big as eagles, and lighted on the brink
+of the basin, where they sported awhile. Then they put off their feathers and
+became three maidens,[FN#546] as they were moons, that had not their like in
+the whole world. They plunged into the basin and swam about and disported
+themselves and laughed, while Janshah marvelled at their beauty and loveliness
+and the grace and symmetry of their shapes. Presently, they came up out of the
+water and began walking about and taking their solace in the garden; and
+Janshah seeing them land was like to lose his wits. He rose and followed them,
+and when he overtook them, he saluted them and they returned his salam; after
+which quoth he, 'Who are ye, O illustrious Princesses, and whence come ye?'
+Replied the youngest damsel, 'We are from the invisible world of Almighty Allah
+and we come hither to divert ourselves.' He marvelled at their beauty and said
+to the youngest, 'Have ruth on me and deign kindness to me and take pity on my
+case and on all that hath befallen me in my life.' Rejoined she, 'Leave this
+talk and wend thy ways'; whereat the tears streamed from his eyes, and he
+sighed heavily and repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'She shone out in the garden in garments all of green, * With<br/>
+
+     open vest and collars and flowing hair beseen:<br/>
+
+'What is thy name?' I asked her, and she replied, 'I'm she * Who<br/>
+
+     roasts the hearts of lovers on coals of love and teen.'<br/>
+
+Of passion and its anguish to her made my moan; * 'Upon a rock,'<br/>
+
+     she answered, 'thy plaints are wasted clean.'<br/>
+
+'Even if thy heart,' I told her, 'be rock in very deed, * Yet<br/>
+
+     hath God made fair water well from the rock, I<br/>
+
+     ween.'[FN#547]<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the maidens heard his verses, they laughed and played and sang and made
+merry. Then he brought them somewhat of fruit, and they ate and drank and slept
+with him till the morning, when they donned their feather-suits, and resuming
+dove shape flew off and went their way. But as he saw them disappearing from
+sight, his reason well nigh fled with them, and he gave a great cry and fell
+down in a fainting fit and lay a-swooning all that day. While he was in this
+case Shaykh Nasr returned from the Parliament of the Fowls and sought for
+Janshah, that he might send him with them to his native land, but found him not
+and knew that he had entered the forbidden room. Now he had already said to the
+birds, 'With me is a young man, a mere youth, whom destiny brought hither from
+a distant land; and I desire of you that ye take him up and carry him to his
+own country.' And all answered, 'We hear and we obey.' So he ceased not
+searching for Janshah till he came to the forbidden door and seeing it open he
+entered and found the Prince lying a-swoon under a tree. He fetched scented
+waters and sprinkled them on his face, whereupon he revived and turned."— And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Tenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Shaykh Nasr saw
+Janshah lying a-swoon under the tree he fetched him somewhat of scented waters
+and sprinkled them on his face. Thereupon he revived and turned right and left,
+but seeing none by him save the Shaykh, sighed heavily and repeated these
+couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Like fullest moon she shines on happiest night, * Soft sided<br/>
+
+     fair, with slender shape bedight.<br/>
+
+Her eye-babes charm the world with gramarye; * Her lips remind of<br/>
+
+     rose and ruby light.<br/>
+
+Her jetty locks make night upon her hips; * Ware, lovers, ware ye<br/>
+
+     of that curl's despight!<br/>
+
+Yea, soft her sides are, but in love her heart * Outhardens<br/>
+
+     flint, surpasses syenite:<br/>
+
+And bows of eyebrows shower glancey shafts * Despite the distance<br/>
+
+     never fail to smite.<br/>
+
+Then, ah, her beauty! all the fair it passes; * Nor any rival her<br/>
+
+     who see the light.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Shaykh Nasr heard these verses, he said, 'O my son, did I not warn thee
+not to open that door and enter that room? But now, O my son, tell me what thou
+sawest therein and acquaint me with all that betided thee.' So Janshah related
+to him all that had passed between him and the three maidens, and Shaykh Nasr,
+who sat listening in silence said, 'Know, O my son, that these three maidens
+are of the daughters of the Jann and come hither every year for a day, to
+divert themselves and make merry until mid afternoon, when they return to their
+own country.' Janshah asked, 'And where is their country?'; and the old man
+answered, 'By Allah, O my son, I wot not:' presently adding, 'but now take
+heart and put away this love from thee and come with me, that I may send thee
+to thine own land with the birds.' When Janshah heard this, he gave a great cry
+and fell down in a trance; and presently he came to himself, and said, 'O my
+father indeed I care not to return to my native land: all I want is to
+foregather with these maidens and know, O my father, that I will never again
+name my people, though I die before thee.' Then he wept and cried, 'Enough for
+me that I look upon the face of her I love, although it be only once in the
+year!' And he sighed deeply and repeated these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Would Heaven the Phantom[FN#548] spared the friend at night *<br/>
+
+     And would this love for man were ever dight!<br/>
+
+Were not my heart afire for love of you, * Tears ne'er had<br/>
+
+     stained my cheeks nor dimmed my sight.<br/>
+
+By night and day, I bid my heart to bear * Its griefs, while<br/>
+
+     fires of love my body blight.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he fell at Shaykh Nasr's feet and kissed them and wept sore, crying, 'Have
+pity on me, so Allah take pity on thee and aid me in my strait so Allah aid
+thee!' Replied the old man, 'By Allah O my son, I know nothing of these maidens
+nor where may be their country; but, O my son, if thy heart be indeed set on
+one of them, tarry with me till this time next year for they will assuredly
+reappear; and, when the day of their coming draweth near, hide thyself under a
+tree in the garden. As soon as they have alighted and doffed their
+feather-robes and plunged into the lake and are swimming about at a distance
+from their clothes, seize the vest of her whom thy soul desireth. When they see
+thee, they will come a bank and she, whose coat thou hast taken, will accost
+thee and say to thee with the sweetest of speech and the most witching of
+smiles, 'Give me my dress, O my brother, that I may don it and veil my
+nakedness withal.' But if thou yield to her prayer and give her back the vest
+thou wilt never win thy wish: nay, she will don it and fly away to her folk and
+thou wilt nevermore see her again Now when thou hast gained the vest, clap it
+under thine armpit and hold it fast, till I return from the Parliament of the
+Fowls, when I will make accord between thee and her and send thee back to thy
+native land, and the maiden with thee. And this, O my son, is all I can do for
+thee, nothing more.' "—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eleventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "quoth Shaykh Nasr to
+Janshah, 'Hold fast the feather-robe of her thy soul desireth and give it not
+back to her till I return from the Parliament of the Fowls. And this, O my son,
+is all I can do for thee, nothing more.' When Janshah heard this, his heart was
+solaced and he abode with Shaykh Nasr yet another year, counting the days as
+they passed until the day of the coming of the birds. And when at last the
+appointed time arrived the old man said to him, 'Do as I enjoined thee and
+charged thee with the maidens in the matter of the feather-dress, for I go to
+meet the birds;' and Janshah replied, 'I hear and I obey, O my father.' Then
+the Shaykh departed whilst the Prince walked into the garden and hid himself
+under a tree, where none could see him. Here he abode a first day and a second
+and a third, but the maidens came not; whereat he was sore troubled and wept
+and sighed from a heart hard tried; and he ceased not weeping and wailing till
+he fainted away. When he came to himself, he fell to looking now at the basin
+and now at the welkin, and anon at the earth and anon at the open country,
+whilst his heart grieved for stress of love-longing. As he was in this case,
+behold, the three doves appeared in the firmament, eagle-sized as before, and
+flew till they reached the garden and lighted down beside the basin. They
+turned right and left; but saw no one, man or Jann; so they doffed their
+feather-suits and became three maidens. Then they plunged into the basin and
+swam about, laughing and frolicking; and all were mother-naked and fair as bars
+of virgin silver. Quoth the eldest, 'O my sister, I fear lest there be some one
+lying ambushed for us in the pavilion. Answered the second, 'O sister, since
+the days of King Solomon none hath entered the pavilion, be he man or Jann;'
+and the youngest added, laughing, 'By Allah, O my sisters, if there be any
+hidden there, he will assuredly take none but me.' Then they continued sporting
+and laughing and Janshah's heart kept fluttering for stress of passion: but he
+hid behind the tree so that he saw without being seen. Presently they swam out
+to the middle of the basin leaving their clothes on the bank. Hereupon he
+sprang to his feet, and running like the darting levee to the basin's brink,
+snatched up the feather-vest of the youngest damsel, her on whom his heart was
+set and whose name was Shamsah the Sun-maiden. At this the girls turned and
+seeing him, were affrighted and veiled their shame from him in the water. Then
+they swam near the shore and looking on his favour saw that he was bright faced
+as the moon on the night of fullness and asked him, 'Who art thou and how
+camest thou hither and why hast thou taken the clothes of the lady Shamsah?';
+and he answered, 'Come hither to me and I will tell you my tale.' Quoth
+Shamsah, 'What deed is this, and why hast thou taken my clothes, rather than
+those of my sisters?' Quoth he, 'O light of mine eyes, come forth of the water,
+and I will recount thee my case and acquaint thee why I chose thee out.' Quoth
+she, 'O my lord and coolth of my eyes and fruit of my heart, give me my
+clothes, that I may put them on and cover my nakedness withal; then will I come
+forth to thee.' But he replied, 'O Princess of beautiful ones, how can I give
+thee back thy clothes and slay myself for love longing? Verily, I will not give
+them to thee, till Shaykh Nasr, the king of the birds, shall return.' Quoth
+she, 'If thou wilt not give me my clothes withdraw a little apart from us, that
+my sisters may land and dress themselves and lend me somewhat wherewithal to
+cover my shame.' 'I hear and obey,' answered he, and walked away from them into
+the pavilion, whereupon the three Princesses came out and the two elder,
+donning their dress, gave Shamsah somewhat thereof, not enough to fly withal,
+and she put it on and came forth of the water, and stood before him, as she
+were the rising full moon or a browsing gazelle. Then Shamsah entered the
+pavilion, where Janshah was still sitting on the throne; so she saluted him and
+taking seat near him, said, 'O fair of face, thou hast undone thyself and me;
+but tell us thy adventures that we may ken how it is with thee.' At these words
+he wept till he drenched his dress with his tears; and when she saw that he was
+distracted for love of her, she rose and taking him by the hand, made him sit
+by her side and wiped away the drops with her sleeve; and said she, 'O fair of
+face, leave this weeping and tell us thy tale.' So he related to her all that
+had befallen him and described to her all he had seen,"—And Shahrazad perceived
+the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twelfth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the lady Shamsah
+said to Janshah, 'Tell us thy tale;' so he related to her all that had befallen
+him; and, after she had lent attentive ear she sighed and said, 'O my lord,
+since thou art so fondly in love with me, give me my dress, that I may fly to
+my folk, I and my sisters, and tell them what affection thou hast conceived for
+me, and after I will come back to thee and carry thee to thine own country.'
+When he heard this, he wept sore and replied, 'Is it lawful to thee before
+Allah to slay me wrongfully?' She asked, 'O my lord, why should I do such
+wrongous deed?'; and he answered, 'If I give thee thy gear thou wilt fly away
+from me, and I shall die forthright.' Princess Shamsah laughed at this and so
+did her sisters; then said she to him, 'Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes
+cool and clear, for I must needs marry thee.' So saying, she bent down to him
+and embraced him and pressing him to her breast kissed him between the eyes and
+on his cheeks. They clipped and clasped each other awhile, after which they
+drew apart and sat down on the throne. Then the eldest Princess went out into
+the garden and, plucking somewhat of fruits and flowers, brought them into the
+pavilion; and they ate and drank and laughed and sported and made merry. Now
+Janshah was singular in beauty and loveliness and slender shape and symmetry
+and grace, and the Princess Shamsah said to him, 'O my beloved, by Allah, I
+love thee with exceeding love and will never leave thee!' When he heard her
+words, his breast broadened and he laughed for joy till he showed his teeth;
+and they abode thus awhile in mirth and gladness and frolic. And when they were
+at the height of their pleasure and joyance, behold, Shaykh Nasr returned from
+the Parliament of the Fowls and came in to them; whereupon they all rose to him
+and saluted him and kissed his hands. He gave them welcome and bade them be
+seated. So they sat down and he said to Princess Shamsah, 'Verily this youth
+loveth thee with exceeding love; Allah upon thee, deal kindly with him, for he
+is of the great ones of mankind and of the sons of the kings, and his father
+ruleth over the land of Kabul and his reign compasseth a mighty empire.' Quoth
+she, 'I hear and I obey thy behest'; and, kissing the Shaykh's hands stood
+before him in respect. Quoth he, 'If thou say sooth, swear to me by Allah that
+thou wilt never betray him, what while thou abidest in the bonds of life.' So
+she swore a great oath that she would never betray Janshah, but would assuredly
+marry him, and added, 'Know, O Shaykh Nasr, that I never will forsake him.' The
+Shaykh believed in her oath and said to Janshah, 'Thanks be to Allah, who hath
+made you arrive at this understanding!' Hereupon the Prince rejoiced with
+exceeding joy, and he and Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting
+and toying and making merry."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
+ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, "Janshah and the lady
+Shamsah abode three months with Shaykh Nasr, feasting and toying and making
+merry. And at the end of that time she said to Janshah, 'I wish to go with thee
+to thy mother land, where thou shalt marry me and we will abide there.' 'To
+hear is to obey,' answered he and took counsel with Shaykh Nasr who said to
+him, 'Go thou home, I commend her to thy care.' Then said she, 'O Shaykh Nasr,
+bid him render me my feather-suit.' So the Shaykh bade Janshah give it to her,
+and he went straightways into the pavilion and brought it out for her. There
+upon she donned it and said to him, 'Mount my back and shut thine eyes and stop
+thine ears, so thou mayst not hear the roar of the revolving sphere; and keep
+fast hold of my feathers, lest thou fall off.' He did as she bade him and, as
+she stretched her wings to fly, Shaykh Nasr said, 'Wait a while till I describe
+to thee the land Kabul, lest you twain miss your way.' So she delayed till he
+had said his say and had bidden them farewell, commending the Prince to her
+care. She took leave of her sisters and bade them return to her folk and tell
+them what had befallen her with Janshah; then, rising into the air without stay
+or delay she flew off, like the wafts of the wind or the ramping leven. Her
+sisters also took flight and returning home delivered her message to their
+people. And she stayed not her course from the forenoon till the hour of mid-
+afternoon prayer (Janshah being still on her back), when she espied afar off a
+Wady abounding in trees and streams and she said to Janshah, 'I am thinking to
+alight in this valley, that we may solace ourselves amongst its trees and
+herbage and here rest for the night.' Quoth he, "Do what seemeth meet to thee!'
+So she swooped down from the lift and alighted in the Wady, when Janshah
+dismounted and kissing her between the eyes,[FN#549] sat with her awhile on the
+bank of a river there; then they rose and wandered about the valley, taking
+their pleasure therein and eating of the fruits of the trees, until nightfall,
+when they lay down under a tree and slept till the morning dawned. As soon as
+it was day, the Princess arose and, bidding Janshah mount, flew on with him
+till noon, when she perceived by the appearance of the buildings which Shaykh
+Nasr had described to her, that they were nearing the city Kabul. So she
+swooped down from the welkin and alighted in a wide plain, a blooming
+champaign, wherein were gazelles straying and springs playing and rivers
+flowing and ripe fruits growing. So Janshah dismounted and kissed her between
+the eyes; and she asked him, 'O my beloved and coolth of mine eyes, knowest
+thou how many days' journey we have come since yesterday?'; and he answered,
+'No,' when she said, 'We have come thirty months' journey.' Quoth he, 'Praised
+be Allah for safety!' Then they sat down side by side and ate and drank and
+toyed and laughed. And whilst they were thus pleasantly engaged, behold, there
+came up to them two of the King's Mamelukes of those who had been of the
+Prince's company, one of them was he whom he had left with the horses, when he
+embarked in the fishing-boat and the other had been of his escort in the chase.
+As soon as they saw Janshah, both knew him and saluted him; then said they,
+'With thy leave, we will go to thy sire and bear him the glad tidings of thy
+coming.' Replied the Prince, 'Go ye to my father and acquaint him with my case,
+and fetch us tents, for we will tarry here seven days to rest ourselves till he
+make ready his retinue to meet us, that we may enter in stateliest state.'"—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah said to the
+two Mamelukes, 'Go ye to my sire and acquaint him with my case and fetch us
+tents, for we will abide here seven days to rest ourselves, till he make ready
+his retinue to meet us that we may enter in the stateliest state.' So the
+officers hastened back to King Teghmus and said to him, 'Good news, O King of
+the age!' Asked he, 'What good tidings bring ye: is my son Janshah come back?';
+and they answered, 'Yes, thy son Janshah hath returned from his strangerhood
+and is now near at hand in the Kirαnν mead.' Now when the King heard this, he
+joyed with great joy and fell down in a swoon for excess of gladness; then,
+coming to himself, he bade his Wazir give each of the Mamelukes a splendid suit
+of honour and a sum of money. The minister replied, 'I hear and obey,' and
+forthright did his bidding and said to them, 'Take this in turn for the good
+tidings ye bring, whether ye lie or say sooth.' They replied, 'Indeed we lie
+not, for but now we sat with him and saluted him and kissed his hands and he
+bade us fetch him tents, for that he would sojourn in the meadow seven days,
+till such time as the Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees should come out to meet
+him.' Quoth the King, 'How is it with my son?' and quoth they, 'He hath with
+him a Houri, as he had brought her out of Paradise.' At this, King Teghmus bade
+beat the kettledrums and sound the trumpets for gladness, and despatched
+messengers to announce the good news to Janshah's mother and to the wives of
+the Emirs and Wazirs and Lords of the realm: so the criers spread themselves
+about the city and acquainted the people with the coming of Prince Janshah.
+Then the King made ready, and, setting out for the Kirani meadow with his
+horsemen and footmen, came upon Janshah who was sitting at rest with the lady
+Shamsah beside him and, behold, all suddenly drew in sight. The Prince rose to
+his feet and walked forward to meet them; and the troops knew him and
+dismounted, to salute him and kiss his hands: after which he set out preceded
+by the men in single file till he came to his sire, who, at sight of his son
+threw himself from his horse's back and clasped him to his bosom and wept
+flooding tears of joy. Then they took horse again with the retinue riding to
+the right and left and fared forward till they came to the river banks; when
+the troops alighted and pitched their tents and pavilions and standards to the
+blare of trump and the piping of fife and the dub-a-dub of drum and tom-tom.
+Moreover the King bade the tent pitchers set up a pavilion of red silk for the
+Princess Shamsah, who put off her scanty raiment of feathers for fine robes
+and, entering the pavilion, there took seat. And as she sat in her beauty,
+behold, the King and his son Janshah came in to her, and when she saw Teghmus,
+she rose and kissed the ground before him. The King sat down and seating
+Janshah on his right hand and Princess Shamsah on his left, bade her welcome
+and said to his son, 'Tell me all that hath befallen thee in this thy long
+strangerhood.' So Janshah related to him the whole of his adventures from first
+to last, whereat he marvelled with exceeding marvel and turning to the
+Princess, said, 'Laud to Allah for that He hath caused thee to reunite me with
+my son! Verily this is of His exceeding bounty!'"[FN#550]—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Teghmus said to
+the lady Shamsah, 'Laud to Allah for that He hath caused thee to reunite me
+with my son! Verily this is of His exceeding bounty.' And now I would have thee
+ask of me what thou wilt, that I may do it in thine honour.' Quoth she, 'I ask
+of thee that thou build me a palace in the midst of a flower garden, with water
+running under it.' And the King answered, 'I hear and obey.' And behold, up
+came Janshah's mother, attended by all the wives of the Wazirs and Emirs and
+nobles and city notables. When her son had sight of her, he rose and leaving
+the tent, went forth to meet her and they embraced a long while, whilst the
+Queen wept for excess of joy and with tears trickling from her eyes repeated
+the following verses,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Joy so o'ercometh me, for stress of joy * In that which<br/>
+
+     gladdeneth me I fain shed tears:<br/>
+
+Tears are become your nature, O my eyes, * Who weep for joyance<br/>
+
+     as for griefs and fears.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And they complained to each other of all their hearts had suffered from the
+long separation. Then the King departed to his pavilion and Janshah carried his
+mother to his own tent, where they sat talking till there came up some of the
+lady Shamsah's attendants who said, The Princess is now walking hither in order
+to salute thee. When the Queen heard this, she rose and going to meet Shamsah,
+saluted her and seated her awhile by her side. Presently the Queen and her
+retinue of noble women, the spouses of the Emirs and Grandees, returned with
+Princess Shamsah to the tent occupied by her daughter-in-law and sat there.
+Meanwhile, King Teghmus gave great largesse to his levies and liege and
+rejoiced in his son with exceeding joy, and they tarried there ten days,
+feasting and merry making and living a most joyous life. At the end of this
+time, the King commanded a march and they all returned to the capital, so he
+took horse surrounded by all the troops with the Wazirs and Chamberlains to his
+right and left nor ceased they faring till they entered the city, which was
+decorated after the goodliest fashion; for the folk had adorned the houses with
+precious stuffs and jewellery and spread costly bro cedes under the hoofs of
+the horses. The drums beat for glad tidings and the Grandees of the kingdom
+rejoiced and brought rich gifts and the lookers-on were filled with amazement.
+Furthermore, they fed the mendicants and Fakirs and held high festival for the
+space of ten days, and the lady Shamsah joyed with exceeding joy whenas she saw
+this. Then King Teghmus summoned architects and builders and men of art and
+bade them build a palace in that garden. So they straightway proceeded to do
+his bidding; and, when Janshah knew of his sire's command he caused the
+artificers to fetch a block of white marble and carve it and hollow it in the
+semblance of a chest; which being done he took the feather- vest of Princess
+Shamsah wherewith she had flown with him through the air: then, sealing the
+cover with melted lead, he ordered them to bury the box in the foundations and
+build over it the arches whereon the palace was to rest. They did as he bade
+them, nor was it long before the palace was finished: then they furnished it
+and it was a magnificent edifice, standing in the midst of the garden, with
+streams flowing under its walls.[FN#551] Upon this the King caused Janshah's
+wedding to be celebrated with the greatest splendour and they brought the bride
+to the castle in state procession and went their ways. When the lady Shamsah
+entered, she smelt the scent of her feather-gear."— And Shahrazad perceived the
+dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the lady Shamsah
+entered the new palace, she smelt the scent of her flying feather-gear and knew
+where it was and determined to take it. So she waited till midnight, when
+Janshah was drowned in sleep; then she rose and going straight to the place
+where the marble coffer was buried under the arches she hollowed the ground
+alongside till she came upon it; when she removed the lead where with it was
+soldered and, taking out the feather-suit, put it on. Then she flew high in air
+and perching on the pinnacle of the palace, cried out to those who were
+therein, saying, 'I pray you fetch me Janshah, that I may bid him farewell.' So
+they told him and he came out and, seeing her on the terrace roof of the
+palace, clad in her feather-raiment, asked her, 'Why hast thou done this
+deed?'; and she answered 'O my beloved and coolth of mine eyes and fruit of my
+heart, by Allah, I love thee passing dear and I rejoice with exceeding joy in
+that I have restored thee to thy friends and country and thou hast seen thy
+mother and father. And now, if thou love me as I love thee, come to me at
+Takni, the Castle of Jewels.' So saying, she flew away forthright to find her
+family and friends, and Janshah fell down fainting, being well-nigh dead for
+despair. They carried the news to King Teghmus, who mounted at once and riding
+to the palace, found his son lying senseless on the ground; whereat he wept
+knowing that the swoon was caused by the loss of his love, and sprinkled rose-
+water on his face.[FN#552] When the Prince came to himself and saw his sire
+sitting at his head, he wept at the thought of losing his wife and the King
+asked what had befallen him. So he replied, 'Know, O my father, that the lady
+Shamsah is of the daughters of the Jann and she hath done such and such'
+(telling him all that had happened); and the King said, 'O my son, be not
+troubled and thus concerned, for I will assemble all the merchants and
+wayfarers in the land and enquire of them anent that castle. If we can find out
+where it is, we will journey thither and demand the Princess Shamsah of her
+people, and we hope in Allah the Almighty that He will give her back to thee
+and thou shalt consummate thy marriage.' Then he went out and, calling his four
+Wazirs without stay or delay, bade them assemble all the merchants and voyagers
+in the city and question them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, adding, 'Whoso
+knoweth it and can guide us thither, I will surely give him fifty thousand gold
+pieces.' The Wazirs accordingly went forth at once and did as the King bade
+them, but neither trader nor traveller could give them news of Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels; so they returned and told the King. Thereupon he bade bring
+beautiful slave-girls and concubines and singers and players upon instruments
+of music, whose like are not found but with the Kings: and sent them to
+Janshah, so haply they might divert him from the love of the lady Shamsah.
+Moreover, he despatched couriers and spies to all the lands and islands and
+climes, to enquire for Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and they made quest for it
+two months long, but none could give them news thereof. So they returned and
+told the King, whereupon he wept bitter tears and going in to his son found
+Janshah sitting amidst the concubines and singers and players on harp and
+zither and so forth, not one of whom could console him for the lady Shamsah.
+Quoth Teghmus, O my son, I can find none who knoweth this Castle of Jewels; but
+I will bring thee a fairer one than she.' When Janshah heard this his eyes ran
+over with tears and he recited these two couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'Patience hath fled, but passion fareth not; * And all my frame<br/>
+
+     with pine is fever-hot:<br/>
+
+When will the days my lot with Shamsah join? * Lo, all my bones<br/>
+
+     with passion-lowe go rot!'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now there was a deadly feud between King Teghmus and a certain King of Hind, by
+name Kafνd, who had great plenty of troops and warriors and champions; and
+under his hand were a thousand puissant chieftains, each ruling over a thousand
+tribes whereof every one could muster four thousand cavaliers. He reigned over
+a thousand cities each guarded by a thousand forts and he had four Wazirs and
+under him ruled Emirs, Princes and Sovereigns; and indeed he was a King of
+great might and prowess whose armies filled the whole earth. Now King Teghmus
+had made war upon him and ravaged his reign and slain his men and of his
+treasures had made gain. But when it came to King Kafid's knowledge that King
+Teghmus was occupied with the love of his son, so that he neglected the affairs
+of the state and his troops were grown few and weak by reason of his care and
+concern for his son's state, he summoned his Wazirs and Emirs and said to them,
+'Ye all know that whilom King Teghmus invaded our dominions and plundered our
+possessions and slew my father and brethren, nor indeed is there one of you,
+but he hath harried his lands and carried off his goods and made prize of his
+wives and slain some kinsmen of his. Now I have heard this day that he is
+absorbed in the love of his son Janshah, and that his troops are grown few and
+weak; and this is the time to take our blood revenge on him. So make ready for
+the march and don ye your harness of battle; and let nothing stay or delay you,
+and we will go to him and fall upon him and slay him and his son, and possess
+ourselves of his reign.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
+saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Kafid, King of
+Hind, commanded his troops and armies to mount and make for the dominions of
+King Teghmus, saying, 'Get ye ready for the march and don ye your harness of
+war; and let nothing stay or delay you; so we will go to him and fall upon him
+and slay him and his son and possess ourselves of his reign.' They all answered
+with one voice, saying, 'We hear and obey,' and fell at once to equipping
+themselves and levying troops; and they ceased not their preparations for three
+months and, when all was in readiness, they beat the drums and sounded the
+trumps and flew the flags and banners: then King Kafid set out at the head of
+his host and they fared on till they reached the frontiers of the land of
+Kabul, the dominions of King Teghmus, where they began to harry the land and do
+havoc among the folk, slaughtering the old and taking the young prisoners. When
+the news reached King Teghmus, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and assembling
+his Grandees and officers of state, said to them 'Know that Kafid hath come to
+our land and hath entered the realm we command and is resolved to fight us hand
+to hand, and he leadeth troops and champions and warriors, whose number none
+knoweth save Allah Almighty; what deme deem ye?' Replied they, 'O King of the
+age, let us go out to him and give him battle and drive him forth of our
+country; and thus deem we.' So he bade them prepare for battle and brought
+forth to them hauberks and cuirasses and helmets and swords and all manner of
+warlike gear, such as lay low warriors and do to death the champions of
+mankind. So the troops and braves and champions flocked together and they set
+up the standards and beat the drums and sounded the trumpets and clashed the
+cymbals and piped on the pipes; and King Teghmus marched out at the head of his
+army, to meet the hosts of Hind. And when he drew near the foe, he called a
+halt, and encamping with his host in the Zahrαn Valley,[FN#553] hard by the
+frontier of Kabul despatched to King Kafid by messenger the following letter:
+'Know that what thou hast done is of the doings of the villain rabble and wert
+thou indeed a King, the son of a King, thou hadst not done thus, nor hadst thou
+invaded my kingdom and slain my subjects and plundered their property and
+wrought upright upon them. Knowest thou not that all this is the fashion of a
+tyrant! Verily, had I known that thou durst harry my dominions, I had come to
+thee before thy coming and had prevented thee this long while since. Yet, even
+now, if thou wilt retire and leave mischief between us and thee, well and good;
+but if thou return not, meet me in the listed field and measure thyself with me
+in cut and thrust.' Lastly he sealed his letter and committed to an officer of
+his army and sent with him spies to spy him out news. The messenger fared forth
+with the missive and, drawing near the enemy's camp, he descried a multitude of
+tents of silk and satin, with pennons of blue sendal, and amongst them a great
+pavilion of red satin, surrounded by a host of guards. He ceased not to advance
+till he made this tent and found on asking that it was that of King Kafid, whom
+he saw seated on a chair set with jewels, in the midst of his Wazirs and Emirs
+and Grandees. So he brought out the letter and straightway there came up to him
+a company of guards, who took it from him and carried it to the King; and Kafid
+read it and wrote a reply to this purport: 'After the usual invocations, We let
+King Teghmus know that we mean to take our blood-revenge on thee and wash out
+our stain and waste thy reign and rend the curtain in twain and slay the old
+men and enslave the young men. But to-morrow, come thou forth to combat in the
+open plain, and to show thee thrust and fight will I deign.' Then he sealed the
+letter and delivered it to the messenger, who carried it to King Teghmus."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid delivered the
+answering letter to the messenger who carried it to King Teghmus and delivered
+it, after kissing the ground between his hands. Then he reported all that he
+had seen, saying, 'O King of the age, I espied warriors and horsemen and
+footmen beyond count nor can I assist thee to the amount.' When Teghmus read
+the reply and comprehended its contents, he was with furious rage enraged and
+bade his Wazir Ayn Zar take horse and fall upon the army of Kafid with a
+thousand cavaliers, in the middle watch of the night when they would easily
+ride home and slay all before them. Ayn Zar replied, 'I hear and I obey,' and
+at once went forth to do his bidding. Now King Kafid had a Wazir,
+Ghatrafαn[FN#554] by name, whom he bade take five thousand horse and attack the
+host of King Teghmus in like manner. So Ghatrafan did his bidding and set out
+on his enterprise marching till midnight. Thus the two parties met halfway and
+the Wazir Ghatrafan fell upon the Wazir, Ayn Zar. Then man cried out against
+man and there befell sore battle between them till break of day, when Kafid's
+men were routed and fled back to their King in confusion. As Kafid saw this, he
+was wroth beyond measure and said to the fugitives, 'Woe to you! What hath
+befallen you, that ye have lost your captains?' and they replied, 'O King of
+the age, as the Wazir Ghatrafan rode forth to fall upon King Teghmus, there
+appeared to us halfway and when night was half over, the Wazir, Ayn Zar, with
+cavaliers and champions, and we met on the slopes of Wady Zahran; but ere we
+were where we found ourselves in the enemy's midst, eye meeting eye; and we
+fought a fierce fight with them from midnight till morning, many on either side
+being slain. Then the Wazir and his men fell to shouting and smiting the
+elephants on the face till they took fright at their furious blows, and turning
+tail to flee, trampled down the horsemen, whilst none could see other for the
+clouds of dust. The blood ran like a rain torrent and had we not fled, we had
+all been cut off to the last man.' When King Kafid heard this, he exclaimed,
+'May the sun not bless you and may he be wroth with you and sore be his wrath!'
+Meanwhile Ayn Zar, the Wazir, returned to King Teghmus and told him what had
+happened. The King gave him joy of his safety and rejoiced greatly and bade
+beat the drums and sound the trumpets, in honour of the victory; after which he
+called the roll of his troops and behold, two hundred of his stoutest champions
+had fallen. Then King Kafid marched his army into the field and drew them out
+ordered for battle in fifteen lines of ten thousand horses each, under the
+command of three hundred captains, mounted on elephants and chosen from amongst
+the doughtiest of his warriors and his champions. So he set up his standards
+and banners and beat the drums and blew the trumpets whilst the braves sallied
+forth, offering battle. As for King Teghmus, he drew out his troops line after
+line and lo! there were ten of ten thousand horses each, and with him were an
+hundred champions, riding on his right hand and on his left. Then fared forward
+to the fight each renowned knight, and the hosts clashed together in their
+might, whilst the earth for all its wideness was straitened because of the
+multitude of the cavaliers and ears were deafened by drums and cymbals beating
+and pipes and hautboys sounding and trumpets blaring and by the thunder of
+horse-tramp and the shouting of men. The dust arched in canopy over their heads
+and they fought a sore fight from the first of the day till the fall of
+darkness, when they separated and each army drew off to its own camp."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "each army drew off to
+its own camp. Then King Kafid called the roll of his troops and, finding that
+he had lost five thousand men, raged with great rage; and King Teghmus mustered
+his men and seeing that of them were slain three thousand riders, the bravest
+of his braves, was wroth with exceeding wrath. On the morrow King Kafid again
+pushed into the plain and did duty as before, while each man strove his best to
+snatch victory for himself; and Kafid cried out to his men, saying, 'Is there
+any of you will sally forth into the field and open us the chapter of fray and
+fight?' And behold came out from the ranks a warrior named Barkayk, a mighty
+man of war who, when he reached the King, alighted from his elephant and
+kissing the earth before him, sought of him leave to challenge the foe to
+combat singular. Then he mounted his elephant and driving into mid-field, cried
+out, 'Who is for duello, who is for derring do, who is for knightly devoir?'
+When King Teghmus heard this, he said to his troops, 'Which of you will do
+single battle with this sworder?' And behold, a cavalier came out from the
+ranks, mounted on a charger, mighty of make, and driving up to the King kissed
+the earth before him and craved his permission to engage Barkayk. Then he
+mounted again and charged at Barkayk, who said to him, 'Who art thou and what
+art thou called, that thou makest mock of me by coming out against me and
+challenging me, alone?' 'My name is Ghazanfar[FN#555] son of Kamkhνl,' replied
+the Kabul champion; and the other, 'I have heard tell of thee in my own
+country; so up and do battle between the ranks of the braves!' Hearing these
+words Ghazanfar drew a mace of iron from under his thigh and Barkayk took his
+good sword in hand, and they laid on load till Barkayk smote Ghazanfar on the
+head with his blade, but the morion turned the blow and no hurt befell him
+therefrom; whereupon Ghazanfar, in his turn, dealt Barkayk so terrible a stroke
+on the head with his mace, that he levelled him down to his elephant's back and
+slew him. With this out sallied another and crying to Ghazanfar, 'Who be thou
+that thou shouldst slay my brother?'; hurled a javelin at him with such force
+that it pierced his thigh and nailed his coat of mail to his flesh. Then
+Ghazanfar, feeling his hurt, hent his sword in hand and smote at Barkayk's
+brother and cut him in sunder, and he fell to the earth, wallowing in his life
+blood, whilst the challenger of Kabul galloped back to King Teghmus. Now when
+Kafid saw the death of his champions, he cried out to his troops, saying, 'Down
+with you to the plain and strike with might and main!' as also did King
+Teghmus, and the two armies fought the fiercest of fights. Horse neighed
+against horse and man cried out upon man and brands were bared, whilst the
+drums beat and the trumpets blared; and horseman charged upon horseman and
+every brave of renown pushed forward, whilst the faint of heart fled from the
+lunge of lance and men heard nought but slogan-cry and the clash and clang of
+armoury. Slain were the warriors that were slain[FN#556] and they stayed not
+from the mellay till the decline of the sun in the heavenly dome, when the
+Kings drew off their armies and returned each to its own camp.[FN#557] Then
+King Teghmus took tally of his men and found that he had lost five thousand,
+and four standards had been broken to bits, whereat he was sore an-angered;
+whilst King Kafid in like manner counted his troops and found that he had lost
+six hundred, the bravest of his braves, and nine standards were wanting to the
+full tale. The two armies ceased joining battle and rested on their arms three
+days' space, after which Kafid wrote a letter and sent it by messenger to a
+King called Fakun al-Kalb (with whom he claimed kinship by the spindle side):
+and this kinsman forthwith mustered his men and marched to meet the King of
+Hind."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twentieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Fakun mustered his
+men and marched to meet the King of Hind: and whileas King Teghmus was sitting
+at his pleasance, there came one in to him and said, 'I see from afar a cloud
+of dust spireing high in air and overspreading the lift.' So he commanded a
+company to fare forth and learn the meaning of this; and, crying, 'To hear is
+to obey,' they sallied out and presently returned and said to him, 'O King,
+when we drew near the cloud of dust, the wind rent it and it lifted and showed
+seven standards and under each standard three thousand horse, making for King
+Kafid's camp.' Then King Fakun joined himself to the King of Hind and saluting
+him, asked, 'How is it with thee, and what be this war in which thou arrest?';
+and Kafid answered, 'Knowest thou not that King Teghmus is my enemy and the
+murtherer of my father and brothers? Wherefore I am come forth to do battle
+with him and take my brood wreak on him.' Quoth Fakun, 'The blessing of the sun
+be upon thee!'; and the King of Hind carried King Fakun al-Kalb to his tent and
+rejoiced in him with exceeding joy. Such was the case of the two hostile Kings;
+but as regards King Janshah, he abode two months shut up in his palace, without
+seeing his father or allowing one of the damsels in his service to come in to
+him; at the end of which time he grew troubled and restless and said to his
+attendants, 'What aileth my father that he cometh not to visit me?' They told
+him that he had gone forth to do battle with King Kafid, whereupon quoth
+Janshah, 'Bring me my steed, that I may go to my sire.' They replied, 'We hear
+and obey,' and brought his horse; but he said in himself, 'I am taken up with
+the thought of myself and my love and I deem well to mount and ride for the
+city of the Jews, where haply Allah shall grant me the boon to meet the
+merchant who hired me for the ruby business and may be he will deal with me as
+he dealt before, for none knoweth whence good cometh.' So he took with him a
+thousand horse and set out, the folk saying, 'At last Janshah hath fared forth
+to join his father in the field, and to fight by his side;' and they stinted
+not pushing on till dusk, when they halted for the night in a vast meadow. As
+soon as he knew that all his men were asleep, the Prince rose privily and
+girding his waist, mounted his horse and rode away intending to make Baghdad,
+because he had heard from the Jews that a caravan came thence to their city
+once in every two years and he made up his mind to journey thither with the
+next cafilah. When his men awoke and missed the Prince and his horse, they
+mounted and sought him right and left but, finding no trace of him, rejoined
+his father and told him what his son had done; whereat he was wroth beyond
+measure and cast the crown from his head, whilst the sparks were like to fly
+from his mouth, and he said 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might but in
+Allah! Verily I have lost my son, and the enemy is still before me.' But his
+Wazirs and vassals said to him, 'Patience, O King of the age! Patience bringeth
+weal in wake.' Meanwhile Janshah, parted from his lover and pained for his
+father, was in sore sorrow and dismay, with heart seared and eyes tear-bleared
+and unable to sleep night or day. But when his father heard the loss his host
+had endured, he declined battle, and fled before King Kafid, and retiring to
+his city, closed the gates and strengthened the walls. Thereupon King Kafid
+followed him and sat down before the town; offering battle seven nights and
+eight days, after which he withdrew to his tents, to tend his wounded while the
+citizens defended themselves as they best could, fortifying the place and
+setting up mangonels and other engines on the walls. Such was the condition of
+the two Kings, and war raged between them for a space of seven years."—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Kings Teghmus and Kafid
+continued in this condition for seven years; but, as regards Janshah, he rode
+through wild and wold and when ever he came to a town he asked anent Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, but none knew of it and all answered, 'Of a truth we never
+heard of such place, not even by name.' At last he happened to enquire
+concerning the city of the Jews from a merchant who told him that it was
+situated in the extreme Orient, adding, 'A caravan will start this very month
+for the city of Mizrakαn in Hind; whither do thou accompany us and we will fare
+on to Khorasan and thence to the city of Shima'ϊn and Khwαrazm, from which
+latter place the City of the Jews is distant a year and three months' journey.'
+So Janshah waited till the departure of the caravan, when he joined himself
+thereto and journeyed, till he reached the city of Mizrakan whence, after
+vainly asking for Takni, the Castle of Jewels, he set out and enduring on the
+way great hardships and perils galore and the extreme of hunger and thirst, he
+arrived at the town of Shima'un. Here he made enquiry for the City of the Jews,
+and they directed him to the road thither. So he fared forth and journeyed days
+and nights till he came to the place where he had given the apes the slip, and
+continued his journey thence to the river, on the opposite bank of which stood
+the City of the Jews. He sat down on the shore and waited till the Sabbath came
+round and the river dried up by decree of Allah Almighty, when he crossed over
+to the opposite bank and, entering the city, betook himself to the house
+wherein he had lodged on his former journey. The Jew and his family saluted him
+and rejoiced in his return and, setting meat and drink before him, asked,
+'Where hast thou been during thine absence?'; and he answered, 'In the kingdom
+of Almighty Allah!'[FN#558] He lay with them that night and on the morrow he
+went out to solace himself with a walk about the city and presently heard a
+crier crying aloud and saying, 'O folk, who will earn a thousand gold pieces
+and a fair slave-girl and do half a day's work for us?' So Janshah went up to
+him and said, 'I will do this work.'[FN#559] Quoth the crier, 'Follow me,' and
+carrying him to the house of the Jew merchant, where he had been afore time,
+said, 'This young man will do thy need.' The merchant not recognising him gave
+him welcome and carried him into the Harim, where he set meat and drink before
+him, and he ate and drank. Then he brought him the money and formally made over
+to him the handsome slave-girl with whom he lay that night. As soon as morning
+dawned, he took the diners and the damsel and, committing them to his Jew host
+with whom he had lodged afore time, returned to the merchant, who mounted and
+rode out with him, till they came to the foot of the tall and towering
+mountain, where the merchant, bringing out a knife and cords, said to Janshah,
+'Throw the mare.' So he threw her and bound her four legs with the cords and
+slaughtered her and cut off her head and four limbs and slit her belly, as
+ordered by the Jew; whereupon quoth he, 'Enter her belly, till I sew it up on
+thee; and whatsoever thou seest therein, tell me of it, for this is the work
+whose wage thou hast taken.' So Janshah entered the mare's belly and the
+merchant sewed it up on him; then, withdrawing to a fair distance, hid himself.
+And after an hour a great bird swooped down from the lift and, snatching up the
+carcass in his pounces soared high toward the sky. Then he perched upon the
+mountain peak and would have eaten the prey, but Janshah sensing his intent
+took out his knife and slit the mare's belly and came forth. The bird was
+scared at his sight and flew away, and Janshah went up to a place whence he
+could see below, and looking down, espied the merchant standing at the foot of
+the mountain, as he were a sparrow. So he cried out to him, 'What is thy will,
+O merchant?' Replied the Jew, 'Throw me down of the stones that lie about thee,
+that I may direct thee in the way down.' Quoth Janshah, 'Thou art he who didst
+with me thus and thus five years ago, and through thee I suffered hunger and
+thirst and sore toil and much trouble; and now thou hast brought me hither once
+more and thinkest to destroy me. By Allah, I will not throw thee aught!' So
+saying, he turned from him and set out for where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of
+the Birds."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Janshah took the way for
+where lived Shaykh Nasr, the King of the Birds. And he ceased not faring on
+many days and nights, tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted; eating, when he was
+anhungered, of the growth of the ground and drinking, when he thirsted, of its
+streams, till he came in sight of the Castle of the lord Solomon and saw Shaykh
+Nasr sitting at the gate. So he hastened up to him and kissed his hands; and
+the Shaykh saluted him and bade him welcome and said to him, 'O my son, what
+aileth thee that thou returnest to this place, after I sent thee home with the
+Princess Shamsah, cool of eyes and broad of breast?' Janshah wept and told him
+all that had befallen him and how she had flown away from him, saying, 'An thou
+love me, come to me in Takni, the Castle of Jewels;' at which the old man
+marvelled and said, 'By Allah, O my son, I know it not, nor, by the virtue of
+our lord Solomon, have I ever in my life heard its name!' Quoth Janshah, 'What
+shall I do? I am dying of love and longing.' Quoth Shaykh Nasr, 'Take patience
+until the coming of the birds, when we will enquire at them of Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels; haply one of them shall wot thereof.' So Janshah's heart was
+comforted and, entering the Palace, he went straight to the chamber which gave
+upon the Lake in which he had seen the three maidens. After this he abode with
+Shaykh Nasr for a while and, one day as he was sitting with him, the Shaykh
+said, 'O my son, rejoice for the time of the birds' coming draweth nigh.'
+Janshah gladdened to hear the news; and after a few days the birds began to
+come and Shaykh Nasr said to him, 'O my son, learn these names[FN#560] and
+address thyself with me to meet the birds.' Presently, the fowls came flying up
+and saluted Shaykh Nasr, kind after kind, and he asked them of Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, but they all made answer, 'Never heard we of such a place.'
+At these words Janshah wept and lamented till he swooned away; whereupon Shaykh
+Nasr called a huge volatile and said to him, 'Carry this youth to the land of
+Kabul,' and described to him the country and the way thither. Then he set
+Janshah on the bird's back, saying, 'Be careful to sit straight and beware of
+leaning to either side, else thou wilt be torn to pieces in the air; and stop
+thine ears from the wind, lest thou be dazed by the noise of the revolving
+sphere and the roaring of the seas.' Janshah resolved to do his bidding and the
+bird took flight high in sky and flew with him a day and a night, till he set
+him down by the King of the Beasts, whose name was Shαh Badrν, and said to his
+rider, 'We have gone astray from the way directed by Shaykh Nasr.' And he would
+have taken him up again and flown on with him; but Janshah said, 'Go thy ways
+and leave me here; till I die on this spot or I find Takni, the Castle of
+Jewels, I will not return to my country.' So the fowl left him with Shah Badri,
+King of the Beasts and flew away. The King thereupon said to him, 'O my son,
+who art thou and whence comest thou with yonder great bird?' So Janshah told
+him his story from beginning to end, whereat Shah Badri marvelled and said, 'By
+the virtue of the lord Solomon, I know not of this castle; but if any one of
+the beasts my subjects know it, we will reward him bountifully and send thee by
+him thither.' Hereat Janshah wept bitterly but presently he took patience and
+abode with Shah Badri, and after a short time the King of the Beasts said to
+him, 'O my son, take these tablets and commit to memory that which is therein;
+and when the beasts come, we will question them of the Castle of Jewels.' "—And
+Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the King of the
+Beasts said to Janshah, 'Commit to memory what is in these tablets; and whenas
+the beasts come, we will ask them anent that castle.' He did as the King bade
+him, and before long, up came the beasts, kind after kind, and saluted Shah
+Badri who questioned them of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, but they all replied,
+'We know not this castle, nor ever heard we of it.' At this Janshah wept and
+lamented for that he had not gone with the bird that brought him from Shaykh
+Nasr's castle; but Shah Badri said to him, 'Grieve not, O my son, for I have a
+brother, King Shimαkh highs, who is older than I; he was once a prisoner to
+King Solomon, for that he rebelled against him; nor is there among the Jinn one
+elder than he and Shaykh Nasr. Belike he knoweth of this castle; at any rate he
+ruleth over all the Jinn in this country side.' So saying he set Janshah on the
+back of a beast and gave him a letter to his brother, commending him to his
+care. The beast set off with the Prince forthwith and fared on days and nights,
+till it came to King Shimakh's abiding place. And when it caught sight of the
+King it stood still afar off, whereupon Janshah alighted and walked on, till he
+found himself in the presence. Then he kissed hands and presented his brother's
+letter. The King read the missive and, having mastered the meaning, welcomed
+the Prince, saying, 'By Allah, O my son, in all my born days I never saw nor
+heard of this castle!' adding (as Janshah burst into tears), 'but tell me thy
+story and who and whence thou art and whither thou art bound.' So Janshah
+related to him his history from beginning to end, at which Shimakh marvelled
+and said, 'O my son, I do not believe that even the lord Solomon ever saw this
+castle or heard thereof; but O my son,[FN#561] I know a monk in the mountains,
+who is exceeding old and whom all birds and beasts and Jann obey; for he ceased
+not his conjurations against the Kings of the Jann, till they submitted
+themselves to him in their own despite, by reason of the might of his oaths and
+his magic; and now all the birds and the beasts are his servants. I myself once
+rebelled against King Solomon and he sent against me this monk, the only being
+who could overcome me with his craft and his conjurations and his gramarye;
+then he imprisoned me, and since that time I have been his vassal. He hath
+travelled in all countries and quarters and knoweth all ways and regions and
+places and castles and cities; nor do I think there is any place hidden from
+his ken. So needs must I send thee to him; haply he may direct thee to the
+Castle of Jewels; and, if he cannot do this, none can; for all things obey him,
+birds and beasts and the very mountains and come at his beck and call, by
+reason of his skill in magic. Moreover, by the might of his egromancy he hath
+made a staff, in three pieces, and this he planteth in the earth and conjureth
+over it; whereupon flesh and blood issue from the first piece, sweet milk from
+the second and wheat and barley from the third; then he withdraweth the staff
+and returneth to his place which is highs the Hermitage of Diamonds. And this
+magical monk is a cunning inventor and artificer of all manner strange works;
+and he is a crafty warlock full of guiles and wiles, an arch deceiver of
+wondrous wickedness, who hath mastered every kind of magic and witchcraft. His
+name is YaghmÏŠs and to him I must needs send thee on the back of a big bird
+with four wings,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
+her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Shimakh said to
+Janshah, 'I must needs send thee to the monk Yaghmus on the back of a big bird
+with four wings, each measuring thirty Hαshimi[FN#562] cubits in length; and it
+hath feet like those of an elephant, but it flieth only twice a year.' And
+there was with King Shimakh an officer, by name Timshun, who used every day to
+carry off two Bactrian[FN#563] camels from the land of Irak and cut them up for
+the bird that it might eat them. So King Shimakh bade the fowl take up Janshah
+and bear him to the cell of the hermit Yaghmus; and it rose into the air and
+flew on days and nights, till it came to the Mountain of the Citadels and the
+Hermitage of Diamonds where Janshah alighted and going up to the hermitage,
+found Yaghmus the Monk at his devotions. So he entered the chapel and, kissing
+the ground stood respectfully before the hermit. When Yaghmus saw him, he said,
+'Welcome, O my son, O parted from thy home and garred ferforth to roam! Tell me
+the cause of thy coming hither.' So Janshah wept and acquainted him with all
+that had befallen him from beginning to end and that he was in quest of the
+Castle of Jewels. The Monk marvelled greatly at his story and said, 'By Allah,
+O my son, never in my life heard I of this castle, nor ever saw I one who had
+heard of it or had seen it, for all I was alive in the days of Noah, Allah's
+Prophet (on whom be peace!),[FN#564] and I have ruled the birds and beasts and
+Jinn ever since his time; nor do I believe that Solomon David son himself knew
+of it. But wait till the birds and beasts and chiefs of the Jann come to do
+their homage to me and I will question them of it; peradventure, some one of
+them may be able to give us news of it and Allah Almighty shall make all things
+easy to thee.' So Janshah homed with the hermit, until the day of the assembly,
+when all the birds and beasts and Jann came to swear fealty; and Yaghmus and
+his guest questioned them anent Takni, the Castle of Jewels; but they all
+replied, 'We never saw or heard of such a place.' At this, Janshah fell a
+weeping and lamenting and humbled himself before the Most High; but, as he was
+thus engaged, behold, there flew down from the heights of air another bird, big
+of bulk and black of blee, which had tarried behind the rest, and kissed the
+hermit's hands. Yaghmus asked it of Takni, the Castle of Jewels, and it
+answered, saying 'O Monk, when I and my brothers were small chicks we abode
+behind the Mountain Kaf on a hill of crystal, in the midst of a great desert;
+and our father and mother used to set out for it every morning and in the
+evening come back with our food. They went out early one day, and were absent
+from us a sennight and hunger was sore upon us; but on the eighth day they
+returned, both weeping, and we asked them the reason of their absence. Quoth
+they: 'A Marid swooped down on us and carried us off in his claws to Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, and brought us before King Shahlan, who would have slain us;
+but we told him that we had left behind us a brood of fledgelings; so he spared
+our lives and let us go. And were my parents yet in the bonds of life they
+would give thee news of the castle.' When Janshah heard this, he wept bitter
+tears and said to the hermit, 'Prithee bid the bird carry me to his father and
+mother's nest on the crystal hill, behind the Mountain Kaf.' So the hermit
+said, 'O bird, I desire thee to obey this youth in whatsoever he may command
+thee.' 'I hear and obey thy bidding,' replied the fowl; and, taking Janshah on
+its back, flew with him days and nights without ceasing till it set him down on
+the Hill of Crystal and there alighted. And having delayed there a resting
+while, it again set him on its back and flew off and ceased not flying for two
+whole days till it reached the spot where the nest was."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the fowl ceased not
+flying with Janshah two full days; till it reached the spot where the nest was,
+and set him down there and said, 'O Janshah, this is where our nest was.' He
+wept sore and replied, 'I pray thee bear me farther on to where thy parents
+used to forage for food.' The bird consented; so it took him up again and flew
+on with him seven nights and eight days, till it set him down on the top of a
+high hill Karmus highs and left him there saying, 'I know of no land behind
+this hill.' Then it flew away and Janshah sat down on the hill-top and fell
+asleep. When he awoke, he saw a something gleaming afar off as it were
+lightning and filling the firmament with its flashings; and he wondered what
+this sheen could be without wotting that it was the Castle he sought. So he
+descended the mountain and made towards the light, which came from Takni, the
+Castle of Jewels, distant two months' journey from KarmÏŠs, the hill whereon he
+had alit, and its foundations were fashioned of red rubies and its buildings of
+yellow gold. Moreover, it had a thousand turrets builded of precious metals,
+and stones of price studded and set in the minerals brought from the Main of
+Murks, and on this account it was named the Castle of Jewels, Takni. It was a
+vast great castle and the name of its king was King Shahlan, the father of the
+lady Shamsah and her sisters. Such was the case with Janshah; but as regards
+Princess Shamsah, when she fled from Janshah, she made straight for the Castle
+of Jewels and told her father and mother all that had passed between the Prince
+and herself; how he had wandered the world and seen its marvels and wonders and
+how fondly he loved her and how dearly she loved him. Quoth they, 'Thou hast
+not dealt righteously with him, as Allah would have thee deal.' Moreover King
+Shahlan repeated the story to his guards and officers of the Marids of the Jinn
+and bade them bring him every mortal they should see. For the lady Shamsah had
+said to her parents, 'Janshah loveth me with passionate love and forsure he
+will follow me; for when flying from his father's roof I cried to him, 'An thou
+love me, seek me at Takni, the Castle of Jewels!' Now when Janshah beheld that
+sheen and shine, he made straight for it wishing to find out what it might be.
+And as chance would have it, Shamsah had that very day despatched a Marid on an
+occasion in the direction of the hill Karmus, and on his way thither he caught
+sight of a man, a mortal; so he hastened up to him and saluted him. Janshah was
+terrified at his sight, but returned his salam, and the Marid asked, 'What is
+thy name?' and he answered, 'My name is Janshah, and I have fallen madly in
+love with a Jinniyah known as Princess Shamsah, who captivated me by her beauty
+and loveliness; but despite my dear love she fled from the palace wherein I
+placed her and behold, I am here in quest of her.' Herewith he wept with bitter
+weeping. The Marid looked at him and his heart burned with pity on hearing the
+sad tale, and he said, 'Weep not, for surely thou art come to thy desire. Know
+that she loveth thee fondly and hath told her parents of thy love for her, and
+all in yonder castle love thee for her sake; so be of good cheer and keep thine
+eyes cool of tear.' Then he took him on his shoulders and made off with him to
+the Castle of Jewels, Takni. Thereupon the bearers of fair tidings hastened to
+report his coming and when the news reached Shamsah and her father and mother,
+they all rejoiced with exceeding joy, and King Shahlan took horse and rode out,
+commanding all his guards and Ifrits and Marids honourably to meet the
+Prince."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Shahlan commanded
+all his guards and Ifrits and Marids to meet the Prince; and, as soon as he
+came up with him, he dismounted and embraced him, and Janshah kissed his hand.
+Then Shahlan bade put on him a robe of honour of many coloured silk, laced with
+gold and set with jewels, and a coronet such as man never saw, and, mounting
+him on a splendid mare of the steeds of the Kings of the Jinn, took horse
+himself and, with an immense retinue riding on the right hand and the left,
+brought him in great state to the Castle. Janshah marvelled at the splendour of
+this edifice, with its walls builded of rubies and other jewels and its
+pavement of crystal and jasper and emerald, and fell a weeping at the memory of
+his past miseries; but the King and Queen, Shamsah's mother, wiped away his
+tears and said, 'Now no more weeping and be of good cheer, for thou hast won to
+thy will.' Then Shahlan carried him into the inner court of the Castle, where
+he was received by a multitude of beautiful damsels and pages and black
+Jinn-slaves, who seated him in the place of honour and stood to do him service,
+whilst he was lost in amazement at the goodliness of the place, and its walls
+all edified of precious metals and jewels of price. Presently King Shahlan
+repaired to his hall of audience, where he sat down on his throne and, bidding
+the slave-girls and the pages introduce the Prince, rose to receive him and
+seated him by his side on the throne. Then he ordered the tables to be spread
+and they ate and drank and washed their hands; after which in came the Queen
+Shamsah's mother, and saluting Janshah, bade him welcome in these words, 'Thou
+hast come to thy desire after weariness and thine eyes shall now sleep after
+watching; so praised be Allah for thy safety!' Thus saying, she went away and
+forthwith returned with the Princess Shamsah, who saluted Janshah and kissed
+his hands, hanging her head in shame and confusion before him and her parents,
+after which as many of her sisters as were in the palace came up to him and
+greeted him in like manner. Then quoth the Queen to him, 'Welcome, O my son,
+our daughter Shamsah hath indeed sinned against thee, but do thou pardon her
+misdeed for our sakes.' When Janshah heard this, he cried out and fell down
+fainting, whereat the King marvelled and they sprinkled on his face rose water
+mingled with musk and civet, till he came to himself and, looking at Princess
+Shamsah, said, 'Praised be Allah who hath brought me to my desire and hath
+quenched the fire of my heart!' Replied she, 'May He preserve thee from the
+Fire!, but now tell me, O Janshah, what hath befallen thee since our parting
+and how thou madest thy way to this place; seeing that few even of the Jann
+ever heard of Takni, the Castle of Jewels; and we are independent of all the
+Kings nor any wotteth the road hither.' Thereupon he related to her every
+adventure and peril and hardship he had suffered and how he had left his father
+at war with King Kafid, ending with these words, 'And all for thy sake, my lady
+Shamsah!' Quoth the Queen, 'Now hast thou thy heart's desire, for the Princess
+is thy handmaid, and we give her in free gift to thee.' Janshah joyed
+exceedingly at these words and the Queen added, 'Next month, if it be the will
+of Almighty Allah, we will have a brave wedding and celebrate the marriage
+festival and after the knot is tied we will send you both back to thy native
+land, with an escort of a thousand Marids of our body-guard, the least of whom,
+an thou bid him slay King Kafid and his folk, would surely destroy them to the
+last man in the twinkling of an eye. Furthermore if it please thee we will send
+thee, year after year, a company of which each and every can so do with all thy
+foes.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
+say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the lady Shamsah's
+mother ended with saying, 'And if it so please thee we will send thee, year
+after year, a company of which each and every can destroy thy foes to the last
+man.' Then King Shahlan sat down on his throne and, summoning his Grandees and
+Officers of state, bade them make ready for the marriage- festivities and
+decorate the city seven days and nights. 'We hear and we obey,' answered they
+and busied themselves two months in the preparations, after which they
+celebrated the marriage of the Prince and Princess and held a mighty festival,
+never was there its like. Then they brought Janshah in to his bride and he
+abode with her in all solace of life and delight for two years, at the end of
+which time he said to her, 'Thy father promised to send us to my native land,
+that we might pass one year there and the next here.' Answered she, I hear and
+obey,' and going in to King Shahlan at nightfall told him what the Prince had
+said. Quoth he, 'I consent; but have patience with me till the first of the
+month, that I may make ready for your departure.' She repeated these words to
+her husband and they waited till the appointed time, when the King bade his
+Marids bring out to them a great litter of red gold, set with pearls and jewels
+and covered with a canopy of green silk, purfled in a profusion of colours and
+embroidered with precious stones, dazzling with its goodliness the eyes of
+every beholder. He chose out four of his Marids to carry the litter in
+whichever of the four quarters the riders might choose. Moreover, he gave his
+daughter three hundred beautiful damsels to wait upon her and bestowed on
+Janshah the like number of white slaves of the sons of the Jinn. Then the lady
+Shamsah took formal leave of her mother and sisters and all her kith and kin;
+and her father fared forth with them. So the four Marids took up the litter,
+each by one corner, and rising under it like birds in air, flew onward with it
+between earth and heaven till mid-day, when the King bade them set it down and
+all alighted. Then they took leave of one another and King Shahlan commended
+Shamsah to the Prince's care, and giving them in charge to the Marids, returned
+to the Castle of Jewels, whilst the Prince and Princess remounted the litter,
+and the Marids taking it up, flew on for ten whole days, in each of which they
+accomplished thirty months' journey, till they sighted the capital of King
+Teghmus. Now one of them knew the land of Kabul; so when he saw the city, he
+bade the others let down the litter at that populous place which was the
+capital."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the Marid guards let
+down the litter at the capital of King Teghmus who had been routed and had fled
+from his foes into the city, where he was in sore straits, King Kafid having
+laid close siege to him. He sought to save himself by making peace with the
+King of Hind, but his enemy would give him no quarter; so seeing himself
+without resource or means of relief, he determined to strangle himself and to
+die and be at rest from this trouble and misery. Accordingly he bade his Wazirs
+and Emirs farewell and entered his house to take leave of his Harim; and the
+whole realm was full of weeping and wailing and lamentation and woe. And whilst
+this rout and hurly-burly was enacting, behold, the Marids descended with the
+litter upon the palace that was in the citadel, and Janshah bade them set it
+down in the midst of the Divan. They did his bidding and he alighted with his
+company of handmaids and Mamelukes; and, seeing all the folk of the city in
+straits and desolation and sore distress, said to the Princess, 'O love of my
+heart and coolth of mine eyes, look in what a piteous plight is my sire!' There
+upon she bade the Marid guard fall upon the beleaguering host and slay them,
+saying, 'Kill ye all, even to the last man;' and Janshah commanded one of them,
+by name Karαtash,[FN#565] who was exceeding strong and valiant, to bring King
+Kafid to him in chains. So they set down the litter and covered it with the
+canopy; then, having waited till midnight, they attacked the enemy's camp one
+of them being a match for ten; or at least for eight. And while these smote the
+foes with iron maces, those mounted their magical elephants and soared high in
+the lift, and then swooping down and snatching up their opponents, tare them to
+pieces in mid air. But Karatash made straight for Kafid's tent where he found
+him lying in a couch; so he took him up, shrieking for fear, and flew with him
+to Janshah, who bade the four Marids bind him on the litter and hang him high
+in the air over his camp, that he might witness the slaughter of his men. They
+did as the Prince commanded them and left Kafid, who had swooned for fear,
+hanging between earth and air and buffeting his face for grief. As for King
+Teghmus, when he saw his son, he well-nigh died for excess of joy and, crying
+with a loud cry, fell down in a swoon. They sprinkled rose-water on his face,
+till he came to himself, when he and his son embraced and wept with sore
+weeping; for he knew not that the Jinn guard were battling with King Kafid's
+men. Then Princess Shamsah accosted the King and kissing his hand, said to him,
+'Sire, be pleased to go up with me to the palace-roof and witness the slaughter
+of thy foes by my father's Marids.' So he went up to the terrace-roof and
+sitting down there with his daughter-in-law, enjoyed watching the Marids do
+havoc among the besiegers and break a way through the length and breadth of
+them. For one of them smote with his iron mace upon the elephants and their
+riders and pounded them till man was not to be distinguished from beast; whilst
+another shouted in the faces of those who fled, so that they fell down dead;
+and the third caught up a score of horsemen, beasts and all; and, towering with
+them high in air, cast them down on earth, so that they were torn in pieces.
+And this was high enjoyment for Janshah and his father and the lady
+Shamsah."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Teghmus and his son
+and daughter-in-law went up to the terrace roof and enjoyed a prospect of the
+Jinn-guards battling with the beleaguering host. And King Kafid (still hanging
+between heaven and earth) also saw the slaughter of his troops and wept sore
+and buffeted his face; nor did the carnage cease among the army of Hind for two
+whole days, till they were cut off even to the last man. Then Janshah commanded
+a Marid, by name Shimwαl, chain up King Kafid with manacles and fetters, and
+imprison him in a tower called the Black Bulwark. And when his bidding was
+done, King Teghmus bade beat the drums and despatched messengers to announce
+the glad news to Janshah's mother, informing her of his approach; whereupon she
+mounted in great joy and she no sooner espied her son than she clasped him in
+her arms and swooned away for stress of gladness. They sprinkled rose-water on
+her face, till she came to herself, when she embraced him again and again wept
+for excess of joy. And when the lady Shamsah knew of her coming, she came to
+her and saluted her; and they embraced each other and after remaining embraced
+for an hour sat down to converse. Then King Teghmus threw open the city gates
+and despatched couriers to all parts of the kingdom, to spread the tidings of
+his happy deliverance; whereupon all his princely Vassals and Emirs and the
+Grandees of the realm flocked to salute him and give him joy of his victory and
+of the safe return of his son; and they brought him great store of rich
+offerings and curious presents. The visits and oblations continued for some
+time, after which the King made a second and a more splendid bride-feast for
+the Princess Shamsah and bade decorate the city and held high festival. Lastly
+they unveiled and paraded the bride before Janshah, with apparel and ornaments
+of the utmost magnificence, and when her bridegroom went in to her he presented
+her with an hundred beautiful slave-girls to wait upon her. Some days after
+this, the Princess repaired to the King and interceded with him for Kafid,
+saying, 'Suffer him return to his own land, and if henceforward he be minded to
+do thee a hurt, I will bid one of the Jinn-guard snatch him up and bring him to
+thee.' Replied Teghmus, 'I hear and I obey,' and bade Shimwal bring him the
+prisoner, who came manacled and fettered and kissed earth between his hands.
+Then he commanded to strike off his chains and, mounting him on a lame mare,
+said to him, 'Verily Princess Shamsah hath interceded for thee: so begone to
+thy kingdom, but if thou fall again to thine old tricks, she will send one of
+the Marids to seize thee and bring thee hither.' Thereupon King Kafid set off
+home wards, in the sorriest of plights,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
+day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "King Kafid set off
+homewards in the sorriest of plights, whilst Janshah and his wife abode in all
+solace and delight of life, making the most of its joyance and happiness. All
+this recounted the youth sitting between the tombs unto Bulukiya, ending with,
+'And behold, I am Janshah who witnessed all these things, O my brother, O
+Bulukiya!' Then Bulukiya who was wandering the world in his love for Mohammed
+(whom Allah bless and keep!) asked Janshah, 'O my brother, what be these two
+sepulchres and why sittest thou between them and what causeth thy weeping?' He
+answered, 'Know, O Bulukiya, that we abode in all solace and delight of life,
+passing one year at home and the next at Takni, the Castle of Jewels, whither
+we betook not ourselves but in the litter borne by the Marids and flying
+between heaven and earth.' Quoth Bulukiya, 'O my brother, O Janshah, what was
+the distance between the Castle and thy home?' Quoth he, 'Every day we
+accomplished a journey of thirty months and the time we took was ten days. We
+abode on this wise a many of years till, one year we set out for the Castle of
+Jewels, as was our wont, and on the way thither alighted from the litter in
+this island to rest and take our pleasure therein. We sat down on the riverbank
+and ate and drank; after which the Lady Shamsah, having a mind to bathe, put
+off her clothes and plunged into the water. Her women did likewise and they
+swam about awhile, whilst I walked on along the bank of the stream leaving them
+to swim about and play with one another. And behold, a huge shark of the
+monsters of the deep seized the Princess by the leg, without touching any of
+the girls; and she cried out and died forthright, whilst the damsels fled out
+of the river to the pavilion, to escape from the shark. But after awhile they
+returned and taking up her corpse carried her to the litter. Now when I saw her
+dead, I fell down fainting and they sprinkled water on my face, till I
+recovered and wept over her. Then I despatched the Jinn-guards to her parents
+and family, announcing what had befallen her; and in the shortest time they
+came to the spot and washed her and shrouded her, after which they buried her
+by the river-side and made mourning for her. They would have carried me with
+them to their own country; but I said to King Shahlan, 'I beseech thee to dig
+me a grave beside her tomb, that, when I die, I may be buried by her side in
+that grave.' Accordingly, the King commanded one of his Marids to do as I
+wished, after which they departed and left me here to weep and mourn for her
+till I die. And this is my story and the cause of my sojourn between these two
+tombs.' And he repeated these two couplets,[FN#566]
+</p>
+
+<p>
+'The house, sweet heart, is now no home to me * Since thou art<br/>
+
+     gone, nor neighbour neighbourly,<br/>
+
+The friend whilom I took to heart, no more * Is friend, and<br/>
+
+     brightest lights lose brilliancy.'<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But when Bulukiya heard out Janshah's tale he marvelled,"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya heard out
+Janshah's tale he wondered and exclaimed, 'By Allah, methought I had indeed
+wandered over the world and compassed it about; but now I forget all I have
+seen after listening to these adventures of thine!' He was silent a while and
+then resumed, 'I beg thee, of thy favour and courtesy, to direct me in the way
+of safety.' So Janshah directed him into the right road, and Bulukiya
+farewelled him and went his ways." All this the Serpent-queen related to Hasib
+Karim al-Din, and he asked her, "But how knowest thou of these things?"; and
+she answered, "O Hasib, thou must ken that I had occasion, some five-
+and-twenty years ago, to send one of my largest serpents to Egypt and gave her
+a letter for Bulukiya, saluting him. So she went there willingly for she had a
+daughter in the land called Bint Shumukh[FN#567]; and after asking anent
+Bulukiya she found him and gave him my missive. He read it and replied to the
+messenger snake, 'Thou comest from the Queen of the Serpents whom I am minded
+to visit for I have an occasion to her.' She replied, 'I hear and obey.' Then
+she bore him to her daughter of whom she took leave and said to her companion,
+'Close thine eyes.' So he closed them and opening them again, behold, he found
+himself on the mountain where I now am. Then his guide carried him to a great
+serpent, whom he saluted; whereupon quoth she, 'Didst thou deliver the missive
+to Bulukiya?'; and she replied, 'Even so; and he hath accompanied me and here
+he standeth.' Presently Bulukiya asked after me, the Serpent-queen, and the
+great serpent answered, 'She hath gone to the mountain Kaf with all her host,
+as is her wont in winter; but next summer she will come hither again. As often
+as she goeth thither, she appointeth me to reign in her room, during her
+absence; and if thou have any occasion to her, I will accomplish it for thee.'
+Said he, 'I beg thee to bring me the herb, which whoso crusheth and drinketh
+the juice thereof, sickeneth not neither groweth grey nor dieth.' 'I will not
+bring it,' said the serpent, 'till thou tell me what befell thee since thou
+leftest the Queen of the Serpents, to go with Affan in quest of King Solomon's
+tomb.' So he related to her all his travels and adventures, together with the
+history of Janshah, and said at last, 'Grant me my request, that I may return
+to mine own country.' Replied the serpent, 'By the virtue of the lord Solomon,
+I know not where is to be found the herb whereof thou speakest.' Then she bade
+the serpent which had brought him thither, carry him back to Egypt: so the
+messenger obeyed her and said to him, 'Shut thine eyes!' He did so and, opening
+them again, found himself on the mountain Mukattam.[FN#568] When I returned
+from the mountain Kaf (added the Queen) the serpent, my deputy, informed me of
+Bulukiya's visit and gave me his salutations and repeated to me his story and
+his meeting with Janshah. And this, O Hasib, is how I came to know the
+adventures of Bulukiya and the history of Janshah." Thereupon Hasib said to
+her, "O Queen, deign recount to me what befell Bulukiya as regards his return
+to Egypt." She replied, "Know, O Hasib, that when he parted from Janshah he
+fared on nights and days till he came to a great sea; so he anointed his feet
+with the juice of the magical herb and, walking over the face of the waters,
+sped onwards till he came to an island abounding in trees and springs and
+fruits, as it were the Garden of Eden. He landed and walked about, till he saw
+an immense tree, with leaves as big as the sails of a ship. So he went up to
+the tree and found under it a table spread with all manner meats, whilst on a
+branch of the branches sat a great bird, whose body was of pearls and leek-
+green emeralds, its feet of silver, its beak of red carnelian and its plumery
+of precious metals; and it was engaged in singing the praises of Allah the Most
+High and blessing Mohammed (on whom be benediction and peace!)"—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya landed and
+walked about the island he found therein many marvels, especially a bird whose
+body was of pearls and leek green emeralds and its plumery of precious metals;
+and it was engaged in singing the praises of Allah the Most High and blessing
+Mohammed (upon whom be benediction and peace!). Seeing this he said, 'Who and
+what art thou?' Quoth the bird, 'I am one of the birds of Eden and followed
+Adam when Allah Almighty cast him out thence. And know, O my brother, that
+Allah also cast out with him four leaves of the trees of the garden to cover
+his nakedness withal, and they fell to the ground after awhile. One of them was
+eaten by a worm, and of it came silk: the gazelles ate the second and thence
+proceeded musk, the third was eaten by bees and gave rise to honey, whilst the
+fourth fell in the land of Hind and from it sprang all manner of spices. As for
+me, I wandered over the face of earth till Allah deigned give me this island
+for a dwelling-place, and I took up my abode here. And every Friday from night
+till morning the Saints and Princes[FN#569] of the Faith flock to this place
+and make pious visitation and eat from this table spread by Allah Almighty; and
+after they have eaten, the table is taken up again to Heaven: nor doth the food
+ever waste or corrupt.' So Bulukiya ate his fill of the meats and praised the
+Great Creator. And presently, behold, there came up Al-Khizr[FN#570] (with whom
+be peace!), at sight of whom Bulukiya rose and saluting him, was about to
+withdraw, when the bird said to him, 'Sit, O Bulukiya, in the presence of
+Al-Khizr, on whom be peace!' So he sat down again, and Al-Khizr said to him,
+'Let me know who thou art and tell me thy tale.' Thereupon Bulukiya related to
+him all his adventures from beginning to end and asked, 'O my lord, how far is
+it hence to Cairo?' 'Five and ninety years' journey,' replied the Prophet;
+whereupon Bulukiya burst into tears; then, falling at Al-Khizr's feet, kissed
+them and said to him, 'I beseech thee deliver me from this strangerhood and thy
+reward be with Allah, for that I am nigh upon death and know not what to do.'
+Quoth Al-Khizr, 'Pray to Allah Almighty that He permit me to carry thee to
+Cairo, ere thou perish.' So Bulukiya wept and humbled himself before Allah who
+granted his prayer, and by inspiration bade Al-Khizr bear him to his people.
+Then said the Prophet, 'Lift thy head, for Allah hath heard thy prayer and hath
+inspired me to do what thou desires; so take fast hold of me with both thy
+hands and shut thine eyes.' The Prince did as he was bidden and Al-Khizr
+stepped a single step forwards, then said to him, 'Open thine eyes!' So
+Bulukiya opened his eyes and found himself at the door of his palace at Cairo.
+He turned, to take leave of Al-Khizr, but found no trace of him."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when Bulukiya, standing
+at the gate of his palace, turned to take leave of Al-Khizr, he found no trace
+of him and entered the palace. When his mother saw him, she cried with a loud
+cry and swooned away for excess of joy, and they sprinkled water upon her face.
+After awhile she came to herself and embraced her son and wept with sore
+weeping, whilst Bulukiya wept and laughed by turns. Then all his friends and
+kindred came and gave him joy of his safe return, and the news was noised
+abroad in the land and there came to him presents from all parts. Moreover,
+they beat the drums and blew the flutes and rejoiced mightily. Then Bulukiya
+related to them his adventures ending with recounting how Al-Khizr had set him
+down at his palace door, whereat they marvelled exceedingly and wept, till all
+were a-weary of weeping." Hasib wondered at the Queen's tale and shed many
+tears over it; then he again besought her to let him return to his family; but
+she said, "I fear me, O Hasib, that when thou gettest back to thy country thou
+wilt fail of thy promise and prove traitor to thine oath and enter the Hammam."
+But he swore to her another solemn oath that he would never again enter the
+baths as long as he lived; whereupon she called a serpent and bade her carry
+him up to the surface of the earth. So the serpent took him and led him from
+place to place, till she brought him out on the platform-edge of an abandoned
+cistern and there left him. Upon this he walked to the city and, coming to his
+house by the last of the day, at the yellowing of the sun, knocked at the door.
+His mother opened it and seeing her son screamed out and threw herself upon him
+and wept for excess of joy. His wife heard her mother-in-law weeping; so she
+came out to her and seeing her husband, saluted him and kissed his hands; and
+each rejoiced in other with exceeding joy of all three. Then they entered the
+house and sat down to converse and presently Hasib asked his mother of the
+woodcutters, who had left him to perish in the cistern. Quoth she, "They came
+and told me that a wolf had eaten thee in the Wady. As for them, they are
+become merchants and own houses and shops, and the world is grown wide for
+them. But every day they bring me meat and drink, and thus have they done until
+the present time." Quoth Hasib, "To-morrow do thou go to them and say, "My son
+Hasib Karim al-Din hath returned from his travels; so come ye to meet him and
+salute him." Accordingly, when morning dawned, she repaired to the woodcutters'
+houses and delivered to them her son's message, which when they heard, they
+changed colour, and saying, "We hear and obey," gave her each a suit of silk,
+embroidered with gold, adding, "Present this to thy good son[FN#571] and tell
+him that we will be with him to-morrow." She assented and returning to Hasib
+gave him their presents and message. Meanwhile, the woodcutters called together
+a number of merchants and, acquainting them with all that had passed between
+themselves and Hasib, took counsel with them what they should do. Quoth the
+merchants, "It behoveth each one of you to give him half his monies and
+Mamelukes." And they all agreed to do this; so on the next day, each of them
+took half his wealth and, going in to Hasib, saluted him and kissed his hands.
+Then they laid before him what they had brought, saying, "This is of thy
+bounties, and we are in thy hands." He accepted their peace- offering and said,
+"What is past is past: that which befell us was decreed of Allah, and destiny
+doeth away with dexterity." Quoth they, "Come, let us walk about and take our
+solace in the city and visit the Hammam." Quoth he, "Not so: I have taken an
+oath never again to enter the baths, so long as I live." Rejoined they, at
+least come to our homes that we may entertain thee." He agreed to this, and
+went to their houses and each of them entertained him for a night and a day;
+nor did they cease to do thus for a whole sennight, being seven in number. And
+now Hasib was master of monies and houses and shops, and the merchants of the
+city foregathered with him and he told them all that had befallen him. He
+became one of the chiefs of the guild and abode on this wise awhile, till it
+happened one day, as he was walking about the streets, that he passed the door
+of a Hammam, whose keeper was one of his companions. When the bathman, who was
+standing without, caught his eye he ran up to him and saluted him and embraced
+him, saying, "Favour me by entering the bath and there wash and be rubbed that
+I may show thee hospitality." Hasib refused, alleging that he had taken a
+solemn oath never again to enter the Hammam; but the bathman was instant with
+him, saying, "Be my three wives triply divorced, can thou enter not and be
+washed!" When Hasib heard him thus conjure him, he was confounded and replied,
+"O my brother, hast thou a mind to ruin my house and make my children orphans
+and lay a load of sin upon my neck?" But his friend threw himself at his feet
+and kissed them, saying, "My happiness dependeth upon thy entering, and be the
+sin on the neck of me!" Then all the servants of the bath set upon Hasib and
+dragging him in pulled off his clothes. But hardly had he sat down against the
+wall and begun to pour water on his head when a score of men accosted him,
+saying, "Rise, O man, and come with us to the Sultan, for thou art his debtor."
+Then they despatched one of them as messenger to the Sultan's Minister, who
+straightway took horse and rode, attended by threescore Mamelukes, to the
+baths, where he alighted and going in to Hasib, saluted him and said, "Welcome
+to thee!" Then he gave the bathman an hundred diners and, mounting Hasib on a
+horse he had brought with him, returned with him and all his men to the
+Sultan's palace. Here he bade them aid Hasib to dismount and, after seating him
+comfortably, set food before him; and when they had eaten and drunken and
+washed their hands, the Wazir clad him in two dresses of honour each worth five
+thousand diners and said to him, "Know that Allah hath been merciful to us in
+sending thee; for the Sultan is nigh upon death by leprosy, and the books tell
+us that his life is in thy hands. Then, accompanied by a host of Grandees, he
+took him wondering withal and carried him through the seven doorways of the
+palace, till they came to the King's chamber. Now the name of this King was
+Karazdαn, King of Persia and of the Seven Countries, and under his sway were an
+hundred sovereign princes sitting on chairs of red gold, and ten thousand
+valiant captains, under each one's hand an hundred deputies and as many
+headsmen armed with sword and axe. They found the King lying on his bed with
+his face swathed in a napkin, and groaning for excess of pain. When Hasib saw
+this ordinance, his wit was dazed for awe of the King; so he kissed the ground
+before him, and prayed a blessing on him. Then the Grand Wazir, whose name was
+ShamhÏŠr, rose and welcoming Hasib, seated him on a high chair at the King's
+right hand."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir Shamhur rose to
+Hasib and seated him on a chair at the right hand of King Karazdan; after which
+he called for food and the tables were laid. And when they had eaten and
+drunken and washed their hands, Shamhur stood up (while all present also stood
+to do him honour) and, approaching Hasib said to him, "We are all thy servants
+and will give thee whatsoever thou askest, even were it one half the kingdom,
+so thou wilt but cure the King." Saying this, he led him by the hand to the
+royal couch, and Hasib, uncovering the King's face, saw that he was at last
+fatal stage of the disease; so he wondered at their hoping for a cure. But the
+Wazir kissed his hand and repeated his offers and ended with saying, "All we
+want of thee is to heal our King:" so he said to the Wazir, "True that I am the
+son of Allah's prophet, Daniel, but I know nothing of his art: for they put me
+thirty days in the school of medicine and I learnt nothing of the craft. I
+would well I knew somewhat thereof and might heal the King." Hearing this, the
+Grand Wazir said, "Do not multiply words upon us; for though we should gather
+together to us physicians from the East and from the West, none could cure the
+King save thou." Answered Hasib, "How can I make him whole, seeing I know
+neither his case nor its cure?" Quoth the Minister, "His healing is in thy
+hands," and quoth Hasib, "If I knew the remedy of his sickness, I would heal
+him." Thereupon the Wazir rejoined, "Thou keenest a cure right well; the remedy
+of his sickness is the Queen of the Serpents, and thou knowest her
+abiding-place and hast been with her." When Hasib heard this, he knew that all
+this came of his entering the Baths, and repented whenas repentance availed him
+naught; then said he, "What is the Queen of the Serpents? I know her not nor
+ever in all my life heard I of this name." Retorted the Wazir, "Deny not the
+knowledge of her, for I have proof that thou knowest her and hast passed two
+years with her." Repeated Hasib, "Verily, I never saw her nor even heard of her
+till this moment;" upon which Shamhur opened a book and, after making sundry
+calculations, raised his head and spake as follows. "The Queen of the Serpents
+shall foregather with a man who shall abide with her two years; then shall he
+return from her and come forth to the surface of the earth, and when he
+entereth the Hammam bath his belly will become black." Then said he, "Look at
+thy belly." So Hasib looked at his own belly and behold, it was black: but he
+persisted in his denial and said, "My belly was black from the day my mother
+bare me." Said the Wazir, "I had stationed three Mamelukes at the door of every
+Hammam, bidding them note all who entered and let me know when they found one
+whose belly was black: so, when thou enteredst, they looked at thy belly and,
+finding it black, sent and told me, after we had well-nigh lost hope of coming
+upon thee. All we want of thee is to show us the place whence thou camest out
+and after go thy ways; for we have those with us who will take the Queen of the
+Serpents and fetch her to us." Then all the other Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees
+flocked about Hasib who sorely repented of his misdeed; and they conjured him,
+till they were weary, to show them the abode of the Queen; but he ceased not
+saying, "I never saw nor heard of the matter." Then the Grand Wazir called the
+hangman and bade him strip Hasib and beat him a sore beating; and so they did
+till he saw death face to face, for excess of pain, and the Wazir said, "We
+have proof that thou knowest the abiding-place of the Queen of the Serpents:
+why wilt thou persist in denial? Show us the place whence thou camest out and
+go from us; we have with us one who will take her, and no harm shall befall
+thee." Then he raised him and bade give him a dress of honour of cloth of red
+gold, embroidered with jewels, and spoke him fair till Hasib yielded and said,
+"I will show you the place." At this the Wazir rejoiced with great joy and took
+horse with all his many and rode, guided by Hasib, and never drew rein till
+they came to the mountain containing the cavern wherein he had found the
+cistern full of honey. There all dismounted and followed him as he entered,
+sighing and weeping, and showed them the well whence he had issued; whereupon
+the Wazir sat down thereby and, sprinkling perfumes upon a chafing-dish, began
+to mutter charms and conjurations; for he was a crafty magician and diviner and
+skilled in spiritual arts. He repeated three several formulas of conjuration
+and between each threw fresh incense upon the fire, crying out and saying,
+"Come forth, O Queen of the Serpents!;" when behold, the water of the well sank
+down and a great door opened in the side, from which came a mighty noise of
+crying like unto thunder, so terrible that they thought the well had caved in
+and all present fell down fainting; nay, some even died for fright. Presently,
+there issued from the well a serpent as big as an elephant, casting out sparks,
+like red hot coals, from its eyes and mouth and bearing on its back a charger
+of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, in the midst whereof lay a serpent
+from whose body issued such splendour that the place was illumined thereby; and
+her face was fair and young and she spoke with most eloquent tongue. The
+Serpent-queen turned right and left, till her eyes fell upon Hasib, to whom
+said she "Where is the covenant thou madest with me, and the oath thou swearest
+to me, that thou wouldst never again enter the Hammam-bath? But there is no
+fighting against Fate nor hath any ever fled from that which is written on his
+forehead. Allah hath appointed the end of my life for thy hand to hend, and it
+is His will that slain I be and King Karazdan be healed of his malady." So
+saying, she wept with sore weeping and Hasib wept to see her weep. As for the
+abominable Wazir Shamhur; he put out his hand to lay hold of her; but she said
+to him, "Hold thy hand, O accursed, or I will blow upon thee and reduce thee to
+a heap of black ashes." Then she cried out to Hasib, saying, "Draw near me and
+take me in thine hand and lay me in the dish that is with you: then set it on
+thy head, for my death was fore-ordained, from Eternity without
+beginning,[FN#572] to be at thy hand, and thou hast no power to avert it." So
+he took her and laid her in the dish, and put it on his head, when the well
+returned to its former state. Then they set out on their return to the city,
+Hasib carrying the dish on his head, and when they were half-way behold, the
+Queen of the Serpents said to him privily, "Hearken, O Hasib, to my friendly
+counsel, for all thou hast broken faith with me and been false to thine oath,
+and hast done this misdeed, but it was fore-ordained from all eternity." He
+replied "To hear is to obey," and she continued, "It is this: when thou comest
+to the Wazir's house, he will bid thee behead me and cut me in three; but do
+thou refuse saying, 'I know not how to slaughter[FN#473]' and leave him to do
+it with his own hand and to work his wicked will. When he hath cut my throat
+and divided my body into three pieces there will come a messenger, to bid him
+to the King, so he will lay my flesh in a cauldron of brass and set it upon a
+brasier before going to the presence and he will say to thee, 'Keep up the fire
+under the cauldron till the scum rise; then skim it off and pour it into a
+phial to cool. Wait till it cool and then drink it, so shall naught of malady
+or pain be left in all thy body. When the second scum riseth, skim it off and
+pour it into a phial against my return from the King, that I may drink it for
+an ailment I have in my loins.' Then will he give thee the phials and go to the
+King, and when he is gone, do thou light the fire and wait till the first scum
+rise and set it in a phial; keep it by thee but beware of drinking it, or no
+good will befall thee. When the second scum riseth, skim it off and put it in a
+second phial and drink it down as soon as it cools. When the Wazir returneth
+and asketh thee for the second phial, give him the first and note what shall
+befall him;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
+permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Serpent-queen charged
+Hasib not to drink of the first scum and carefully to keep the second, saying,
+"When the Wazir returneth from the King and asketh for the second phial, give
+him the first and note what shall befall him; then drink the contents of the
+second phial and thy heart will become the home of wisdom. After this take up
+the flesh and, laying it in a brazen platter, carry it to the King and give him
+to eat thereof. When he hath eaten it and it hath settled in his stomach, veil
+his face with a kerchief and wait by him till noontide, when he will have
+digested the meat. Then give him somewhat of wine to drink and, by the decree
+of Allah Almighty, he will be healed of his unhealth and be made whole as he
+was. And give thou ear to the charge wherewith I charge thee; and keep it in
+thy memory with carefullest keeping." They ceased not faring till they came to
+the Wazir's house, and he said to Hasib, "Come in with me!" So he went in and
+the troops dispersed and fared each his own way; whereupon Hasib set down the
+platter and the Wazir bade him slay the Queen of the Serpents; but he said, "I
+know not how to slaughter and never in my born days killed I aught. An thou
+wilt have her throat cut, do it with thine own hand." So the Minister Shamhur
+took the Queen from the platter and slew her, seeing which Hasib wept bitter
+tears and the Wazir laughed at him, saying, "O weak of wits, how canst thou
+weep for the killing of a worm?" Then he cut her in three and, laying the
+pieces in a brass cauldron, set it on the fire and sat down to await the
+cooking of the flesh. And whilst he was sitting, lo! there came a slave from
+the King, who said to him, "The King calls for thee without stay or delay," and
+he answered saying, "I hear and I obey." So he gave Hasib two phials and bade
+him drink the first scum and keep the second against his return,[FN#574] even
+as the Queen of the Serpents had foretold; after which he went away with
+repeated charges and injunctions; and Hasib tended the fire under the cauldron
+till the first scum rose, when he skimmed it off and, setting it in one of the
+phials, kept it by him. He then fed the fire till the second scum rose; then he
+skimmed it off and, putting it in the other phial kept it for himself. And when
+the meat was done, he took the cauldron off the fire and sat awaiting the Wazir
+who asked him on return, "What hast thou done?" and answered Hasib, "I did thy
+bidding to the last word." Quoth the Wazir, "What hast thou done with the first
+phial?" "I drank its contents but now," replied Hasib, and Shamhur asked, "Thy
+body feeleth it no change?"; whereto Hasib answered, "Verily, I feel as I were
+on fire from front to foot." The villain Wazir made no reply hiding the truth
+but said, "Hand me the second phial, that I may drink what is therein, so haply
+I may be made whole of this ailing in my loins." So Hasib brought him the first
+phial and he drank it off, thinking it contained the second scum; but hardly
+had he done drinking when the phial fell from his hand and he swelled up and
+dropped down dead; and thus was exemplified in him the saying; "Whoso for his
+brother diggeth a pit, he shall be the first to fall into it." Now when Hasib
+saw this, he wondered and feared to drink of the second phial; but he
+remembered the Serpent-queen's injunction and bethought him that the Wazir
+would not have reserved the second scum for himself, had there been aught of
+hurt therein. So he said, "I put my trust in Allah,'[FN#575] and drank off the
+contents of the phial. No sooner had he done so, than the Most Highest made the
+waters of wisdom to well up in his heart and opened to him the fountains of
+knowledge, and joy and gladness overcame him. Then he took the serpent's flesh
+from the cauldron and, laying it on a platter of brass, went forth from the
+Wazir's house. On his way to the palace he raised his eyes and saw the seven
+Heavens and all that therein is, even to the Lote-tree, beyond which there is
+no passing,[FN#576] and the manner of the revolution of the spheres. Moreover,
+Allah discovered to him the ordinance of the planets and the scheme of their
+movements and the fixed stars; and he saw the contour of the land and sea,
+whereby he became informed with geometry, astrology and astronomy and
+mathematics and all that hangeth thereby; and he understood the causes and
+consequences of eclipses of the sun and moon. Then he looked at the earth and
+saw all minerals and vegetables that are therein and thereon; and he learned
+their properties, and their virtues, so that he became in an instant versed in
+medicine and chemistry and natural magic and the art of making gold and silver.
+And he ceased not carrying the flesh till he came to the palace, when he went
+in to King Karazdan, and kissing the ground before him, said, "May thy head
+survive thy Wazir Shamhur!" The King was mightily angered at the news of the
+Grand Wazir's death and wept for him, whilst his Emirs and his Grandees and
+officers also wept. Then said Karazdan, "He was with me but now, in all health,
+and went away to fetch me the flesh of the Queen of the Serpents, if it should
+be cooked; what befell him that he is now dead, and what accident hath betided
+him?" So Hasib told him the whole truth how the Minister had drunk the contents
+of the phial and had forthwith swelled out and died. The King mourned for his
+loss with mourning sore and said to Hasib, "What shall I do without Shamhur?"
+and Hasib answered "Grieve not, O King of the age; for I will cure thee within
+three days and leave no whit of disease in thy body." At this the King's breast
+waxed broad and he said, "I wish to be made whole of this affliction, though
+after a long term of years." So Hasib set the platter before the King and made
+him eat a slice of the flesh of the Serpent-queen. Then he covered him up and,
+spreading a kerchief over his face, bade him sleep and sat down by his side. He
+slept from noonday till sundown, while his stomach digested the piece of flesh,
+and presently he awoke. Hasib gave him somewhat of wine to drink and bade him
+sleep again; so he slept till the morning and when dawn appeared, Hasib
+repeated the treatment making him eat another piece of the flesh; and thus he
+did with him three days following, till he had eaten the whole, when his skin
+began to shrink and scale off and he perspired, so that the sweat ran down from
+his head to his heels. Therewith he became whole and there abode in him no
+trace of the disease, which when Hasib saw, he said, "There is no help for it
+but thou go to the Hammam." So he carried him to the bath and washed his body;
+and when he came forth, it was like a wand of silver and he was restored to
+health, nay, sounder than he was before he fell ill. Thereupon he donned his
+richest robes and, seating himself on his throne, deigned make Hasib sit beside
+him. Then he bade the tables be spread and they ate and washed their hands;
+after which he called for the service of wine and both drank their fill. Upon
+this all his Wazirs and Emirs and Captains and the Grandees of his realm and
+the notables of the lieges came in to him and gave him joy of his recovery; and
+they beat the drums and adorned the city in token of rejoicing. Then said the
+King to the assembly, "O Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees, this is Hasim Karim
+al-Din, who hath healed me of my sickness, and know all here present that I
+make him my Chief Wazir in the stead of the Wazir Shamhur."—And Shahrazad
+perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When it was the Five Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth King Karazdan
+to his Ministers and high lords, "He who healed me of my sickness is none other
+than Hasib Karim al-Din here present. Therefore I make him my Chief Wazir in
+the stead of the Wazir Shamhur; and whoso loveth him loveth me, and whoso
+honoureth him honoureth me, and he who obeyeth him obeyeth me." "Hearkening and
+obedience," answered they and all rising flocked to kiss Hasib's hand and
+salute him and give him joy of the Wazirate. Then the King bestowed on him a
+splendid dress of gold brocade, set with pearls and gems, the least of which
+was worth five thousand gold pieces. Moreover, he presented to him three
+hundred male white slaves and the like number of concubines, in loveliness like
+moons, and three hundred Abyssinian[FN#577] slave-girls, beside five hundred
+mules laden with treasure and sheep and oxen and buffaloes and bulls and other
+cattle beyond count; and he commanded all his Wazirs and Emirs and Grandees and
+Notables and Mamelukes and his subjects in general to bring him gifts.
+Presently Hasib took horse and rode, followed by the Wazirs and Emirs and lords
+and all the troops, to the house which the King had set apart for him, where he
+sat down on a chair; and the Wazirs and Emirs came up to him and kissed hands
+and gave him joy of his Ministership, vying with one another in suit and
+service. When his mother and his household knew what had happened, they
+rejoiced with exceeding joy and congratulated him on his good fortune; and his
+quondam comrades the woodcutters also came and gave him joy. Then he mounted
+again and, riding to the house of the late Wazir Shamhur, laid hands on all
+that was therein and transported it to his own abode. On this wise did Hasib,
+from a dunsical know-nothing, unskilled to read writing, become, by the decree
+of Allah Almighty, an adept in every science and versed in all manner of
+knowledge, so that the fame of his learning was blazed abroad over the land and
+he became renowned as an ocean of lore and skill in medicine and astronomy and
+geometry and astrology and alchemy and natural magic and the Cabbala and
+Spiritualism and all other arts and sciences. One day, he said to his mother,
+"My father Daniel was exceeding wise and learned; tell me what he left by way
+of books or what not!" So his mother brought him the chest and, taking out the
+five leaves which had been saved when the library was lost, gave them to him
+saying, "These five scrolls are all thy father left thee." So he read them and
+said to her, "O my mother, these leaves are part of a book: where is the rest?"
+Quoth she, "Thy father made a voyage taking with him all his library and, when
+he was shipwrecked, every book was lost save only these five leaves. And when
+he was returned to me by Almighty Allah he found me with child and said to me:
+'Haply thou wilt bear a boy; so take these scrolls and keep them by thee and
+whenas thy son shall grow up and ask what his father left him, give these
+leaves to him and say, 'Thy father left these as thine only heritance. And lo!
+here they are.' " And Hasib, now the most learned of his age, abode in all
+pleasure and solace, and delight of life, till there came to him the Destroyer
+of delights and the Severer of societies.[FN#578] And yet, O King, is not this
+tale of Bulukiya and Janshah more wondrous than the adventures of
+</p>
+
+<p>
+End of Volume V.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+                   Arabian Nights, Volume 5<br/>
+
+                           Footnotes<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#1] This tale (one of those translated by Galland) is best and fullest in
+the Bresl. Edit. iii. 329.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#2] Europe has degraded this autumnal festival, the Sun-fκte Mihrgαn (which
+balanced the vernal Nau-roz) into Michaelmas and its goose-massacre. It was so
+called because it began on the 16th of Mihr, the seventh month; and lasted six
+days, with feasts, festivities and great rejoicings in honour of the Sun, who
+now begins his southing-course to gladden the other half of the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#3] "Hindν" is an Indian Moslem as opposed to "Hindϊ," a pagan, or Gentoo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#4] The orig. Persian word is "Shαh-pϊr"=King's son: the Greeks (who had no
+sh) (preferred ); the Romans turned it into Sapor and the Arabs (who lack
+the p) into Sαbϊr. See p. x. Hamzζ ispahanensis Annalium Libri x.: Gottwaldt,
+Lipsiζ mdcccxlviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#5] The magic horse may have originated with the Hindu tale of a wooden
+Garuda (the bird of Vishnu) built by a youth for the purpose of a vehicle. It
+came with the "Moors" to Spain and appears in "Le Cheval de Fust," a French
+poem of the thirteenth Century. Thence it passed over to England as shown by
+Chaucer's "Half-told tale of Cambuscan (Janghνz Khan?) bold," as
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "The wondrous steed of brass<br/>
+
+     On which the Tartar King did ride;"<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Leland (Itinerary) derives "Rutlandshire" from "a man named Rutter who rode
+round it on a wooden horse constructed by art magic." Lane (ii. 548) quotes the
+parallel story of Cleomades and Claremond which Mr. Keightley (Tales and
+Popular Fictions, chapt. ii) dates from our thirteenth century. See Vol. i., p.
+160.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#6] All Moslems, except those of the Mαliki school, hold that the maker of
+an image representing anything of life will be commanded on the Judgment Day to
+animate it, and failing will be duly sent to the Fire. This severity arose
+apparently from the necessity of putting down idol-worship and, perhaps, for
+the same reason the Greek Church admits pictures but not statues. Of course the
+command has been honoured with extensive breaching: for instance all the
+Sultans of Stambul have had their portraits drawn and painted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#7] This description of ugly old age is written with true<br/>
+
+Arab verve.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#8] Arab. "Badinjαn": Hind. Bengan: Pers. Bαdingαn or Badiljαn; the Mala
+insana (Solanum pomiferum or S. Melongena) of the Romans, well known in
+Southern Europe. It is of two kinds, the red (Solanum lycopersicum) and the
+black (S. Melongena). The Spaniards know it as "berengeria" and when Sancho
+Panza (Part ii. chapt. 2) says, "The Moors are fond of egg-plants" he means
+more than appears. The vegetable is held to be exceedingly heating and thereby
+to breed melancholia and madness; hence one says to a man that has done
+something eccentric, "Thou hast been eating brinjalls."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#9] Again to be understood Hibernice "kilt."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#10] i.e. for fear of the evil eye injuring the palace and, haply, himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#11] The "Sufrah" before explained acting provision-bag and table-cloth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#12] Eastern women in hot weather, lie mother-nude under a sheet here
+represented by the hair. The Greeks and Romans also slept stripped and in
+mediζval England the most modest women saw nothing indelicate in sleeping naked
+by their naked husbands. The "night-cap" and the "night-gown" are comparatively
+modern inventions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#13] Hindu fable turns this simile into better poetry, "She was like a
+second and a more wondrous moon made by the Creator."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#14] "Sun of the Day."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#15] Arab. "Shirk"=worshipping more than one God. A theological term here
+most appropriately used.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#16] The Bul. Edit. as usual abridges (vol. i. 534). The Prince lands on
+the palace-roof where he leaves his horse, and finding no one in the building
+goes back to the terrace. Suddenly he sees a beautiful girl approaching him
+with a party of her women, suggesting to him these couplets,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "She came without tryst in the darkest hour, *<br/>
+
+          Like full moon lighting horizon's night:<br/>
+
+     Slim-formed, there is not in the world her like *<br/>
+
+          For grace of form or for gifts of sprite:<br/>
+
+     'Praise him who made her from semen-drop,' *<br/>
+
+          I cried, when her beauty first struck my sight:<br/>
+
+     I guard her from eyes, seeking refuge with *<br/>
+
+          The Lord of mankind and of morning-light."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two then made acquaintance and "follows what follows."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#17] Arab. "Akαsirah," explained (vol. i., 75) as the plur. of Kisrα.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#18] The dearest ambition of a slave is not liberty but to have a slave of
+his own. This was systematised by the servile rulers known in history as the
+Mameluke Beys and to the Egyptians as the Ghuzz. Each had his household of
+servile pages and squires, who looked forward to filling the master's place as
+knight or baron.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#19] The well-known capital of Al-Yaman, a true Arabia Felix, a Paradise
+inhabited by demons in the shape of Turkish soldiery and Arab caterans.
+According to Moslem writers Sana'a was founded by Shem son of Noah who,
+wandering southward with his posterity after his father's death, and finding
+the site delightful, dug a well and founded the citadel, Ghamdαn, which
+afterwards contained a Mason Carrιe rivalling (or attempting to rival) the
+Meccan Ka'abah. The builder was Surahbνl who, says M.C. de Perceval coloured
+its four faces red, white, golden and green; the central quadrangle had seven
+stories (the planets) each forty cubits high, and the lowest was a marble hall
+ceiling'd with a single slab. At the four corners stood hollow lions through
+whose mouths the winds roared. This palatial citadel-temple was destroyed by
+order of Caliph Omar. The city's ancient name was Azal or Uzal whom some
+identify with one of the thirteen sons of Joktan (Genesis xi. 27): it took its
+present name from the Ethiopian conquerors (they say) who, seeing it for the
+first time, cried "Hazα Sana'ah!" meaning in their tongue, this is commodious,
+etc. I may note that the word is Kisawahili (Zanzibarian) e.g. "Yαmbo sαnα—is
+the state good?" Sana'a was the capital of the Tabαbi'ah or Tobba Kings who
+judaized; and the Abyssinians with their Negush made it Christian while the
+Persians under Anushirwαn converted it to Guebrism. It is now easily visited
+but to little purpose; excursions in the neighborhood being deadly dangerous.
+Moreover the Turkish garrison would probably murder a stranger who sympathised
+with the Arabs, and the Arabs kill one who took part with their hated and
+hateful conquerors. The late Mr. Shapira of Jerusalem declared that he had
+visited it and Jews have great advantages in such travel. But his friends
+doubted him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#20] The Bresl. Edit. (iii. 347) prints three vile errors in four lines.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#21] Alcove is a corruption of the Arab. Al-Kubbah (the dome) through Span.
+and Port.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#22] Easterns as a rule sleep with head and body covered by a sheet or in
+cold weather a blanket. The practice is doubtless hygienic, defending the body
+from draughts when the pores are open; but Europeans find it hard to adopt; it
+seems to stop their breathing. Another excellent practice in the East, and
+indeed amongst barbarians and savages generally, is training children to sleep
+with mouths shut: in after life they never snore and in malarious lands they do
+not require Outram's "fever-guard," a swathe of muslin over the mouth. Mr.
+Catlin thought so highly of the "shut mouth" that he made it the subject of a
+book.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#23] Arab. "Hanzal"=coloquintida, an article often mentioned by Arabs in
+verse and prose; the bright coloured little gourd attracts every eye by its
+golden glance when travelling through the brown-yellow waste of sand and clay.
+A favourite purgative (enough for a horse) is made by filling the inside with
+sour milk which is drunks after a night's soaking: it is as active as the
+croton-nut of the Gold Coast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#24] The Bresl. Edit. iii. 354 sends him to the "land of Sνn"<br/>
+
+(China).<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#25] Arab. "Yα Kisrawi!"=O subject of the Kisrα or Chosroλ; the latter
+explained in vol.i.,75.[Volume 1, Footnote # 128] "Fars" is the origin of
+"Persia"; and there is a hit at the prodigious lying of the modern race, whose
+forefathers were so famous as truth-tellers. "I am a Persian, but I am not
+lying now," is a phrase familiar to every traveller.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#26] There is no such name: perhaps it is a clerical error<br/>
+
+for "Har jαh"=(a man of) any place. I know an Englishman who in<br/>
+
+Persian called himself "Mirza Abdullah-i-Hνchmakαni"=Master<br/>
+
+Abdullah of Nowhere.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#27] The Bresl. Edit. (loc. cit.) gives a comical description of the Prince
+assuming the dress of an astrologer-doctor, clapping an old book under his arm,
+fumbling a rosary of beads, enlarging his turband, lengthening his sleeves and
+blackening his eyelids with antimony. Here, however, it would be out of place.
+Very comical also is the way in which he pretends to cure the maniac by
+"muttering unknown words, blowing in her face, biting her ear," etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#28] Arab. "Sar'a"=falling sickness. Here again we have in all its
+simplicity the old nursery idea of "possession" by evil spirits.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#29] Arab. "Nafahαt"=breathings, benefits, the Heb. Neshamah opp. to
+Nephesh (soul) and Ruach (spirit). Healing by the breath is a popular idea
+throughout the East and not unknown to Western Magnetists and Mesmerists. The
+miraculous cures of the Messiah were, according to Moslems, mostly performed by
+aspiration. They hold that in the days of Isa, physic had reached its highest
+development, and thus his miracles were mostly miracles of medicine; whereas,
+in Mohammed's time, eloquence had attained its climax and accordingly his
+miracles were those of eloquence, as shown in the Koran and Ahαdνs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#30] Lit. "The rose in the sleeves or calyces." I take my English
+equivalent from Jeremy Taylor, "So I have seen a rose newly springing from the
+clefts of its hood," etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#31] These lines are from the Bresl. Edit. (v. 35). The four couplets in
+the Mac. Edit. are too irrelevant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#32] Polo, which Lane calls "Goff."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#33] Arab. "Muffawak"=well-notched, as its value depends upon the notch. At
+the end of the third hemistitch Lane's Shaykh very properly reads "baghtatan"
+(suddenly) for "burhatan"=during a long time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#34] "Uns" (which the vulgar pronounce Anas) "al- Wujud"=Delight of
+existing things, of being, of the world. Uns wa jud is the normal
+pun=love-intimacy and liberality; and the caranomasia (which cannot well be
+rendered in English) re-appears again and again. The story is throughout one of
+love; hence the quantity of verse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#35] The allusion to a "written N" suggests the elongated not the rounded
+form of the letter as in Night cccxxiv.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#36] The fourteenth Arabic letter in its medial form resembling an eye.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#37] This is done by the man passing his fingers over the brow as if to
+wipe off perspiration; the woman acknowledges it by adjusting her head-veil
+with both hands. As a rule in the Moslem East women make the first advances;
+and it is truly absurd to see a great bearded fellow blushing at being ogled.
+During the Crimean war the fair sex of Constantinople began by these
+allurements but found them so readily accepted by the Giaours that they were
+obliged to desist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#38] The greatest of all explorers and discoverers of the world will be he
+who finds a woman confessing inability to keep a secret.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#39] The original is intensely prosaicand so am I.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#40] Arab. "Sunnat," the practice of the Prophet. For this prayer and other
+silly and superstitious means of discovering the "right direction" (which is
+often very wrongly directed) see Lane, M.E. chapt. xi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#41] Arab. "Bahr (sea or river) al-Kunuz": Lane (ii. 576) ingeniously
+identifies the site with the Upper Nile whose tribes, between Assouan (Syene)
+and Wady al-Subu'a are called the "Kunuz"lit. meaning "treasures" or "hoards."
+Philae is still known as the "Islet of Anas (for Uns) al-Wujud;" and the
+learned and accurate Burckhardt (Travels in Nubia p. 5) records the local
+legend that a mighty King called Al-Wujud built the Osirian temples. I can give
+no information concerning Jabal al-Sakla (Thakla), the Mount of the woman
+bereft of children, beyond the legend contained in Night ccclxxix.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#42] A religious mendicant (lit. a pauper), of whom there are two great
+divisions. The Shara'i acts according to the faith: the others (La Shara'i, or
+irreligious) are bound by no such prejudices and are pretty specimens of
+scoundrels. (Pilgrimage i.22.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#43] Meaning his lips and palate were so swollen by drought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#44] It is a pious act in time of mortal danger to face the<br/>
+
+Kiblah or Meccan temple, as if standing in prayer.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#45] Still the belief of the Badawi who tries to work upon the beast's
+compassion: "O great King I am a poor man, with wife and family, so spare me
+that Allah spare thee!" and so forth. If not famished the lion will often stalk
+off looking behind him as he goes; but the man will never return by the same
+path; "for," says he, "haply the Father of Roaring may repent him of a wasted
+opportunity." These lion-tales are very common, witness that of Androcles at
+Rome and a host of others. Una and her lion is another phase. It remained for
+M. Jules Gerard, first the chasseur and then the tueur, du lion, to assail the
+reputation of the lion and the honour of the lioness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#46] Abu Haris=Father of spoils: one of the lion's hundred titles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#47] "They" again for "she."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#48] Jaxartes and Oxus. The latter (Jayhun or Amu, Oxus or<br/>
+
+Bactros) is famous for dividing Iran from Turan, Persia from<br/>
+
+Tartaria. The lands to its north are known as Ma wara al-Nahr<br/>
+
+(Mawerannahar) or "What is behind the stream,"=Transoxiana and<br/>
+
+their capitals were successively Samarcand and Bokhara.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#49] Arab. "Dani was gharib"=friend and foe. The lines are partly from the
+Mac. Edit. and partly from the Bresl. Edit., v. 55.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#50] Arab. "Wa Rahmata-hu!" a form now used only in books.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#51] Before noted. The relationship, like that of foster- brother, has its
+rights, duties and privileges.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#52] Arab. "Istikharah," before explained as praying for direction by omens
+of the rosary, opening the Koran and reading the first verse sighted, etc.,
+etc. At Al-Medinah it is called Khirah and I have suggested (Pilgrimage, ii.
+287) that it is a relic of the Azlam or Kidah (divining arrows) of paganism.
+But the superstition is not local: we have the Sortes Virgilianae (Virgil being
+a magician) as well as Coranicae.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#53] Arab. "Wujud al-Habib," a pun, also meaning, "Wujud my beloved."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#54] Arab. "Khilal," as an emblem of attenuation occurring in Al-Hariri
+(Ass. of Alexandria, etc.); also thin as a spindle (Maghzal), as a reed, and
+dry as a pair of shears. In the Ass. of Barka'id the toothpick is described as
+a beautiful girl. The use of this cleanly article was enjoined by
+Mohammed:—"Cleanse your mouths with toothpicks; for your mouths are the abode
+of the guardian angels; whose pens are the tongues, and whose ink is the
+spittle of men; and to whom naught is more unbearable than remains of food in
+the mouth." A mighty apparatus for a small matter; but in very hot lands
+cleanliness must rank before godliness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#55] The sense is ambiguous. Lane renders the verse:—"Thou resemblest it
+(rose) not of my portion" and gives two explanations "because HE is of my
+portion," or, "because HIS cheek cannot be rosy if MINE is not." Mr. Payne
+boldly translates
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"If the rose ape his cheek, 'Now God forfend,' I say, 'That of my portion aught
+to pilfer thou shouldst try'."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#56] Arab. "lif" (not "fibres which grow at the top of the trunk," Lane ii.
+577); but the fibre of the fronds worked like the cocoa-nut fibre which forms
+the now well-known Indian "coir." This "lif" is also called "filfil" or
+"fulfil" which Dr. Jonathan Scott renders "pepper" (Lane i. 8) and it forms a
+clean succedaneum for one of the uncleanest articles of civilisation, the
+sponge. It is used in every Hammam and is (or should be) thrown away after use.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#57] Arab. "Shinf;" a course sack, a "gunny-bag;" a net compared with such
+article.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#58] The eunuch tells him that he is not a "Sandali"=one whose penis and
+testes are removed; and consequently the highest valued. There are many ways of
+making the castrato; in some (as here) only the penis is removed, in other the
+testes are bruised or cut off; but in all cases the animal passion remains, for
+in man, unlike other animals, the fons veneris is the brain. The story of
+Abelard proves this. Juvenal derided the idea of married eunuchs and yet almost
+all of these neutrals have wives with whom they practise the manifold plaisirs
+de la petite oie (masturbation, tribadism, irrumation, tete-beche, feuille-de-
+rose, etc.), till they induce the venereal orgasm. Such was the account once
+given to me by a eunuch's wife; and I need hardly say that she, like her
+confrerie, was to be pitied. At the critical moment she held up a little pillow
+for her husband to bite who otherwise would have torn her cheeks or breasts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#59] In real life the eunuch, as a rule, avoids all allusion to his
+misfortune, although the slave will often describe his being sold merrily
+enough.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#60] The visits are in dreamland. The ringdove thanks the<br/>
+
+Lord for her (his?) suffering in the holy martyrdom of love.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#61] Arab. "Hazar;" I have explained it as meaning "(the bird of) a
+thousand (songs)."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#62] The "Bulbul" had his day with us but he departed with Tommy Moore. We
+usually English the word by "nightingale;" but it is a kind of shrike or
+butcher-bird (Lanius Boulboul. Lath.).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#63] The "Hamam" is a lieu commun in Arabic poetry. I have noticed the
+world-wide reverence for the pigeon and the incarnation of the Third Person of
+the Hindu Triad (Shiva), as Kapoteshwara (Kapota-ishwara)"=pigeon or dove-god
+(Pilgrimage iii. 218).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#64] Arab. "Hamam al-Ayk." Mr. Payne's rendering is so happy that we must
+either take it from him or do worse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#65] All primitive peoples translate the songs of birds with human
+language; but, as I have noticed, the versions differ widely. The pigeon cries,
+"Allah! Allah!" the dove "Karim, Tawwa" (Bountiful, Pardoner!) the Kata or
+sand-grouse "Man sakat salam" (who is silent is safe) yet always betrays itself
+by its lay of "Kat-ta" and lastly the cock "Uzkuru 'llah ya ghafilun"
+(Remember, or take the name of Allah, ye careless!).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#66] "Nay," the Dervish's reed pipe, symbol of the sighing absent lover
+(i.e. the soul parted from the Creator) so famed by the Mullah-i-Rum and Sir
+William Jones.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#67] Ba'albak=Ba'al (the God)-city (bek in Coptic and ancient Egyptian.)
+Such, at least, is the popular derivation which awaits a better. No cloth has
+been made there since the Kurd tribe of gallant robbers known as the "Harfush"
+(or blackguards) lorded it over old "Heliopolis."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#68] Thinking her to be a Jinn or Ghul in the shape of a fair woman. This
+Arab is a strange contrast to the English fisherman, and yet he is drawn with
+truth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#69] Arab. "Habbaza!" (good this!) or "Habba" (how good!): so<br/>
+
+"Habba bihi," how dear he is to me.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#70] Arab. "Zind," and "Zindah" the names of the two sticks, upper and
+lower, hard and soft, by which fire was kindled before flint and steel were
+known. We find it in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Banu Haram) "no one sought ire from my
+fire-stick (i.e. from me as a fire-stick) and failed." See Night dccciii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#71] Arab. "Nazih" i.e. travelled far and wide.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#72] "Rajab," lit.="worshipping:" it is the seventh lunar month and still
+called "Shahr-i-Khuda" (God's month) by the Persians because in pre-Islamitic
+times it formed with Muharram (or in its stead Safar), Zu 'l-ka'adah and
+Zu-'l-Hijjah (Nos. 1 or 2; 7,11 and 12) the yearly peace, during which a man
+might not kill his father's murderer. The idea must have taken deep root, as
+Arab history records only six "impious (or sacrilegious) wars," waged despite
+the law. Europeans compare it with the Treuga Dei (truce of God) a seven-years
+peace established about A.D. 1032, by a Bishop of Aquitaine; and followed in
+A.D. 1245 by the Pax Regis (Royal Peace) under Louis VIII. of France. This
+compelled the relations of a murdered man to keep the peace for forty days
+after the offence was committed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#73] His Majesty wrote sad doggrel. He is better at finessing, and his
+message was a trick because Rose-in-Hood had told him that at home there were
+special obstacles to the marriage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#74] Arab. "Majzub"=drawn, attracted (literally); the popular term for one
+absorbed in the contemplation of the Deity. During this process the soul is
+supposed to quit the body leaving the latter irresponsible for its actions. I
+remember a scandal being caused in a village near Tunis by one of these men who
+suddenly started up from his seat in a dusty corner and, in presence of a small
+crowd of people, had connection with a she-donkey. The supporters of the holy
+man declared that the deed was proof positive of his exceptional holiness; but
+there were lewd fellows, Moslems Voltaireans, who had their doubts and held
+that the reverend man had so acted "for the gallery." A similar story is told
+with due reserve by the late Abbe Hamilton in his book on the Cyrenaic. There
+are three grand divisions of the Sufis; (1) Mukiman, the stationaries; (2)
+Salikan, the travellers, or progressives, and (3) Wasilan, those who reach the
+desired end. And No. 2 has two classes: the Salik-i-majzub, one progressing in
+Divine Love; and the other, who has made greater progress, is the
+Majzub-i-Salik (Dabistan iii. 251).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#75] Arab. "Sundus," a kind of brocade (low Lat. brocare to figure cloth),
+silk worked in high relief with gold and silver. The idea is figurative meaning
+it was hung outside and inside with fine stuff, like the Ka'abah, the "Bride of
+Meccah." The "lords" means simply the lost girl.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#76] Arab. "Ayn" lit. eye, also a fount, "the eye of the landscape" (a
+noble simile); and here a helper, guard, assistant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#77] "Lord" for lady, i.e. she.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#78] Arab. "Fi'l-khawafik"=in the four quarters or among the flappers
+(standards) or amid palpitations of heart. The bride alludes to a festal
+reception in a town, with burning incense, drums, flags, etc., etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#79] In Egypt the shorter "honey-moon" lasts a week; and on the seventh day
+(pop. called Al-Subu'a) bride and bridegroom receive visits with all ceremony,
+of course in separate apartments. The seventh day (like the fortieth, the end
+of six months and the anniversary) is kept for births and deaths with Khatmahs
+(perlections) of the Koran "Saylah" family gatherings and so forth. The
+fortieth day ends the real honey-moon. See Night dccxcii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#80] I have noted the popular practice, amongst men as well as women, of
+hiring the Hammam for private parties and picnicking in it during the greater
+part of the day. In this tale the bath would belong to the public and it was a
+mere freak of the bride to bathe with her bridegroom. "Respectable" people do
+not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#81] She speaks in the last line as the barber or the bathman.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#82] Here the "Ana" begin; and they mostly date themselves. Of the
+following forty-nine, Lane (vol. Ii. P. 578 et seq.) gives only twenty-two and
+transforms them to notes in chapt. xviii. He could hardly translate several of
+them in a work intended to be popular. Abu Nowαs is a person carefully to be
+avoided; and all but anthropological students are advised to "skip" over
+anecdotes in which his name and abominations occur.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#83] Arab. "Ghilmαn," the counter part, I have said, of the so-called
+"Houris."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#84] Mosul boasts of never having been polluted with idolatrous worship, an
+exemption which it owes to being a comparatively modern place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#85] The Aleppines were once noted for debauchery; and the saying is still
+"Halabi Shelebi" (for Chelebi)=the Aleppine is a fellow fine.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#86] Mr. Payne omits the last line. It refers to what Persian boys call,
+in half-Turkish phrase, "Alish Takish," each acting woman after he has acted
+man. The best wine is still made in monasteries and the co-called Sinai
+convent is world-famous for its "Rαki" distilled from raisins.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#87] i.e. what a difference there is between them!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#88] Arab. "Salli ala 'l-Nabi," a common phrase; meaning not only praise hm
+to avert the evil eye; but also used when one would impose silence upon a
+babbler. The latter will shuffle off by ejaculating "Al" and continue his
+chatter. (Pilgrimage ii.279.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#89] Arab. "Sukαt" (plur. of Sαki, cupbearer, our old "skinker"): the pure
+gold (tibr) is the amber-coloured wine, like the Vino d'oro of the Libanus.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#90] That is, fair, white and read: Turkish slaves then abounded at
+Baghdad.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#91] A Wady near Meccah where one of Mohammed's battles was fought. The
+line means his waist is a thread connected broad breast and large hind
+quarters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#92] Arab. "Zaurα" which may mean crooked, alluding to the well-known rib.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#93] A pun. Bakr was the name of the eponymus chief and it also means
+virgin, as in Abu Bakr.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#94] Arab. "Jαmi'ayn"=two cathedrals, any large (and consequently vicious)
+city.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#95] Arab. "Almα," before noticed: I cannot translate "damask-lipped" to
+suit European taste.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#96] Sherbet flavoured with musk or apple to cool the mouth of "hot
+coppers."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#97] Arab. "In'αsh" lit. raising from his bier. The whole tone is
+rollicking and slangy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#98] i.e. In spite of himself: the phrase often occurs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#99] Europeans usually write "Beni" for "Banu;" the oblique for the
+nominative. I prefer "Odhrah" or "Ozrah" to Udhrah; because the Ayn before the
+Zαl takes in pronunciation the more open sound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#100] Possibly meaning that they were shrouded together; this would be
+opposed to Moslem sense of decorum in modern days, but the ancient were not so
+squeamish. See Night cccxi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#101] This phase of passion in the "varium et mutabile" is often treated
+of by Oriental storytellers, and not unoften seen in real Eastern life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#102] As has been said, "Sαhib" (preceding the name not following it as in
+India) is a Wazirial title in mediζval Islam.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#103] This parapet was rendered obligatory by Moses (Deut. xxii. 8) on
+account of the danger of leaving a flat roof without garde-fou. Eastern
+Christians neglect the precaution and often lose their children by the neglect.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#104] Arab. "Lauh." A bit of thin board washed white used for lessons as
+slates are amongst us, and as easily cleaned because the inks contain no
+minerals. It is a long parallelogram with triangular ears at the short sides;
+and the shape must date from ages immemorial as it is found, throughout Syria
+and its adjoinings, in the oldest rock inscriptions to which the form serves as
+a frame. Hence the "abacus" or counting table derived from the Gr. , a
+slab (or in Phenician "sand"), dust or sand in old days having been strewed on
+a table or tablet for school- boys' writings and mathematical diagrams.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#105] A pre-Islamic bard and friend to Tarafah the poet of the Suspended
+or "Prize Poem." The tale is familiar to all the Moslem East. Tarafah's Laura
+was one Khaulα.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#106] King of Hirah in Chaldζa, a drunken and bloodthirsty tyrant. When
+offended by the lampoons of the two poets he sent them with litterζ
+Bellerophontiζ to the Governor of Al-Bahrayn. Al-Mutalammis "smelt a rat" and
+destroyed his charged, but Tarafah was mutilated and buried alive, the victim
+of a trick which is old as (and older than) good King David and Uriah. Of
+course neither poet could read.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#107] On this occasion, and in presence of the women only, the groom first
+sees or is supposed to see the face of his wife. It is, I have said, the
+fashion for both to be greatly overcome and to appear as if about to faint: the
+groom looks especially ridiculous when so attitudinising.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#108] This leisurely operation of the "deed of kind" was sure to be
+noticed; but we do not find in The Nights any allusion to that systematic
+prolongatio veneris which is so much cultivated by Moslems under the name Imsαk
+= retention, withholding i.e. the semen. Yet Eastern books on domestic
+medicine consist mostly of two parts; the first of general prescriptions and
+the second of aphrodisiacs especially those qui prolongent le plaisir as did
+the Gaul by thinking of sa pauvre mθre. The Ananga-Ranga, by the Reverend Koka
+Pandit before quoted, gives a host of recipes which are used, either externally
+or internally, to hasten the paroxysm of the woman and delay the orgasm of the
+man (p. 27). Some of these are curious in the extreme. I heard of a Hindi who
+made a candle of frogs' fat and fibre warranted to retain the seed till it
+burned out; it failed notably because, relying upon it, he worked too
+vigorously. The essence of the "retaining art" is to avoid over-tension of the
+muscles and to pre-occupy the brain: hence in coition Hindus will drink
+sherbet, chew betel-nut and even smoke. Europeans ignoring the science and
+practice, are contemptuously compared with village-cocks by Hindu women who
+cannot be satisfied, such is their natural coldness, increased doubtless by
+vegetable diet and unuse of stimulants, with less than twenty minutes. Hence
+too while thousands of Europeans have cohabited for years with and have had
+families by "native women," they are never loved by them:—at least I never
+heard of a case.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#109] Abu 'l Abbas al-Rakαshi, a poet of the time. The saying became
+proverbial (Burckhardt's A. Proverbs No. 561) and there are variants, e.g. The
+night's promise is spread with butter that melteth when day ariseth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#110] Koran xxvi. 5,6 or "And those who err (Arab. Al- ghαwϊn) follow the
+footsteps of the poets," etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#111] Half-brother of Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, the celebrated pretender.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#112] Grand-daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr and the most beautiful woman
+of her day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#113] The Calc. Edit. by mistake reads "Izzah." Torrens (notes i.-xi.)
+remarks "The word Ghoonj is applied to this sort of blandishment (i.e. an
+affected gait), and says Burckhardt (Prov. No. 685), "The women of Cairo
+flatter themselves that their Ghoonj is superior to that of all other females
+in the Levant." But Torrens did not understand and Burckhardt would not
+explain "Ghunj" except by "assumed airs" (see No. 714). It here means the art
+of moving in coition, which is especially affected, even by modest women,
+throughout the East and they have many books teaching the genial art. In China
+there are professors, mostly old women, who instruct young girls in this branch
+of the gymnastic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#114] When reciting the Fαtihah (opening Koranic chapter), the hands are
+held in this position as if to receive a blessing falling from Heaven; after
+which both palms are passed down the face to distribute it over the eyes and
+other organs of sense.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#115] The word used is "bizα'at" = capital or a share in a mercantile
+business.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#116] This and the following names are those of noted traditionists of the
+eighth century, who derive back to Abdallah bin Mas'ÏŠd, a "Companion of the
+Apostle." The text shows the recognised formula of ascription for quoting a
+"Hadνs" = saying of Mohammed; and sometimes it has to pass through half a dozen
+mouths.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#117] Traditionists of the seventh and eighth centuries who refer back to
+the "Father of the Kitten" (Abu Horayrah), an uncle of the Apostle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#118] Eastern story-books abound in these instances. Pilpay says in
+"Kalilah was Dimnah," "I am the slave of what I have spoken and the lord of
+what I keep hidden." Sa'adi follows suit, "When thou speakest not a word, thou
+hast thy hand upon it; when it is once spoken it hath laid its hand on thee." 
+Caxton, in the "Dyctes, or Sayings of Philosophers" (printed in 1477) uses
+almost the same words.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#119] i.e. for her husband's and her sin in using a man like a beast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#120] See the Second Lady's story (tantτt Kadi, tantτt bandit), pp. 20-26
+by my friend Yacoub Artin Pasha in the Bulletin before quoted, series ii. No. 4
+of 1883. The sharpers' trick is common in Eastern folk-lore, and the idea that
+underlies is always metempsychosis or metamorphosis. So, in the Kalilah wa
+Dimnah (new Syriac), the three rogues persuade the ascetic that he is leading a
+dog not a sheep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#121] This is the popular prejudice and it has doubtless saved many a
+reputation. The bat is known to Moslems as the Bird of Jesus, a legend derived
+by the Koran from the Gospel of Infancy (1 chapt. xv. Hone's Apocryphal New
+Testament), in which the boy Jesus amuses herself with making birds of clay and
+commanding them to fly when (according to the Moslems) they became bats. These
+Apocryphal Gospels must be carefully read, if the student would understand a
+number of Moslem allusions to the Injνl which no Evangel contains.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#122] Because it quibbled away out of every question, a truly diplomatic
+art.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#123] This Caliph, the orthodox Abbaside of Egypt (A.D. 1261) must not be
+confounded with the Druze-god, the heretical Fatimite (A.D. 996-1021). 
+D'Herbelot (Hakem") gives details. Mr. S.L. Poole (The Academy, April 26, '79)
+is very severe on the slip of Mr. Payne.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#124] The beautiful name is Persian "Anϊshνn-rawαn" = Sweet of Soul; and
+the glorious title of this contemporary of Mohammed is "Al-Malik al-Adil" = the
+Just King. Kisra, the Chosroλ per excellentiam, is also applied to the godly
+Guebre of whom every Eastern dictionary gives details.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#125] "Sultan" is here an anachronism: I have noted that the title was
+first assumed independently by Mohammed of Ghazni after it had been conferred
+by the Caliph upon his father the Amir Al- Umarα (Mayor of the Palace),
+Sabuktagin A.D. 974.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#126] The "Sakkα" or water-carrier race is peculiar in Egypt and famed for
+trickery and intrigue. Opportunity here as elsewhere makes the thief.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#127] A famous saying of Mohammed is recorded when an indiscretion of his
+young wife Ayishah was reported to him, "There be no adultress without an
+adulterer (of a husband)." Fatimah the Apostle's daughter is supposed to have
+remained a virgin after bearing many children: this coarse symbolism of purity
+was known to the classics (Pausanias), who made Juno recover her virginity by
+bathing in a certain river every year. In the last phrase, "Al-Salaf"
+(ancestry) refers to Mohammed and his family.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#128] Khusrau Parwiz, grandson of Anushirwan, the Guebre King who tore his
+kingdom by tearing Mohammed's letter married the beautiful Maria or Irene (in
+Persian "Shνrνn = the sweet) daughter of the Greek Emperor Maurice: their loves
+were sung by a host of poets; and likewise the passion of the sculptor Farhαd
+for the same Shirin. Mr. Lyall writes "Parwκz" and holds "Parwνz" a modern
+form.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#129] he could afford it according to historians. His throne was
+supported by 40,000 silver pillars; and 1,000 globes, hung in the dome, formed
+an orrery, showing the motion of the heavenly bodies; 30,000 pieces of
+embroidered tapestry overhung the walls below were vaults full of silver, gold
+and gems.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#130] Arab. "Khunsα," meaning also a catamite as I have explained. Lane
+(ii. 586) has it; "This fish is of a mixed kind." (!).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#131] So the model lovers became the ordinary married couple.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#132] Arab. "Jamm." Heb. "Yamm." Al-Harνri (Ass. Of Sinjar and Sαwah)
+uses the rare form Yam for sea or ocean.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#133] Al-Hadi, immediate predecessor of Harun al-Rashid, called
+"Al-Atbik": his upper lip was contracted and his father placed a slave over him
+when in childhood, with orders to say, "Musa! atbik!" (draw thy lips together)
+when he opened his mouth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#134] Immediate successor of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Amin is an imposing
+physical figure, fair, tall, handsome and of immense strength; according to
+Al-Mas'ÏŠdi, he killed a lion with his own hands; but his mind and judgement
+were weak. He was fond of fishing; and his reply to the courtier bringing
+important news, "Confound thee! leave me! for Kausar (an eunuch whom he loved)
+hath caught two fish and I none," reminds one of royal frivolity in France.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#135] Afterwards governor in Khorasan under Al-Maamun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#136] Intendant of the palace under Harun al-Rashid.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#137] Moslem women have this advantage over their Western sisterhood: they
+can always leave the house of father or husband and, without asking permission,
+pay a week or ten days' visit to their friends. But they are not expected to
+meet their lovers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#138] The tale of "Susannah and the Elders" in Moslem form.<br/>
+
+Dαniyαl is the Arab Daniel, supposed to have been buried at<br/>
+
+Alexandria. (Pilgrimage, i. 16.)<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#139] According to Moslem law, laid down by Mohammed on a delicate
+occasion and evidently for a purpose, four credible witnesses are required to
+prove fornication, adultery, sodomy and so forth; and they must swear that
+actually saw rem in re, the "Kohl-needle in the Kohl-ιtui," as the Arabs have
+it. This practically prevents conviction and the sabre cuts the Gordian knot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#140] Who, in such case, would represent our equerry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#141] The Badawi not only always tells the truth, a perfect contrast with
+the townsfolk; he is blunt in speech addressing his Sultan "O Sa'νd!" and he
+has a hard rough humour which we may fairly describe as "wut." When you chaff
+him look out for falls.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#142] The answer is as old as the hills, teste the tale of what happened
+when Amasis (who on horseback) raised his leg, "broke wind and bad the
+messenger carry it back to Apries." Herod. Ii. 162. But for the full
+significance of the Badawi's most insulting reply see the Tale of Abu Hasan in
+Night ccccxi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#143] Arab. "Yα sαki" al-Dakan" meaning long bearded (foolish) as well as
+frosty bearded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#144] P. N. of the tribe, often mentioned in The Nights.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#145] Adnan, which whom Arab genealogy begins, is generally supposed to be
+the eighth (Al-Tabari says the fortieth) descendant from Ishmael and nine
+generations are placed between him and Fahr (Fihr) Kuraysh. The Prophet cut
+all disputes short by saying, "Beyond Adnan none save Allah wotteth and the
+genealogists lie." (Pilgrimage ii. 344) M.C. de Perceval dates Adnan about
+B.C. 130.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#146] Koran xxxiii., 38.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#147] Arab. "Arab al-Arabα," as before noticed (vol. i. 12) the pure and
+genuine blood as opposed to the "Musta'aribah," the "Muta'arribah," the
+"Mosarabians" and other Araboids; the first springing from Khatan (Yaktan?) and
+the others from Adnan. And note that "Arabi" = a man of pure Arab race, either
+of the Desert or of the city, while A'arαbi applies only to the Desert man,
+the Badawi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#148] Koran xxxviii. 2, speaking of the Unbelievers (i.e. non-Moslems) who
+are full of pride and contention.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#149] One of the Ashαb, or Companions of the Apostle, that is them who
+knew him personally. (Pilgrimage ii. 80, etc.) The Ashαb al-Suffah
+(Companions of the bench or sofa) were certain houseless Believers lodged by
+the Prophet. (Pilgrimage ii. 143).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#150] Hence Omar is entitled "Al-Adil = the Just." Readers will remember
+that by Moslem law and usage murder and homicide are offences to be punished by
+the family, not by society or its delegates. This system reappears in
+civilisation under the denomination of "Lynch Law," a process infinitely
+distasteful to lawyers (whom it abolishes) and most valuable when administered
+with due discretion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#151] Lane translates (ii. 592) "from a desire of seeing the face of God;"
+but the general belief of Al-Islam is that the essence of Allah's corporeal
+form is different from man's. The orthodox expect to "see their Lord on
+Doom-day as they see the full moon" (a tradition). But the Mu'atazilites deny
+with the existence of matter the corporiety of Alah and hold that he will be
+seen only with the spiritual eyes, i.e. of reason.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#152] See Gesta Romanorum, Tale cviii., "of Constancy in adhering to
+Promises," founded on Damon and Pythias or, perhaps, upon the Arabic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#153] Arab. "Al-Ahrαm," a word of unknown provenance. It has been
+suggested that the singular form (Haram), preceded by the Coptic article "pi"
+(= the) suggested to the Greeks "Pyramis." But this word is still sub judice
+and every Egyptologist seems to propose his own derivation. Brugsch (Egypt i.
+72) makes it Greek, the Egyptian being "Abumir," while "pir- am-us" = the edge
+of the pyramid, the corners running from base to apex. The Egyptologist proves
+also what the Ancients either ignored or forgot to mention, that each pyramid
+had its own name.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#154] Arab. "Ahkαm," in this matter supporting the<br/>
+
+"Pyramidologists."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#155] All imaginative.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#156] It has always been my opinion founded upon considerations too long
+to detail, that the larger Pyramids contain many unopened chambers. Dr. Grant
+Bey of Cairo proposed boring through the blocks as Artesian wells are driven. 
+I cannot divine why Lane (ii, 592) chose to omit this tale, which is founded on
+historic facts and interests us by suggesting a comparison between Mediζval
+Moslem superstitions and those of our xixth Century, which to our descendants
+will appear as wild, if not as picturesque, as those of The Nights. The
+"inspired British inch" and the building by Melchisedek (the Shaykh of some
+petty Syrian village) will compare not unaptly with the enchanted swords,
+flexible glass and guardian spirits. But the Pyramidennarren is a race which
+will not speedily die out: it is based on Nature, the Pyramids themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#157] Arab. "Rizm"; hence, through the Italian Risma our ream (= 20
+quires of paper, etc.), which our dictionaries derive from (!). See
+"frail" in Night dcccxxxviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#158] Arab. "Tarνkah" = the path trodden by ascetics and mystics in order
+to attain true knowledge (Ma'rifat in Pers. Dαnish). These are extensive
+subjects: for the present I must refer readers to the Dabistan, iii. 35 and
+iii. 29, 36-7.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#159] Alluding to the Fishαr or "Squeeze of the tomb." This is the Jewish
+Hibbut hakkeber which all must endure, save those who lived in the Holy Land or
+died on the Sabbath-eve (Friday night). Then comes the questioning by the
+Angels Munkar and Nakir (vulgarly called Nαkir and Nakνr) for which see Lane
+(M.E. chapt. xviii.). In Egypt a "Mulakkin" (intelligencer) is hired to prompt
+and instruct the dead. Moslems are beginning to question these facts of their
+faith: a Persian acquaintance of mine filled his dead father's mouth with flour
+and finding it in loco on opening the grave, publicly derided the belief. But
+the Mullahs had him on the hip, after the fashion of reverends, declaring that
+the answers were made through the whole body, not only by the mouth. At last
+the Voltairean had to quit Shiraz.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#160] Arab. "Walν" = a saint, Santon (Ital. Form) also a slave. See in
+Richardson (Dissert. iii.), an illustration of the difference between Wali and
+Wαli as exemplified by the Caliph al- Kαdir and Mahmϊd of Ghazni.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#161] Arab. "Tνn" = the tenacious clay puddled with chaff which serves as
+mortar for walls built of Adobe or sun dried brick. I made a mistake in my
+Pilgrimage (i.10) translating Ras al-Tνn the old Pharos of Alexandria, by
+"Headland of Figs." It is Headland of Clay, so called from the argile there
+found and which supported an old pottery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#162] The danik (Pers. Dang) is the sixth of a dirham. Mr. S. L. Poole
+(The Acad. April 26, '79) prefers his uncle's translation "a sixth" (what of?)
+to Mr. Payne's "farthing." The latter at any rate is intelligible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#163] The devotee was "Sαim al-dahr" i.e. he never ate nor drank from
+daylight to dark throughout the year.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#164] The ablution of a common man differs from that of an<br/>
+
+educated Moslem as much as the eating of a clown and a gentleman.<br/>
+
+Moreover there are important technical differences between the<br/>
+
+Wuzu of the Sunni and the Shi'ah.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#165] i.e., by honouring his father.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#166] This young saint was as selfish and unnatural a sinner as Saint
+Alexius of the Gesta Romanorum (Tale xv.), to whom my friend, the late Thomas
+Wright, administered just and due punishment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#167] The verses are affecting enough, though by no means high poetry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#168] The good young man cut his father for two reasons: secular power (an
+abomination to good Moslems) and defective title to the Caliphate. The latter
+is a trouble to Turkey in the present day and with time will prove worse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#169] Umm Amrν (written Amrϊ and pronounced Amr') a matronymic, "mother of
+Amru." This story and its terminal verse is a regular Joe Miller.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#170] Abuse and derision of schoolmaster are staple subjects in the East
+as in the West, (Quem Dii oderunt pζdagogum fecerunt). Anglo-Indians will
+remember:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Miyαn-ji ti-ti!<br/>
+
+     Bachche-kν gαnd men anguli kν thi!"<br/>
+
+     ("Schoolmaster hum!<br/>
+
+     Who fumbled and fingered the little boy's bum?")<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#171] Arab. "Mujawirin" = the lower servants, sweepers, etc. See
+Pilgrimage ii. 161, where it is also applied to certain "settlers" at
+Al-Medinah. Burckhardt (No. 480) notices another meaning "foreigners who
+attend mosque-lectures" and quotes the saying, "A. pilgrimaged:" quoth B. "yes!
+and for his villanies resideth (Mujαwir) at Meccah."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#172] The custom (growing obsolete in Egypt) is preserved in Afghanistan
+where the learned wear turbans equal to the canoe- hats of the Spanish
+cardinals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#173] Arab. "Makmarah," a metal cover for the usual brasier or pan of
+charcoal which acts as a fire-place. Lane (ii. 600) does not translate the
+word and seems to think it means a belt or girdle, thus blunting the point of
+the dominie's excuse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#174] This story, a very old Joe Miller, was told to Lane as something new
+and he introduced it into his Modern Egyptians, end of chapt. ii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#175] This tale is a mere abbreviation of "The King and his<br/>
+
+Wazir's Wife," in the Book of Sindibad or the Malice of Women,<br/>
+
+Night dcxxviii., {which see for annotations}.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#176] The older "Roe" which may be written "Rukh" or "Rukhkh." Colonel
+Yule, the learned translator of Marco Polo, has shown that "Roc's" feathers
+were not uncommon curiosities in mediζval ages; and holds that they were mostly
+fronds of the palm Raphia vinifera, which has the largest leaf in the vegetable
+kingdom and which the Moslems of Zanzibar call "Satan's date-tree." I need
+hardly quote "Frate Cipolla and the Angel Gabriel's Feather." (Decameron vi.
+10.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#177] The tale is told in a bald, disjointed style and will be repeated in
+Sindbad the Seaman where I shall again notice the "Roc." See Night dxxxvii.,
+etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#178] Hνrah in Mesopotamia was a Christian city and<br/>
+
+principality subject to the Persian Monarchs; and a rival to the<br/>
+
+Roman kingdom of Ghassαn. It has a long history, for which see<br/>
+
+D'Herbelot.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#179] A pre-Islamite poet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#180] Arab. "Bikα'a," alluding to the pilgrimages made to monasteries and
+here equivalent to, "Address ye to the road," etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#181] Whose by name was Abu Ali, a poet under the Abbasides (eighth and
+ninth centuries).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#182] A well-known quarter of Baghdad, often mentioned in The<br/>
+
+Nights.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#183] Another well-known poet of the time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#184] Arab. "Sardαb": noticed before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#185] A gigantic idol in the Ka'abah, destroyed by Mohammed: it gave name
+to a tribe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#186] Arab. "Ya Kawwαd:" hence the Port. and Span.<br/>
+
+Alcoviteiro.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#187] Arab "Tufayli," a term before noticed; the class was as well-known in
+Baghdad and Cairo as in ancient Rome.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#188] Arab. "Jauzar"=a bubalus (Antilope defessa), also called "Aye" from
+the large black eyes. This bovine antelope is again termed Bakar al-Wahsh (wild
+cattle) or "Bos Sylvestris" (incerti generic, Forsk.). But Janzar also
+signifies hart, so I render it by "Ariel" (the well-known antelope).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#189] Arab. "Tarαib" plur. of tarνbah. The allusion is to the heart, and
+"the little him's a her."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#190] A well-known poet of the ninth century (A.D.).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#191] These easy deaths for love are a lieu common: See sundry of them in
+the Decameron (iv. 7, etc.); and, in the Heptameron (Nouv. Ixx.), the widow who
+lay down and died of love and sorrow that her passion had become known. For the
+fainting of lovers see Nouvelle xix.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#192] This is a favourite Badawi dish, but too expensive unless some
+accident happen to the animal. Old camel is much like bull-beef, but the young
+meat is excellent, although not relished by Europeans because, like strange
+fish, it has no recognised flavour. I have noticed it in my "First Footsteps"
+(p. 68, etc.). There is an old idea in Europe that the maniacal vengeance of
+the Arab is increased by eating this flesh, the beast is certainly vindictive
+enough; but a furious and frantic vengefulness characterises the North American
+Indian who never saw a camel. Mercy and pardon belong to the elect, not to the
+miserables who make up " humanity."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#193] i.e. of the Province Hazramaut, the Biblical Hazarmaveth (Gen. x.
+26). The people are the Swill of Arabia and noted for thrift and hard bargains;
+hence the saying, If you meet a serpent and a Hazrami, slay the Hazrami. To
+prove how ubiquitous they are it is related that a man, flying from their
+society, reached the uttermost parts of China where he thought himself safe. 
+But, as he was about to pass the night in some ruin, he heard a voice bard by
+him exclaim, "O Imαd al-Din!" (the name of the patron-saint of Hazramaut). 
+Thereupon he arose and fled and he is, they say, flying still.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#194] Arab. "Fαl" alluding to the Sortes Coranicζ and other silly
+practices known to the English servant-girs when curious about her future and
+her futur.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#195] i.e., in Arab-land (where they eat dates) and Ajam, or lands
+non-Arab (where bread is the staff of life); that is, all the world over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#196] This story is curious and ethnologically valuable. The Badawi who
+eructates as a civility, has a mortal hatred to a crepitus ventris; and were a
+by-stander to laugh at its accidental occurrence, he would at once be cut down
+as a "pundonor." The same is the custom amongst the Highlanders of Afghanistan,
+and its artificial nature suggests direct derivation, for the two regions are
+separated by a host of tribes, Persians and Baloch, Sindis and Panjαbis who
+utterly ignore the point of honour and behave like Europeans. The raids of the
+pre-Islamitic Arabs over the lands lying to the north-east of them are almost
+forgotten; still there are traces, and this may be one of them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#197] Arab. "Al-Αr." The Badawi saying is "Al-nαr wa lα l- αr"
+(Hell-)fire, but not shame. The sentiment is noble. Hasan the Prophet's
+grandson, a poor creature demoralised by over- marrying, chose the converse,
+"Shame is better than Hell-fire." An old Arabic poem has,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "The Fire and not shame be the Lord of thee<br/>
+
+      And e'en to The Fire from shame go flee."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Al-Hariri (Ass. of the Badawin) also has,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "For rather would I die my death than shame,—<br/>
+
+      On bier be borne than bear a caitiff's name."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#198] A grammarian and rhetorician of ninth century.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#199] Once existing in Syrian Hamαh (the Biblical Hamath); and so called
+because here died the Emperor Heraclius called by the Arabs "Hirakl."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#200] Till lately it was the custom to confine madmen in Syrian
+monasteries, hoping a cure from the patron Saint, and a terrible time they had
+of it. Every guide book relates the healing process as formerly pursued at the
+Maronite Convent Koshaya not far from Bayrut. The idiot or maniac was thrust
+headlong by the monks into a dismal cavern with a heavy chain round his neck,
+and was tied up within a span of the wall to await the arrival of Saint Anthony
+who especially affects this holy place. In very few weeks the patient was
+effectually cured or killed by cold, solitude and starvation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#201] The Moslem Eve, much nearer the Hebrew "Hawah" = the "manifester,"
+because (Gen. iii. 20) she was (to be) the mother of all that live ("Kull
+hayy").
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#202] The mad lover says "they" for "she," which would be too familiar in
+speaking to strangers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#203] i.e. falsely to report the death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#204] A famous grammarian, etc., of the tenth century.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#205] The classical Amorium in Phrygia now Anatolia: Anbαr is<br/>
+
+a town (before mentioned) on the Euphrates; by the rules of<br/>
+
+Arabic grammar the word is pronounced (though never written)<br/>
+
+Ambαr.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#206] "Art thou not the slave of the Messiah, the Rαhib (monk)?" "No! I am
+the slave of Allah, the Rαghib (desirous of mercy from the Almighty). " A fair
+specimen of the Saj'a or rhymed prose. Abdallah (properly "Abdu'llah:") is a
+kind of neutral name, neither Jewish, Moslem nor Christian; hence I adopted it,
+(Pilgrimage i. 20.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#207] Arab. "Hanut," prop. a tavern where liquors are sold, a term applied
+contemptuously to shops, inns, etc., kept by Christians.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#208] Arab. "Shirk" = syntheism of the "Mushrik" (one who makes other gods
+partners with God), a word pronounced "Mushrit" by the Wahhabis and the
+Badawin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#209] Koran vii. 195. The passage declaims against the idols of the Arabs,
+sun, moon. stars, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#210] This minor miracle is commonly reported, and is not, I believe,
+unknown to modern "Spiritualism." The dead Wali or Waliyah (Saintess) often
+impels the bier-bearers to the spot where he would be buried: hence in Cairo
+the tombs scattered about the city. Lane notices it, Mod. E. chaps. xxviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#211] Koran x. 36, speaking of being turned aside from the true worship.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#212] One of the Wazirs of al-Maamun, Kurrat al-Ayn = "coolness (i.e.
+delight) of the eyes" Ali bin Hishαm surnamed Abu'l-Hasan, was prefect of
+Baghdad under the same reign.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#213] The Mac. Edit. (ii. 448) reads for Kawαid (plur. of Kαid = Governors,
+Span. Alcayde) "Fawαid": hence Lane (ii. 606) translates " try thy heart."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ [FN#214] The mats of Sind were famous even in my day, but under<br/>
+
+English rule native industries are killed out by Manchester and<br/>
+
+Birmingham.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#215] Sajαh was the name of a famous female impostor, a contemporary of
+"Musaylimah the Liar."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#216] A poet of Mohammed's day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#217] A singer and composer of the first century (A. H.).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#218] Arab = a roe, a doe; also the Yoni (of women, mares and bitches). It
+is the Heb. Tabitha and the Greek Dorcas.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#219] Within the HudÏŠd al-Harem (bounds of the Holy Places), at Al-Medinah
+as well as Meccah, all "Muharramαt" (forbidden sins) are doubly unlawful, such
+as drinking spirits, immoral life, etc. The Imam Malik forbids slaying animals
+without, however, specifying any penalty. The felling of trees is a disputed
+point; and no man can be put to death except invaders, infidels and
+desecraters. (Pilgrimage ii. 167.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#220] A poet of the first century (A.H.).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#221] In Arab. =a fawn beginning to walk, also the 28th lunar mansion or
+station, usually known as Batn al-Hut or Whale's belly. These mansions or
+houses, the constellations through which the moon passes in her course along
+her orbit, are much used in Moslem astrology and meteorology.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#222] Arab. Kalla-mα = it is seldom (rare) that etc. used in books.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#223] Dishonoured by his love being made public. So Hafiz,<br/>
+
+Petrarch and Camoens.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#224] Sixth Abbaside, A.D. 809-813.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#225] Ala'llah, tenth Abbaside, A. H. 232-47 (847-61), grandson of
+Al-Rashid who succeeded Al-Wαsik. He was a fanatic Sunni, much opposed to the
+Shi'ahs and he ordered the Christians to wear round their necks the Ghull
+(collar of wood, iron, or leather), to dress in yellow head-gear and girdles,
+use wooden stirrups and place figures of devils in front of their
+dwelling-houses. He also gave distinct dresses to their women and slaves. The
+Ghull, or collar, was also used for a punishment and vermin gathered under it
+when riveted round the neck: hence Golius calls it "pediculosum columbar."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#226] Wazir of the above. killed by al-Muntasir Billah A. H. 247 (= 861).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#227] Easterns during purgation are most careful and deride the want of
+precaution in Europeans. They do not leave the house till all is passed off,
+and avoid baths, wine and women which they afterwards resume with double zest.
+Here "breaking the seal" is taking the girl's maidenhead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#228] Johannes, a Greek favoured by Al-Mutawakkil and other<br/>
+
+Abbaside Caliphs.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#229] Lady of Shaykhs, elders in the faith and men of learning
+</p>
+
+<h5>[FN#230] = A.D. 1166.</h5>
+
+<p>
+[FN#231] Koran iv. 38. I have before noted what the advantages are.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#232] Koran ii. 282, "of those whom ye shall choose for witnesses."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#233] Koran iv. 175, "Whereas if there be two sisters, they inherit only
+two-thirds between them."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#234] The secondary meaning is "Fα'il" = the active sodomite and "Mafa'ϊl"
+= the passive, a catamite: the former is not an insulting word, the latter is a
+most injurious expression. "Novimus et qui te!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#235] It is an unpleasant fact that almost all the poetry of Hαfiz is
+addressed to youths, as we see by the occasional introduction of Arabic (e.g.,
+Afαka'llαh). Persian has no genders properly so called, hence the effect is
+less striking. Sa'di, the "Persian Moralist" begins one of the tales, "A
+certain learned man fell in love with a beautiful son of a blacksmith," which
+Gladwin, translating for the general, necessarily changed to "daughter."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#236] The famous author of the Anthology called Al-Hamαsah.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#237] i.e., teeth under the young mustachio.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#238] The "Silk man" and the celebrated author of the Makαmαt, assemblies
+or seances translated (or attempted) into all the languages of Europe. We have
+two in English, the first by Theodore Preston, M.A. (London, Madden, 1850); but
+it contains only twenty of the fifty pieces. The second by the late Mr. Chenery
+(before alluded to) ends with the twenty-sixth assembly: one volume in fact,
+the other never having been finished. English readers, therefore, are driven to
+the grand edition of the Makαmαt in folio by Baron Silvestre de Sacy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#239] The sword of the eye has a Hamαil (baldrick worn over right shoulder,
+Pilgrimage i. 352) to support the "Ghimd" (vulg. Ghamad) or scabbard (of wood
+or leather): and this baldrick is the young whisker.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#240] The conceit of "Sulαfat" (ptisane, grape juice allowed to drain on
+the slabs) and "Sawαlif" (tresses, locks) has been explained. The newest wine
+is the most inebriating, a fact not much known in England, but familiar to the
+drinker of "Vino novo."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#241] Koran xii. 51, this said by the nobleman's (Potiphar's) wife who
+adds, "I selected him to lie with me; and he (Joseph) is one of those who speak
+truth."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#242] Here we have a specimen of the strained Saj'a or balanced prose:
+slave-girls (jawαrν) are massed with flowing tears (dam'u jαri) on account of
+the Kαfiyah or rhyme.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#243] The detected sodomite is punished with death according to Moslem law,
+but again comes the difficulty of proof. At Shiraz I have heard of a pious
+Moslem publicly executing his son.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#244] Koran xxvi. 165 et seq. The Lord speaks to the "people of Lot"
+(Sodomites). Mr. Payne renders "Min al-αlamνma," "from the four corners of the
+world."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#245] Meaning before and behind, a Moslemah "Bet Balmanno."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#246] Arab. " Lϊti," (plur. Lawαtν), much used in Persian as a buffoon, a
+debauchee, a rascal. The orig. sig. is "One of (the people of) Lot." The old
+English was Ingle or Yngle (a bardachio, a catamite, a boy kept for sodomy),
+which Minsheu says is, "Vox hispanica et significat Latinθ Inguen" (the groin).
+Our vulgar modern word like the Italian bugiardo is pop. derived from Fr.
+Bougre, alias Bulgarus, a Bulgarian, a heretic: hence Boulgrin (Rabelais i.
+chaps. ii.) is popularly applied to the Albigeois (Albigenses, whose
+persecution began shortly after A.D. 1200) and the Lutherans. I cannot but
+think that "bougre" took its especial modern signification after the French
+became acquainted with the Brazil, where the Huguenots (in A.D. 1555) were
+founding a Nouvelle France, alias Equinoctiale, alias Antarctique, and whence
+the savages were carried as curiosities to Paris. Their generic name was
+"Bugre" (properly a tribe in Southern Brazil, but applied to all the redskins)
+and they were all born Sodomites. More of this in the terminal Essay.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#247] His paper is the whiteness of his skin. I have quoted the Persian
+saying of a young beard: "his cheeks don mourning for his beauty's death."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#248] Arab. "Khabαl," lit. the pus which flows from the bodies of the
+damned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#249] Most characteristic of Egypt is all this scene. Her reverence, it is
+true, sits behind a curtain; but her virtue uses language which would shame the
+lowest European prostitute; and which is filthy almost as Dean Swift's.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#250] Arab. "Niyat:" the Moslem's idea of intentions quite runs with the
+Christian's. There must be a "Niyat" or purpose of prayer or the devotion is
+valueless. Lane tells a pleasant tale of a thief in the Mosque, saying "I
+purpose (before Prayer) to carry off this nice pair of new shoes!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#251] Arab. "Ya 'l-AjÏŠz" (in Cairo "Agooz" pronounced "Ago-o- oz"): the
+address is now insulting and would elicit "The old woman in thine eye" (with
+fingers extended). In Egypt the polite address is "O lady (Sitt), O pilgrimess,
+O bride, and O daughter" (although she be the wrong side of fifty). In Arabia
+you may say "O woman (Imraah)" but in Egypt the reply would be "The woman shall
+see Allah cut out thy heart!" So in Southern Italy you address "bella fι" (fair
+one) and cause a quarrel by "vecchiarella."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#252] Governor of Egypt, Khorasan, etc. under Al-Maamun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#253] i.e., a companion, a solacer: it is also a man's name (vol. i. xxiv.).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#254] At Baghdad; evidently written by a Baghdad or Mosul man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#255] A blind traditionist of Bassorah (ninth century).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#256] Arab. "Zaghab"=the chick's down; the warts on the cucumber which
+sometimes develop into projections.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#257] The Persian saying is, A kiss without moustachio is bread without
+salt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#258] "And We will prove you with evil, and with good, for a trial of you;
+and unto Us shall ye return." (Koran xxi. 36.) The saying is always in the
+Moslem's mouth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#259] Arab. "Sunnat," lit.=a law, especially applied to the habit and
+practice of the Apostle in religious and semi-religious matters, completing the
+"Hadis," or his spoken words. Anything unknown is entitled
+"Bida'ah"=innovation. Hence the strict Moslem is a model Conservative whose
+exemplar of life dates from the seventh century. This fact may be casuistically
+explained away; but is not less an obstacle to all progress and it will be one
+of the principal dangers threatening Al-Islam. Only fair to say that an
+"innovation" introduced by a perfect follower of the Prophet is held equal
+theoretically to a Sunnat; but vulgarly it is said, "The rabble will not take
+gold which is not coined."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#260] Arab. "Arsh"=the ninth Heaven, the Throne of the Deity, above the
+Seven Heavens of the planets and the Primum Mobile which, in the Ptolemaic
+system, sets them all in motion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#261] This description of a good Moslem's death is at once concise, pathetic
+and picturesque.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#262] This is the first mention of coffee; apparently<br/>
+
+introduced by the scribe: the word rendered "coffee-makers" is<br/>
+
+"Kahwajiyah"; an Arab. plur. of a Turkish termination (-ji) to an<br/>
+
+Arab. word "Kahwah" (before noticed).<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#263] Picnics are still made to Rauzah (Rodah) island: I have enjoyed many a
+one, but the ground is all private property.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#264] Arab. "Hosh," plur. Hνshαn, the low courts surrounded by mean lodgings
+which in "native" Cairo still contrast so strongly with the "gingerbread" of
+the new buildings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#265] This is the Moslem equivalent of "thank you." He looks upon the donor
+as the channel through which Allah sends him what he wants and prays for more
+to come. Thus "May your shadow never be less" means, May you increase in
+prosperity so that I may gain thereby! And if a beggar is disposed to be
+insolent (a very common case), he will tell you his mind pretty freely on the
+subject, and make it evident to you that all you have is also his and that La
+propriιtι (when not shared) est le vol.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#266] I have noticed in my Pilgrimage (i. 51-53) the kindly care with which
+the stranger is treated by Moslems, a marvellous contrast to the ways of
+"civilization."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#267] Arab. "Dimyat," vulg. pronounced "Dumνyat."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#268] Where the door-keepers sit and receive their friends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#269] This is a traveller's 'Kit' in the East.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#270] Arab. "Takht-rawαn," from Persian meaning "moveable throne."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#271] The use of the expression proved the speaker to be a<br/>
+
+Moslem Jinnν.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#272] The "haunted" house proper, known to the vulgar and to spiritualists
+becomes, I have said, amongst Moslems a place tenanted by Jinns.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#273] Needless to say there never was a Sultan or a King of Baghdad nor a
+Duke of Athens. This story would seem not to have been written by the author of
+"the Emir bin Tahir," etc. Night ccccxxiv.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#274] Plur. of Αlim=one learned in the law, a D.D. Mohammed did his best to
+abolish the priest and his craft by making each Moslem paterfamilias a pontifex
+in his own household and he severely condemned monkery and celibacy. But human
+nature was too much for him: even before his death ascetic associations began
+to crop up. Presently the Olema in Al-Islam formed themselves into a kind of
+clergy; with the single but highly important difference that they must (or
+ought to) live by some honest secular calling and not by the "cure of souls";
+hence Mahomet IV. of Turkey was solemnly deposed. So far and no farther
+Mohammed was successful and his success has secured for him the lively and
+lasting hatred of the ecclesiastical caste which he so honestly and wisely
+attempted to abate. Even to the present day missionaries have a good word for
+the Guebre and the Buddhist, the Brahmanist and the Confucian, but none for the
+Moslem: Dr. Livingstone, for one instance of many, evidently preferred the
+Fetichist, whom he could convert, to the Unitarian Faithful whom he could not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#275] i.e. they recited seven times (an unusual number), for greater
+solemnity, the opening Chapter of the Koran which does general duty on such
+occasions as making covenants and swearing fealty. This proclaiming a King by
+acclamation suggests the origin of the old and venerable Portuguese
+institution.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#276] By affixing his own seal and that of the King. This in later times was
+supplanted by the "Tughrα," the imperial cypher or counter-mark (much like a
+writing master's flourish), with which Europe has now been made familiar
+through the agency of Turkish tobacco.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#277] Arab. "Wird"=the twenty-five last chapters of the Koran which are
+repeated, one or more at a time, after the end of the "Farz," or obligatory
+prayers and ad libitum with the Sunnat or customary, and the Nαfilah or
+supererogatory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#278] The sensible creed of Al-Islam freely allows anthropophagy when it
+saves life; a contrast to the sentimentalism of the West which brings a "charge
+of cannibalism" against unfortunate expeditionists. I particularly allude to
+the scandalous pulings of the English Press over the gallant and unfortunate
+Greely voyage. (The Academy, Sept. 25, 1884.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#279] The story is mere Ζsopic: the "Two dogs" contains it all. One of
+Mohammed's sensible sayings is recorded and deserves repetition:—"Empire
+endureth with infidelity (idolatry, etc.), but not with tyranny."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#280] This couplet occurs in Night xxi. (vol. i. 207); so I give Torrens
+(p.207) by way of variety.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#281] Lane (ii. 636) omits this tale, "as it would not only require a volume
+of commentary but be extremely tiresome to most readers." Quite true; but it is
+valuable to Oriental Students who are beginning their studies, as an excellent
+compendium of doctrine and practice according to the Shafi'ν School.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#282] Pronounced Aboo 'l-Husn = Father of Beauty, a fancy name.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#283] As in most hot climates so in Egypt the dead are buried at once
+despite the risk of vivisepulture. This seems an instinct with the Semitic
+(Arabian) race teste Abraham, as with the Gypsy. Hence the Moslems have invoked
+religious aid. The Mishkαt al-Masαbih (i. 387) makes Mohammed say, "When any
+one of you dieth you may not keep him in the house but bear him quickly to his
+grave"; and again, "Be quick in raising up the bier: for if the dead have been
+a good man, it is good to bear him gravewards without delay; and if bad, it is
+frowardness ye put from your necks."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#284] This biting of the hand in Al-Harνri expresses bitterness of
+repentance and he uses more than once the Koranic phrase (chapter vii., 148)
+"Sukita fν aydνhim," lit. where it (the biting) was fallen upon their hands;
+i.e. when it repented them; "sukita" being here not a passive verb as it
+appears, but an impersonal form uncommon in Arabic. The action is instinctive,
+a survival of the days when man was a snarling and snapping animal (physically)
+armed only with claws and teeth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#285] Arab. "'Alam," applied to many things, an "old man" of stones (Kαkϊr),
+a signpost with a rag on the top, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#286] The moon of Ramazan was noticed in Night ix. That of Sha'aban (eighth
+month) begins the fighting month after the conclusion of the Treuga Dei in
+Rajab. See Night ccclxxviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#287] These lines have occurred in Night cccxix. I give Mr.<br/>
+
+Payne's version for variety.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#288] i.e. in her prime, at fourteen to fifteen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#289] i.e. pale and yellow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#290] The word means the wood; but it alludes to a preparation made by
+levigating it on a stone called in India "Sandlαsα." The gruel-like stuff is
+applied with the right hand to the right side of the neck, drawing the open
+fingers from behind forwards so as to leave four distinct streaks, then down to
+the left side, and so on to the other parts of the body.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#291] Arab. "Haykal" which included the Porch, the Holy and<br/>
+
+the Holy of Holies. The word is used as in a wider sense by<br/>
+
+Josephus A. J. v. v. 3. In Moslem writings it is applied to a<br/>
+
+Christian Church generally, on account of its images.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#292] These lines having occurred before, I here quote Mr.<br/>
+
+Payne.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#293] Arab writers often mention the smile of beauty, but rarely, after
+European fashion, the laugh, which they look upon as undignified. A Moslem will
+say "Don't guffaw (Kahkahah) in that way; leave giggling and grinning to
+monkeys and Christians." The Spaniards, a grave people, remark that Christ
+never laughed. I would draw the reader's attention to a theory of mine that the
+open-hearted laugh has the sound of the vowels a and o; while e, i, and u
+belong to what may be roughly classed as the rogue order.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#294] i.e. gaining the love of another, love.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#295] i.e. the abrogated passages and those by which they are abrogated.
+This division is necessary for "inspired volumes," which always abound in
+contradictions. But the charge of "opportunism" brought against the Koran is
+truly absurd; as if "revelation" could possibly be aught save opportune.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#296] Koran iv. 160, the chapter "Women."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#297] She unveiled, being a slave-girl and for sale. If a free woman show
+her face to a Moslem, he breaks out into violent abuse, because the act is
+intended to let him know that he is looked upon as a small boy or an eunuch or
+a Chriastian—in fact not a man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#298] Ilah=Heb. El, a most difficult root, meaning strength, interposition,
+God (Numen) "the" (article) "don't" (do not), etc. etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#299] As far as I know Christians are the only worshippers who kneel as if
+their lower legs were cut off and who "join hands" like the captive offering
+his wrists to be bound (dare manus). The posture, however, is not so ignoble as
+that of the Moslem "Sijdah" (prostration) which made certain North African
+tribes reject Al-Islam saying, "These men show their hind parts to heaven."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#300] i.e. saying "I intend (purpose) to pray (for instance) the two-bow
+prayer (ruka'tayn) of the day-break," etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#301] So called because it prohibits speaking with others till the prayer is
+ended.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#302] Lit. "any thing opposite;" here used for the Ka'abah towards which men
+turn in prayer; as Guebres face the sun or fire and idolators their images.
+"Al-Kiblatayn" (= the two Kiblahs) means Meccah and Jerusalem, which was faced
+by Moslems as well as Jews and Christians till Mohammed changed the direction.
+For the occasion of the change see my Pilgrimage, ii. 320.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#303] Which includes Tayammum or washing with sand. This is a very cleanly
+practice in a hot, dry land and was adopted long before Mohammed. Cedrenus
+tells of baptism with sand being administered to a dying traveller in the
+African desert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#304] The Koranic order for WuzÏŠ is concise and as usual obscure, giving
+rise to a host of disputes and casuistical questions. Its text runs (chapt.
+v.), "O true believers, when you prepare to pray, wash (Ghusl) your faces, and
+your hands unto the elbows; and rub (Mas-h) your hands and your feet unto the
+ankles; and if ye be unclean by having lain with a woman, wash (Ghusl)
+yourselves all over." The purifications and ceremonious ablutions of the Jews
+originated this command; and the early Christians did very unwisely in not
+making the bath obligatory. St. Paul (Heb. xi. 22) says, "Let us draw near with
+a true heart…having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
+washed with clean (or pure) water." But this did not suffice. Hence the Eastern
+Christian, in hot climates where cleanliness should rank before godliness, is
+distinguished by his dirt which as a holy or reverend man he makes still
+dirtier, and he offers an ugly comparison with the Moslem and especially the
+Hindu. The neglect of commands to wash and prohibitions to drink strong waters
+are the two grand physical objections of the Christian code of morality.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#305] Arab. "Istinshαk"=snuffing up water from the palm of the right hand so
+as to clean thoroughly the nostrils. This "function" is unreasonably neglected
+in Europe, to the detriment of the mucous membrane and the olfactory nerves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#306] So as to wash between them. The thick beard is combed out with the
+fingers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#307] Poor human nature! How sad to compare ita pretensions with its
+actualities.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#308] Complete ablution is rendered necessary chiefly by the emission of
+semen either in copulation or in nocturnal pollution. The water must be pure
+and not less than a certain quantity, and it must touch every part of the skin
+beginning with the right half of the person and ending with the left. Hence a
+plunge-bath is generally preferred.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#309] Arab. "Ta'mνm," lit. crowning with turband, or tiara, here=covering,
+i.e. wetting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#310] This practice (saying "I purpose to defer the washing of the feet,"
+etc.) is now somewhat obsolete.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#311] Arabs have a prejudice against the hydropathic treatment of wounds,
+holding that water poisons them: and, as the native produce usually contains
+salt, soda and magnesia, they are justified by many cases. I once tried
+water-bandages in Arabia and failed dismally.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#312] The sick man says his prayers lying in bed, etc., and as he best can.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#313] i.e. saying, "And peace be on us and on the worshippers of Allah which
+be pious."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#314] i.e. saying, " I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the<br/>
+
+Stoned."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#315] Certain parts should be recited aloud (jahr) and others sotto voce
+(with mussitation=Khafi). No mistake must be made in this matter where a Moslem
+cannot err.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#316] Hence an interest of two-and-a-half percent is not held to be "Ribα"
+or unlawful gain of money by money, usury.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#317] The meal must be finished before the faster can plainly distinguish
+the white thread from the black thread (Koran ii. 183); some understand this
+literally, others apply it to the dark and silvery streak of zodiacal light
+which appears over the Eastern horizon an hour or so before sunrise. The fast
+then begins and ends with the disappearance of the sun. I have noticed its
+pains and penalties in my Pilgrimage, i. 110, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#318] For the "Azαn" or call to prayer see Lane, M. E., chapt. xviii. The
+chant, however, differs in every country, and a practical ear will know the
+land by its call.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#319] Arab. "Hadνs" or saying of the Apostle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#320] "Al-I'itikaf" resembles the Christian "retreat;" but the worshipper
+generally retires to a mosque, especially in Meccah. The Apostle practised it
+on Jabal Hira and other places.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#321] The word is the Heb. "Hagg" whose primary meaning is circularity of
+form or movement. Hence it applied to religious festivals in which dancing
+round the idol played a prime part; and Lucian of "saltation" says, dancing was
+from the beginning and coeval with the ancient god, Love. But man danced with
+joy before he worshipped, and, when he invented a systematic saltation, he made
+it represent two things, and only two things, love and war, in most primitive
+form, courtship and fighting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#322] Two adjoining ground-waves in Meccah. For these and for the places
+subsequently mentioned the curious will consult my Pilgrimage, iii. 226, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#323] The 'Umrah or lesser Pilgrimage, I have noted, is the ceremony
+performed in Meccah at any time out of the pilgrim-season proper, i.e. between
+the eighth and tenth days of the twelfth lunar month Zu 'l-Hijjah. It does not
+entitle the Moslem to be called Hαjj (pilgrim) or Hαjν as Persians and Indians
+corrupt the word.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#324] I need hardly note that Mohammed borrowed his pilgrimage-practices
+from the pagan Arabs who, centuries before his day, danced around the Meccan
+Ka'abah. Nor can he be blamed for having perpetuated a Gentile rite, if indeed
+it be true that the Ka'abah contained relics of Abraham and Ishmael.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#325] On first sighting Meccah. See Night xci.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#326] Arab. "Tawαf:" the place is called Matαf and the guide Mutawwif.
+(Pilgrimage, iii. 193, 205.) The seven courses are termed Ashwαt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#327] Stoning the Devil at Mina. (Pilgrimage, iii. 282.) Hence<br/>
+
+Satan's title "the Stoned" (lapidated not castrated).<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#328] Koran viii. 66; in the chapter entided "Spoil," and relating mainly to
+the "day of Al-Bedr.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#329] Arab. "AI-Ikαlah"= cancelling: Mr. Payne uses the technical term
+"resiliation."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#330] Freedman of Abdallah, son of the Caliph Omar and noted as a
+traditionist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#331] i.e. at a profit: the exchange must be equal—an ordinance intended to
+protect the poor. Arabs have strange prejudices in these matters; for instance
+it disgraces a Badawi to take money for milk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#332] Arab. "Jamα'ah," which in theology means the Greek , our "Church," the
+congregation of the Faithful under a lawful head. Hence the Sunnis call
+themselves "People of the Sunnat and Jamα'at." In the text it is explained as
+"Ulfat" or intimacy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#333] Arab. "Al-Khalνl," i.e. of Allah=Abraham. Mohammed, following Jewish
+tradition, made Abraham rank second amongst the Prophets, inferior only to
+himself and superior to Hazrat Isa=Jesus. I have noted that Ishmael the elder
+son succeeded his father. He married Da'alah bint Muzαz bin Omar, a Jurhamite,
+and his progeny abandoning Hebrew began to speak Arabic (ta'arraba); hence
+called Muta'arribah or Arabised Arabs. (Pilgrimage iii. 190.) He died at Meccah
+and was buried with his mother in the space North of the Ka'abah called Al-Hijr
+which our writers continue to confuse with the city Al-Hijr. (Ibid. 165-66.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#334] This ejaculation, "In the name of Allah" is, I have noted, equivalent
+to "saying grace." If neglected it is a sin and entails a curse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#335] The ceremonious posture is sitting upon the shin-bones, not
+tailor-fashion; and "bolting food" is a sign of boorishness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#336] Arab. "Zidd," the word is a fair specimen of Arabic ambiguity meaning
+primarily opposite or contrary (as virtue to vice), secondarily an enemy or a
+friend (as being opposite to an enemy).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#337] "The whole earth (shall be) but His handful on the Resurrection day
+and in His right hand shall the Heaven be rolled up (or folded
+together)."-Koran xxxix. 67.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#338] See Night lxxxi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#339] Koran lxxviii. 19.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#340] Arab. "Al-Munαfik," technically meaning one who outwardly professes
+Al-Islam while inwardly hating it. Thus the word is by no means synonymous with
+our "hypocrite," hypocrisy being the homage vice pays to virtue; a homage, I
+may observe, nowhere rendered more fulsomely than among the so-called
+Anglo-Saxon race.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#341] Arab. "Tawakkul alα 'llah": in the imperative the phrase is vulgarly
+used="Be off!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#342] i.e. ceremonial impurity which is sui generis, a very different thing
+from general dirtiness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#343] A thick beard is one which does not show the skin; otherwise the
+wearer is a "Kausaj;" in Pers. "KÏŠseh." See vol. iii., 246.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#344] Arab. "Al-Khutnah." Nowhere commanded in the Koran and being only a
+practice of the Prophet, the rite is not indispensable for converts, especially
+the aged and the sick. Our ideas upon the subject are very hazy, for modern
+"niceness" allows a "Feast of the Circumcision," but no discussion thereon.
+Moses (alias Osarsiph) borrowed the rite from the Egyptian hierophants who were
+all thus "purified"; the object being to counteract the over-sensibility of the
+"sixth sense" and to harden the glans against abrasions and infection by
+exposure to air and friction against the dress. Almost all African tribes
+practise it but the modes vary and some are exceedingly curious: I shall notice
+a peculiarly barbarous fashion called Al-Salkh (the flaying) still practised in
+the Arabian province Al-Asνr. (Pilgrimage iii. 80.) There is a difference too
+between the Hebrew and the Moslem rite. The Jewish operator, after snipping off
+the foreskin, rips up the prepuce with his sharp thumb-nails so that the
+external cutis does not retract far from the internal; and the wound, when
+healed, shows a narrow ring of cicatrice. This ripping is not done by Moslems.
+They use a stick as a probe passed round between glans and prepuce to ascertain
+the extent of the frenum and that there is no abnormal adhesion. The foreskin
+is then drawn forward and fixed by the forceps, a fork of two bamboo splints,
+five or six inches long by a quarter thick, or in some cases an iron like our
+compasses. This is tied tightly over the foreskin so as to exclude about an
+inch and a half of the prepuce above and three quarters below. A single stroke
+of the razor drawn directly downwards removes the skin. The slight bleeding is
+stopped by burnt rags or ashes and healed with cerates, pledgets and
+fumigations. Thus Moslem circumcision does not prevent the skin retracting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#345] Of these 6336 versets only some 200 treat on law, civil and
+ceremonial, fiscal and political, devotional and ceremonial, canonical and
+ecclesiastical.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#346] The learned young woman omitted UkhnÏŠkh=Enoch, because not in Koran;
+and if she denoted him by "Idrνs," the latter is much out of place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#347] Some say grandson of Shem. (Koran vii. 71.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#348] Koran vii. 63, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#349] Father-in-law of Moses. (Koran vii. 83.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#350] Who is the last and greatest of the twenty-five.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#351] See Night ccccxxxviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#352] Koran ii., whose 256th Ayah is the far-famed and sublime Throne-verse
+which begins "Allah! there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal One, whom
+nor slumber nor sleep seizeth on!" The trivial name is taken from the last
+line, "His throne overstretcheth Heaven and Earth and to Him their preservation
+is no burden for He is the most Highest, the Supreme." The lines are often
+repeated in prayers and engraved on agates, etc., as portable talismans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#353] Koran ii. 159.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#354] Koran xvi. 92. The verset ends with, "He warneth you, so haply ye may
+be mindful."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#355] Koran lxx. 38.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#356] Koran xxxix. 54.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#357] The Sunnis hold that the "Anbiyα" (=prophets, or rather announcers of
+Allah's judgments) were not sinless. But this dogma is branded as most
+irreverent and sinful by the Shi'ahs or Persian "followers of Ali," who make
+capital out of this blasphemy and declare that if any prophet sinned he sinned
+only against himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#358] Koran xii. 18.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#359] Koran ii. 107.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#360] Koran ii. 57. He (Allah) does not use the plurale majestatis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#361] Koran ii. 28.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#362] Koran xvi. 100. Satan is stoned in the Minα or Munα basin (Night
+ccccxlii.) because he tempted Abraham to disobey the command of Allah by
+refusing to sacrifice Ishmael. (Pilgrimage iii. 248.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#363] It may also mean "have recourse to God."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#364] Abdallah ibn Abbas, before noticed, first cousin of<br/>
+
+Mohammed and the most learned of the Companions. See D'Herbelot.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#365] Koran xcvi., "Blood-clots," 1 and 2. "Read" may mean "peruse the
+revelation" (it was the first Koranic chapter communicated to Mohammed), or
+"recite, preach."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#366] Koran xxvii. 30. Mr. Rodwell (p.1) holds to the old idea that the
+"Basmalah" is of Jewish origin, taught to the Kuraysh by Omayyah, of Taif, the
+poet and Hanνf (convert).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#367] Koran ix.: this was the last chapter revealed and the only one
+revealed entire except verse 110.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#368] Ali was despatched from Al-Medinah to Meccah by the Prophet on his own
+slit-eared camel to promulgate this chapter; and meeting the assembly at
+Al-'Akabah he also acquainted them with four things; (1) No Infidel may
+approach the Meccah temple; (2) naked men must no longer circut the Ka'abah;
+(3) only Moslems enter Paradise, and (4) public faith must be kept.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#369] Dictionaries give the word "Basmalah" (=saying<br/>
+
+Bismillah); but the common pronunciation is "Bismalah."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#370] Koran xvii. 110, a passage revealed because the Infidels, hearing
+Mohammed calling upon The Compassionate, imagined that Al-Rahmαn was other
+deity but Allah. The "names" have two grand divisions, Asmα Jalαlν, the fiery
+or terrible attributes, and the Asmα Jamαlν (airy, watery, earthy or) amiable.
+Together they form the Asmα al-Husna or glorious attributes, and do not include
+the Ism al-A'azam, the ineffable name which is known only to a few.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#371] Koran ii. 158.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#372] Koran xcvi. before noticed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#373] A man of Al-Medinah, one of the first of Mohammed's disciples.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#374] Koran lxxiv. 1, etc., supposed to have been addressed by Gabriel to
+Mohammed when in the cave of Hira or Jabal NÏŠr. He returned to his wife
+Khadijah in sore terror at the vision of one sitting on a throne between heaven
+and earth, and bade her cover him up. Whereupon the Archangel descended with
+this text, supposed to be the first revealed. Mr. Rodwell (p. 3) renders it, "O
+thou enwrapped in thy mantle!" and makes it No. ii. after a Fatrah or silent
+interval of six months to three years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#375] There are several versets on this subject (chapts. ii. and xxx.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#376] Koran cx. 1.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#377] The third Caliph; the "Writer of the Koran."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#378] Koran, v. 4. Sale translates "idols." Mr. Rodwell, "On the blocks (or
+shafts) of Stone," rude altars set by the pagan Arabs before their dwellings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#379] Koran, v. 116. The words are put into the mouth of<br/>
+
+Jesus.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#380] The end of the same verse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#381] Koran, v. 89. Supposed to have been revealed when certain Moslems
+purposed to practise Christian asceticism, fasting, watching, abstaining from
+women and sleeping on hard beds. I have said Mohammed would have "no monkery in
+Al-Islam," but human nature willed otherwise. Mr. Rodwell prefers "Interdict
+the healthful viands."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#382] Koran, iv. 124.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#383] Arab. "Mukri." "Kαri" is one who reads the Koran to pupils; the Mukri
+corrects them. "With the passage of the clouds" = without a moment's
+hesitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#384] The twenty-first, twenty-fourth and eighteenth Arabic letters.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#385] Arab. "Hizb." The Koran is divided into sixty portions, answering to
+"Lessons" for convenience of public worship.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#386] Arab. "Jalαlah,"=saying Jalla Jalαlu-hu=magnified be His<br/>
+
+Majesty!, or glorified be His Glory.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#387] Koran, xi. 50.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#388] The partition-wall between Heaven and Hell which others call Al-'Urf
+(in the sing. from the verb meaning he separated or parted). The Jews borrowed
+from the Guebres the idea of a partition between Heaven and Hell and made it so
+thin that the blessed and damned can speak together. There is much dispute
+about the population of Al-A'arαf, the general idea being that they are men who
+do not deserve reward in Heaven or punishment in Hell. But it is not a
+"Purgatory" or place of expiating sins.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#389] Koran, vii. 154.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#390] A play on the word ayn, which means "eye" or the eighteenth letter
+which in olden times had the form of a circle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#391] From misreading these words comes the absurd popular belief of the
+moon passing up and down Mohammed's sleeves. George B. Airy (The Athenζum,
+Nov.29, 1884) justly objects to Sale's translation "The hour of judgment
+approacheth" and translates "The moon hath been dichotomised" a well-known
+astronomical term when the light portion of the moon is defined in a strait
+line: in other words when it is really a half-moon at the first and third
+quarters of each lunation. Others understand, The moon shall be split on the
+Last Day, the preterite for the future in prophetic style. "Koran Moslems" of
+course understand it literally.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#392] Chapters liv., lv. and lvi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#393] We should say, not to utter, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#394] These well-known "humours of Hippocrates," which reappear in the form
+of temperaments of European phrenology, are still the base of Eastern
+therapeutics.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#395] The doctrine of the three souls will be intelligible to<br/>
+
+Spiritualists.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#396] Arab. "Al-lαmi"=the l-shaped, curved, forked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#397] Arab. "Usus," our os sacrum because, being incorruptible, the body
+will be built up thereon for Resurrection-time. Hence Hudibras sings (iii. 2),
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "The learned Rabbis of the Jews<br/>
+
+     Write there's a bone which they call leuz,<br/>
+
+     I' the rump of man, etc."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is the Heb. "Uz," whence older scholars derived os. Sale (sect. iv.) called
+it "El Ajb, os coccygis or rump-bone."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#398] Arab physiologists had difficulties in procuring "subjects"; and
+usually practised dissection on the simiads. Their illustrated books are droll;
+the figures have been copied and recopied till they have lost all resemblance
+to the originals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#399] The liver and spleen are held to be congealed blood.<br/>
+
+Hence the couplet,<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+    "We are allowed two carrions (i.e. with throats uncut) and<br/>
+
+         two bloods,<br/>
+
+     The fish and the locust, the liver and the spleen."<br/>
+
+(Pilgrimage iii. 92.)<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#400] This is perfectly true and yet little known to the general.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#401] Koran xvii. 39.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#402] Arab. "Al-malikhulνya," proving that the Greeks then pronounced the
+penultimate vowel according to the acute accentνa; not as we slur it over. In
+old Hebrew we have the transliteration of four Greek words; in the languages of
+Hindostan many scores including names of places; and in Latin and Arabic as
+many hundreds. By a scholar-like comparison of these remains we should find
+little difficulty in establishing the true Greek pronunciation since the days
+of Alexander the Great; and we shall prove that it was pronounced according to
+accent and emphatically not quantity. In the next century I presume English
+boys will be taught to pronounce Greek as the Greeks do.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#403] Educated Arabs can quote many a verse bearing upon domestic medicine
+and reminding us of the lines bequeathed to Europe by the School of Salerno.
+Such e.g. are;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "After the noon-meal, sleep, although for moments twain;<br/>
+
+     After the night-meal, walk, though but two steps be ta'en;<br/>
+
+     And after swiving stale, though but two drops thou drain."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#404] Arab. "Sarνdah" (Tharνdah), also called "ghaut"=crumbled bread and
+hashed meat in broth; or bread, milk and meat. The Sarνdah of Ghassαn, cooked
+with eggs and marrow, was held a dainty dish: hence the Prophet's dictum.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#405] Koran v. 92. "Lots"=games of chance and "images"=statues.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#406] Koran ii. 216. The word "Maysar" which I have rendered "gambling" or
+gaming (for such is the modern application of the word), originally meant what
+St. Jerome calls and explains thereby the verse (Ezek. xxi. 22),
+"The King held in his hand the lot of Jerusalem" i.e. the arrow whereon the
+city-name was written. The Arabs use it for casting lots with ten azlam or
+headless arrows (for dice) three being blanks and the rest notched from one to
+seven. They were thrown by a "Zαrib" or punter and the stake was generally a
+camel. Amongst so excitable a people as the Arabs, this game caused quarrels
+and bloodshed, hence its prohibition: and the theologians, who everywhere and
+at all times delight in burdening human nature, have extended the command,
+which is rather admonitory than prohibitive, to all games of chance. Tarafah is
+supposed to allude to this practice in his Mu'allakah.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#407] Liberal Moslems observe that the Koranic prohibition is not absolute,
+with threat of Hell for infraction. Yet Mohammed doubtless forbade all
+inebriatives and the occasion of his so doing is well known. (Pilgrimage ii.
+322.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#408] I have noticed this soured milk in Pilgrimage i. 362.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#409] He does not say the "Caliph" or successor of his uncle<br/>
+
+Mohammed.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#410] The Jewish Korah (Numbers xvi.) fabled by the Koran (xxviii. 76),
+following a Talmudic tradition, to have been a man of immense wealth. The
+notion that lying with an old woman, after the menses have ceased, is
+unwholesome, dates from great antiquity; and the benefits of the reverse
+process were well known to good King David. The faces of children who sleep
+with their grandparents (a bad practice now waxing obsolete in England), of a
+young wife married to an old man and of a young man married to an old woman,
+show a peculiar wizened appearance, a look of age overlaying youth which cannot
+be mistaken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#411] Arab. "Hindibα"(=endubium): the modern term is<br/>
+
+Shakurνyah=chicorιe. I believe it to be very hurtful to the eyes.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#412] Arab. "Khuffαsh" and "Watwαt": in Egypt a woman is called "Watwαtνyah"
+when the hair of her privities has been removed by applying bats' blood. I have
+often heard of this; but cannot understand how such an application can act
+depilatory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#413] Dictionaries render the word by "dragon, cockatrice." The Badawin
+apply it to a variety of serpents mostly large and all considered venomous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#414] Arab. "Zarr wa 'urwah," 1it.=handle. The button-hole, I have said, is
+a modern invention; Urwah is also applied to the loopshaped handle of the
+water-skin, for attachment of the Allαkah or suspensory thong.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#415] Koran lxx. 40; see also the chapter following, v. 16.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#416] Koran x. 5; the "her" refers to the sun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#417] Koran xxxvi. 40.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#418] Koran xxii. 60.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#419] Arab. "Manαzil:" these are the Hindu "Nakshatra"; extensively used in
+meteorology even by Europeans unconsciously: thus they will speak of the
+Elephantina-storm without knowing anything of the lunar mansion so called. The
+names in the text are successively Sharatαn=two horns of the Ram; (2) the Ram's
+belly; (3) the Pleiades; (4) Aldebaran; (5) three stars in Orion's head; (6)
+ditto in Orion's shoulder; (7) two stars above the Twins; (8) Lion's nose and
+first summer station; (9) Lion's eye; (1O) Lion's forehead; (11) Lion's mane;
+(12) Lion's heart; (13) the Dog, two stars in Virgo; (14) Spica Virginis; (15)
+foot of Virgo; (16) horns of Scorpio; (17) the Crown; (18) heart of Scorpio;
+(19) tail of Scorpio; (2O) stars in Pegasus; (21) where no constellation
+appears; (22) the Slaughterer's luck; (23) Glutton's luck; (24) Luck of Lucks,
+stars in Aquarius; (25) Luck of Tents, stars in Aquarius; (26) the fore-lip or
+spout of Urn; (27) hind lip of Urn; and (28) in navel of Fish's belly (Batn
+al-HÏŠt); of these 28, to each of the four seasons 7 are allotted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#420] The Hebrew absey, still used by Moslems in chronograms. For mnemonic
+purposes the 28 letters are distributed into eight words of which the first and
+second are Abjad and Hawwaz. The last six letters in two words (Thakhiz and
+Zuzigh) are Arabian, unknown to the Jews and not found in Syriac.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#421] Arab. "Zindνk;" properly, one who believes in two gods (the old
+Persian dualism); in books an atheist, i.e. one who does not believe in a god
+or gods; and, popularly, a free-thinker who denies the existence of a Supreme
+Being, rejects revelation for the laws of Nature imprinted on the heart of man
+and for humanity in its widest sense. Hence he is accused of permitting
+incestuous marriages and other abominations. We should now call him (for want
+of something better) an Agnostic.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#422] Koran xxxi. 34. The words may still be applied to meteorologists
+especially of the scientific school. Even the experienced (as the followers of
+the late Mathieu de la Drτme) reckon far more failures than successes. The
+Koranic passage enumerates five things known only to Allah; Judgment-day; rain;
+sex of child in womb; what shall happen to-morrow and where a man shall die.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#423] The fifth and seventh months (January and March) of the Coptic year
+which, being solar, is still used by Arab and Egyptian meteorologists. Much
+information thereon will be found in the "Egyptian Calendar" by Mr. Mitchell,
+Alexandria, 1876. It bears the appropriate motto "Anni certus modus apud solos
+semper Egyptios fuit." (Macrobius.) See also Lane M.E., chapt. ix.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#424] Vulg. Kiyαk; the fourth month, beginning 9th—1Oth<br/>
+
+December. The first month is Tϊt, commencing 1Oth—11th<br/>
+
+September.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#425] The 8th and 12th months partly corresponding with April and August:
+Hαtϊr is the 3rd (November) and AmshRr the 6th (February).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#426] Moslems have been compelled to adopt infidel names for the months
+because Mohammed's Koranic rejection of Nasy or intercalation makes their lunar
+months describe the whole circle of the seasons in a cycle of about
+thirty-three and a half years. Yet they have retained the terms which contain
+the original motive of the denomination. The first month is Muharram, the
+"Holy," because war was forbidden; it was also known as Safar No. 1. The second
+Safar="Emptiness," because during the heats citizens left the towns and retired
+to Tαif and other cool sites. Rabν'a (first and second) alluded to the
+spring-pasturages; Jumαdα (first and second) to the "hardening" of the dry
+ground and, according to some, to the solidification, freezing, of the water in
+the highlands. Rajab (No.7)="worshipping," especially by sacrifice, is also
+known as Al-Asamm the deaf; because being sacred, the rattle of arms was
+unheard. Sha'abαn="collecting," dispersing, ruining, because the tribal wars
+recommenced: Ramazan (intensely hot) has been explained and Shawwαl (No. 10)
+derives from Shaul (elevating) when the he-camels raise their tails in rut.
+ZÏŠ'l-Ka'adah, the sedentary, is the rest time of the year, when fighting is
+forbidden and Zu'l-Hijjah explains itself as the pilgrimage-month.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#427] The lowest of the seven.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#428] Koran xxxvii. 5.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#429] Arab. "FaylasÏŠf," an evident corruption from the Greek. Amongst the
+vulgar it denotes a sceptic, an atheist; much the same a "Frammαsϊn" or
+Freemason. The curious reader will consult the Dabistan, vol. iii. chapt. xi.
+p. 138 et seq. "On the Religion of the Wise" (philosophi), and, Beaconsfield's
+theft from Shaftesbury.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#430] Koran xxxvi. 37-38.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#431] Koran xxii. 7. The Hour i.e. of Judgment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#432] Koran xx. 58. The Midrasch Tanchumah on Exod. vii. gives a similar
+dialogue between Pharaoh and Moses. (Rodwell, in loco.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#433] Arab. "Sham'ÏŠn" or "Shim'ÏŠn," usually applied to Simon<br/>
+
+Peter (as in Acts xv. 14). But the text alludes to Saint Simeon<br/>
+
+(Luke ii. 25-35). See Gospel of Infancy (ii. 8) and especially<br/>
+
+the Gospel of Nicodemus (xii. 3) which makes him a High-Priest.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#434] Sαlih the Patriarch's she-camel, miraculously produced from the rock
+in order to convert the ThamÏŠd-tribe. (Koran vii.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#435] When Abu Bakr was hiding with Mohammed in a cave on the Hill Al-Saur
+(Thaur or ThÏŠr, Pilgrimage ii. 131) South of Meccah, which must not be
+confounded with the cave on Jabal Hirα now called Jabal Nϊr on the way to
+Arafat (Pilgrimage iii. 246), the fugitives were protected by a bird which
+built her nest at the entrance (according to another legend it was curtained by
+a spider's web), whilst another bird (the crow of whom I shall presently speak)
+tried to betray them. The first bird is popularly supposed to have been a
+pigeon, and is referred to by Hudibras,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+     "Th' apostles of this fierce religion<br/>
+
+     Like Mahomet, were ass and widgeon."<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ass I presume alludes to the marvellous beast Al-Burαk which the Greeks
+called from (Euthymius in Pocock, Spec. A.H. p.144) and which
+Indian Moslems picture with human face, ass's ears, equine body and peacock's
+wings and tail. The "widgeon" I presume to be a mistake or a misprint for
+pigeon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#436] The Arabs are not satisfied with the comparative moderation of the
+Hebrew miracle, and have added all manner of absurdities. (Pilgrimage ii. 288.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#437] Koran lxxxi. 18. Sale translates "by the morning when it appeareth;"
+and the word (tanaffus) will bear this meaning. Mr. Rodwell prefers, "By the
+dawn when it clears away the darkness by its breath."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#438] As a rule Moslems are absurdly ignorant of arithmetic and apparently
+cannot master it. Hence in Egypt they used Copts for calculating-machines and
+further East Hindds. The mildest numerical puzzle, like the above, is sure of
+success.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#439] The paradiseal tree which supplied every want. Mohammed borrowed it
+from the Christians (Rev. xxi. 10-21 and xxii. 1-2) who placed in their
+paradise the Tree of Life which bears twelve sorts of fruits and leaves of
+healing virtue. (See also the 3rd book of Hermas, his Similitudes.) The Hebrews
+borrowed it from the Persians. Amongst the Hindus it appears as "Kalpavriksha;"
+amongst the Scandinavians as Yggdrasil. The curious reader will consult Mr.
+James Fergusson's learned work, "Tree and Serpent Worship," etc. London, 1873.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#440] Aaron's Rod becomes amongst Moslems (Koran vii. 110) Moses' Staff; the
+size being that of a top-mast. (Pilgrimage i. 300, 301.) In Koran xx. 18, 19,
+we find a notice of its uses; and during the Middle Ages it reappeared in the
+Staff of Wamba the Goth (A.D.672-680) the witch's broomstick was its latest
+development.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#441] Christ, say the Eutychians, had only one nature, the divine; so he was
+crucified in effigy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#442] Jesus is compared with Adam in the Koran (chapt. iii.): his titles are
+Kalαmu 'llah (word of God) because engendered without a father, and Rϊhu 'llah
+(breath of God) because conceived by Gabriel in the shape of a beautifui youth
+breathing into the Virgin's vulva. Hence Moslems believe in a "miraculous
+conception" and consequently determine that one so conceived was, like Elias
+and Khizr, not subject to death; they also hold him born free from "original
+sin" (a most sinful superstition), a veil being placed before the Virgin and
+Child against the Evil One who could not touch them. He spoke when a babe in
+cradle; he performed miracles of physic; he was taken up to Heaven; he will
+appear as the forerunner of Mohammed on the White Tower of Damascus, and
+finally he will be buried at Al-Medinah. The Jews on the other hand speak of
+him as "that man:" they hold that he was begotten by Joseph during the
+menstrual period and therefore a born magician. Moreover he learned the Sham
+ha-maphrash or Nomen tetragrammaton, wrote it on parchment and placed it in an
+incision in his thigh, which closed up on the Name being mentioned (Buxtorf,
+Lex Talmud, 25-41). Other details are given in the Toldoth Jesu (Historia
+Joshuζ Nazareni). This note should be read by the eminent English littιrateur
+who discovered a fact, well known to Locke and Carlyle, that "Mohammedans are
+Christians." So they are and something more.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#443] In the Kalamdαn, or pen-case, is a little inkstand of metal occupying
+the top of the long, narrow box.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#444] A fair specimen of the riddle known as the "surprise."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#445] Koran xli. 10.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#446] Koran xxxvi. 82.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#447] Here we enter upon a series of disputed points. The Wahhαbis deny the
+intercession of the Apostle (Pilgrimage ii. 76-77). The Shi'ahs place Ali next
+in dignity to Mohammed and there is a sect (Ali-Ilαhi) which believes him to be
+an Avatar or incarnation of the Deity. For the latter the curious reader will
+consult the "Dabistan," ii. 451. The Koran by its many contradictions seems to
+show that Mohammed never could make up his own mind on the subject, thinking
+himself at times an intercessor and then sharply denying all intercession.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#448] Arab. "Kanjifah"=a pack of cards; corrupted from the Persian
+"Ganjνfah." We know little concerning the date or origin of this game in the
+East, where the packs are quite unlike ours.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#449] It is interesting to compare this account with the pseudo Ovid and
+with Tale clxvi. in Gesta "Of the game of Schaci." Its Schacarium is the
+chess-board. Rochus (roccus, etc.) is not from the Germ. Rock (a coat) but from
+Rukh (Pers. a hero, a knight-errant) Alphinus (Ital. Alfino) is Al-Firzαn
+(Pers. science, wise).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#450] Arab, "Baydak" or "Bayzak"; a corruption of the Persian "Piyαdah"=a
+footman, peon, pawn; and proving whence the Arabs derived the game. The
+Persians are the readiest backgammon-players known to me, better even than the
+Greeks; they throw the dice from the hand and continue foully abusing the
+fathers and mothers of the "bones" whilst the game lasts. It is often played in
+the intervals of dinner by the higher classes in Persia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#451] Metaphor from loading camels and mules. To "eat" a piece is to take
+it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#452] Arab. "Bilαbil"; a plural of "Bulbul" with a double entendre balαbil
+(plur. of ballalah)=heart's troubles, and "balα, bul"=a calamity, nay, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#453] The popular English idea of the Arab horse is founded upon utter
+unfact. Book after book tells us, "There are three distinct breeds of Arabians
+-the Attechi, a very superior breed; the Kadishi, mixed with these and of
+little value; and the Kochlani, highly prized and very difficult to procure."
+"Attechi" may be At-Tαzi (the Arab horse, or hound) or some confusion with "At"
+(Turk.) a horse. "Kadish" (Gadish or Kidish) is a nag; a gelding, a hackney, a
+"pacer" (generally called "Rahwαn"). "Kochlani" is evidently "Kohlαni," the
+Kohl-eyed, because the skin round the orbits is dark as if powdered. This is
+the true blue blood; and the bluest of all is "Kohlαni al-Ajϊz" (of the old
+woman) a name thus accounted for. An Arab mare dropped a filly when in flight;
+her rider perforce galloped on and presently saw the foal appear in camp, when
+it was given to an old woman for nursing and grew up to be famous. The home of
+the Arab horse is the vast plateau of Al-Najd: the Tahαmah or lower maritime
+regions of Arabia, like Malabar, will not breed good beasts. The pure blood all
+descends from five collateral lines called Al-Khamsah (the Cinque). Literary
+and pedantic Arabs derive them from the mares of Mohammed, a native of the dry
+and rocky region, Al-Hijaz, whither horses are all imported. Others go back
+(with the Koran, chapt. xxviii.) to Solomon, possibly Salmαn, a patriarch
+fourth in descent from Ishmael and some 600 years older than the Hebrew King.
+The Badawi derive the five from Rabν'at al-Faras (R. of the mare) fourth in
+descent from Adnαn, the fount of Arab genealogy. But they differ about the
+names: those generally given are Kahilan (Kohaylat), Saklαwi (which the Badawin
+pronounce Saglαwi), Abayαn, and Hamdαni; others substitute Manαkhi (the
+long-maned), Tanνs and Jalfϊn. These require no certificate amongst Arabs; for
+strangers a simple statement is considered enough. The Badawin despise all
+half-breeds (Arab sires and country mares), Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish and
+Egyptian. They call these (first mentioned in the reign of Ahmes, B.C. 1600)
+the "sons of horses"; as opposed to "sons of mares," or thorough-breds. Nor do
+they believe in city-bred animals. I have great doubts concerning our old
+English sires, such as the Darley Arabian which looks like a Kurdish half-bred,
+the descendant of those Cappadocians so much prized by the Romans: in Syria I
+rode a "Harfϊshν" (Kurd) the very image of it. There is no difficulty in buying
+Arab stallions except the price. Of course the tribe does not like to part with
+what may benefit the members generally; but offers of £500 to £1,000 would
+overcome men's scruples. It is different with mares, which are almost always
+the joint property of several owners. The people too dislike to see a hat on a
+thorough-bred mare: "What hast thou done that thou art ridden by that
+ill-omened Kafir?" the Badawin used to mutter when they saw a highly
+respectable missionary at Damascus mounting a fine Ruwalα mare. The feeling
+easily explains the many wars about horses occurring in Arab annals, e.g. about
+Dαhis and Ghabrα. (C. de Perceval, Essas, vol.ii.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#454] The stricter kind of Eastern Jew prefers to die on the floor, not in
+bed, as was the case with the late Mr. Emmanuel Deutsch, who in his well-known
+article on the Talmud had the courage to speak of "Our Saviour." But as a rule
+the Israelite, though he mostly appears as a Deist, a Unitarian, has a fund of
+fanatical feelings which crop up in old age and near death. The "converts" in
+Syria and elsewhere, whose Judaism is intensified by "conversion," when offers
+are made to them by the missionaries repair to the Khαkhαm (scribe) and, after
+abundant wrangling determine upon a modus vivendi. They are to pay a proportion
+of their wages, to keep careful watch in the cause of Israel and to die
+orthodox. In Istria there is a legend of a Jew Prior in a convent who was not
+discovered till he announced himself most unpleasantly on his death-bed. For a
+contrary reason to Jewish humility, the Roman Emperors preferred to die
+standing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#455] He wished to die in a state of ceremonial purity; as has before been
+mentioned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#456] Arab. "Badal": in Sind (not to speak of other places) it was customary
+to hire a pauper "badal" to be hanged in stead of a rich man. Sir Charles
+Napier signed many a death-warrant before he ever heard of the practice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#457] Arab. "La'an" = curse. The word is in every mouth though strongly
+forbidden by religion. Even of the enemies of Al-Islam the learned say, "Ila'an
+Yezνd wa lα tazνd" = curse Yezid but do not exceed (i.e. refrain from cursing
+the others). This, however, is in the Shafi'ν school and the Hanafνs do not
+allow it (Pilgrimage i. 198). Hence the Moslem when scrupulous uses na'al
+(shoe) for la'an (curse) as Ina'al abÏŠk (for Ila'an abu'-k) or, drat (instead
+of damn) your father. Men must hold Supreme Intelligence to be of feeble kind
+if put off by such miserable pretences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#458] Koran vi. 44, speaking of the Infidels. It is a most unamiable
+chapter, with such assertions as "Allah leadeth into error whom He pleaseth,"
+etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#459] Alluding to the "formication" which accompanies a stroke of paralysis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#460] Pronounce Zool Karnayn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#461] i.e. the Koranic and our mediζval Alexander, Lord of the two Horns
+(East and West) much "Matagrobolized" and very different from him of Macedon.
+The title is variously explained, from two protuberances on his head or helm,
+from two long locks and, possibly, from the ram-horns of Jupiter Ammon. The
+anecdote in the text seems suggested by the famous interview (probably a
+canard) with Diogenes: see in the Gesta, Tale cxlvi., "The answer of Diomedes
+the Pirate to Alexander." Iskandar was originally called Marzbαn (Lord of the
+Marches), son of Marzabah; and, though descended from Yunαn, son of Japhet, the
+eponymus of the Greeks, was born obscure, the son of an old woman. According to
+the Persians he was the son of the Elder Dαrαb (Darius Codomannus of the
+Kayanian or Second dynasty), by a daughter of Philip of Macedon; and was
+brought up by his grandfather. When Abraham and Isaac had rebuilt the Ka'abah
+they foregathered with him and Allah sent him forth against the four quarters
+of the earth to convert men to the faith of the Friend or to cut their throats;
+thus he became one of the four world-conquerors with Nimrod, Solomon, Bukht
+al-Nasr (Nabochodonosor); and he lived down two generations of men. His Wazir
+was AristÏŠ (the Greek Aristotle) and he carried a couple of flags, white and
+black, which made day and night for him and facilitated his conquests. At the
+end of Persia, where he was invited by the people, on account of the cruelty of
+his half brother Darab II., he came upon two huge mountains on the same line,
+behind which dwelt a host of abominable pygmies, two spans high, with curious
+eyes, ears which served as mattresses and coverlets, huge fanged mouths, lions'
+claws and hairy hind quarters. They ate men, destroyed everything, copulated in
+public and had swarms of children. These were Yαjϊj and Mαjϊj (Gog and Magog)
+descendants of Japhet. Sikandar built against them the famous wall with stones
+cemented and riveted by iron and copper. The "Great Wall" of China, the famous
+bulwark against the Tartars, dates from B.C. 320 (Alexander of Macedon died
+B.C. 324); and as the Arabs knew Canton well before Mohammed's day, they may
+have built their romance upon it. The Guebres consigned Sikandar to hell for
+burning the Nusks or sections of the Zendavesta.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#462] These terrific preachments to Eastern despots (who utterly ignore
+them) are a staple produce of Oriental tale-literature and form the
+chiaro-oscuro, as it were, of a picture whose lights are brilliant touches of
+profanity and indelicate humour. It certainly has the charm of contrast. Much
+of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh (Alexander Book) of the great
+Persian poet, Nizαmi, who flourished A.H. 515-597, between the days of Firdausi
+(ob. A.D.1021) and Sa'adi (ob. A.D. 1291). In that romance Sikandar builds,
+"where the sun goes down," a castle of glittering stone which kills men by
+causing excessive laughter and surrounds it with yellow earth like gold. Hence
+the City of Brass. He also converts, instead of being converted by, the savages
+of the text. He finds a stone of special excellence which he calls Almαs
+(diamond); and he obtains it from the Valley of Serpents by throwing down flesh
+to the eagles. Lastly he is accompanied by "Bilνnas" or "Bilνnus," who is
+apparently Apollonius of Tyana.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#463] I have explained the beautiful name in Night cclxxxix:<br/>
+
+He is stil famous for having introduced into Persia the fables of<br/>
+
+Pilpay (Bidyapati, the lord of lore) and a game which the genius<br/>
+
+of Persia developed into chess.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#464] Here we find an eternal truth, of which Malthusians ever want
+reminding; that the power of a nation simply consists in its numbers of
+fighting men and in their brute bodily force. The conquering race is that which
+raises most foot-pounds: hence the North conquers the South in the Northern
+hemisphere and visa versa.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#465] Arab. "Wayha," not so strong as "Woe to," etc. Al-Hariri often uses it
+as a formula of affectionate remonstrance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#466] As a rule (much disputed) the Sayyid is a descendant from Mohammed
+through his grandchild Hasan, and is a man of the pen; whereas the Sharif
+derives from Husayn and is a man of the sword. The Najνb al-taraf is the son of
+a common Moslemah by a Sayyid, as opposed to the "Najib al-tarafayn," when both
+parents are of Apostolic blood. The distinction is not noticed in Lane's
+"Modern Egyptians". The Sharif is a fanatic and often dangerous, as I have
+instanced in Pilgrimage iii. 132.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#467] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century): surnamed Abϊ Yahyα. The
+prayer for mercy denotes that he was dead when the tale was written.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#468] A theologian of Bassorah (eighth century).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#469] Arab. "Musallα"; lit. a place of prayer; an oratory, a chapel, opp. to
+"Jαmi'" = a (cathedral) mosque.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#470] According to all races familiar with the negro, a calf like a shut
+fist planted close under the ham is, like the "cucumber shin" and "lark heel",
+a good sign in a slave. Shapely calves and well-made legs denote the idle and
+the ne'er-do-well. I have often found this true although the rule is utterly
+empirical. Possibly it was suggested by the contrast of the nervous and
+lymphatic temperaments.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#471] These devotees address Allah as a lover would his beloved. The curious
+reader will consult for instances the Dabistan on Tasawwuf (ii. 221; i.,iii.
+end, and passim).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#472] Arab. "Ma'rifat," Pers. Dαnish; the knowledge of the Truth. The seven
+steps are (1) Sharν'at, external law like night; (2) Tarνkat, religious rule
+like the stars; (3) Hakνkat, reality, truth like the moon; (4) Ma'arifat like
+the sun; (5) Kurbat, proximity to Allah; (6) Wasνlat, union with Allah, and (7)
+Suknat, dwelling in Allah. (Dabistan iii.29.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#473] Name of a fountain of Paradise: See Night xlix., vol. ii., p.100.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#474] Arab. "Atbαk"; these trays are made of rushes, and the fans of
+palm-leaves or tail-feathers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#475] Except on the two great Festivals when fasting is forbidden. The only
+religion which has shown common sense in this matter is that of the Guebres or
+Parsis: they consider fasting neither meritorious nor lawful; and they honour
+Hormuzd by good living "because it keeps the soul stronger." Yet even they have
+their food superstitions, e.g. in Gate No. xxiv.: "Beware of sin specially on
+the day thou eatest flesh, for flesh is the diet of Ahriman." And in India the
+Guebres have copied the Hindus in not slaughtering horned cattle for the table.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#476] Arab. "Jallαbiyah," a large-sleeved robe of coarse stuff worn by the
+poor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#477] His fear was that his body might be mutilated by the fall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#478] The phrase means "offering up many and many a prayer."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#479] A saying of Mohammed is recorded "Al-fakru fakhrν" (poverty is my
+pride!), intelligible in a man who never wanted for anything. Here he is
+diametrically opposed to Ali who honestly abused poverty; and the Prophet seems
+to have borrowed from Christendom, whose "Lazarus and Dives" shows a man sent
+to Hell because he enjoyed a very modified Heaven in this life and which
+suggested that one of the man's greatest miseries is an ecclesiastical
+virtue—"Holy Poverty"—represented in the Church as a bride young and lovely. If
+a "rich man can hardly enter the kingdom" what must it be with a poor man whose
+conditions are far more unfavourable? Going to the other extreme we may say
+that Poverty is the root of all evil and the more so as it curtails man's power
+of benefiting others. Practically I observe that those who preach and praise it
+the most, practise it the least willingly: the ecclesiastic has always some
+special reasons, a church or a school is wanted; but not the less he wishes for
+more money. In Syria this Holy Poverty leads to strange abuses. At Bayrut I
+recognised in most impudent beggers well-to-do peasants from the Kasrawαn
+district, and presently found out that whilst their fields were under snow they
+came down to the coast, enjoyed a genial climate and lived on alms. When I
+asked them if they were not ashamed to beg, they asked me if I was ashamed of
+following in the footsteps of the Saviour and Apostles. How much wiser was
+Zoroaster who found in the Supreme Paradise (Minuwαn-minu) "many persons, rich
+in gold and silver who had worshipped the Lord and had been grateful to Him."
+(Dabistan i. 265.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#480] Koran vii. 52.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#481] Arab. "Al-bayt" = the house. The Arabs had probably learned this
+pleasant mode of confinement from the Chinese whose Kea or Cangue is well
+known. The Arabian form of it is "Ghull," or portable pillory, which reprobates
+will wear on Judgment Day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#482] This commonest conjuring trick in the West becomes a miracle in the
+credulous East.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#483] Arab. "Kαnϊn"; the usual term is Mankal (pron. Mangal) a pan of copper
+or brass. Some of these "chafing-dishes" stand four feet high and are works of
+art. Lane (M.E. chapt. iv) gives an illustration of the simpler kind, together
+with the "Azikν," a smaller pan for heating coffee. See Night dxxxviii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#484] See vol. iii., p.239. The system is that of the Roman As and Unciae.
+Here it would be the twenty-fourth part of a dinar or miskal; something under
+5d. I have already noted that all Moslem rulers are religiously bound to some
+handicraft, if it be only making toothpicks. Mohammed abolished kingship proper
+as well as priestcraft.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#485] Al-Islam, where salvation is found under the shade of the swords.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#486] Moslems like the Classics (Aristotle and others) hold the clitoris
+(ZambÏŠr) to be the sedes et scaturigo veneris which, says Sonnini, is mere
+profanity. In the babe it protrudes beyond the labiζ and snipping off the head
+forms female circumcision. This rite is supposed by Moslems to have been
+invented by Sarah who so mutilated Hagar for jealousy and was afterwards
+ordered by Allah to have herself circumcised at the same time as Abraham. It is
+now (or should be) universal in Al-Islam and no Arab would marry a girl
+"unpurified" by it. Son of an "uncircumcised" mother (Ibn al-bazrα) is a sore
+insult. As regards the popular idea that Jewish women were circumcised till the
+days of Rabbi Gershom (A.D.1000) who denounced it as a scandal to the Gentiles,
+the learned Prof. H. Graetz informs me, with some indignation, that the rite
+was never practised and that the great Rabbi contended only against polygamy.
+Female circumcision, however, is I believe the rule amongst some outlying
+tribes of Jews. The rite is the proper complement of male circumcision, evening
+the sensitiveness of the genitories by reducing it equally in both sexes: an
+uncircumcised woman has the venereal orgasm much sooner and oftener than a
+circumcised man, and frequent coitus would injure her health; hence I believe,
+despite the learned historian, that it is practised by some Eastern Jews.
+"Excision" is universal amongst the negroids of the Upper Nile (Werne), the
+Somαl and other adjacent tribes. The operator, an old woman, takes up the
+instrument, a knife or razor-blade fixed into a wooden handle, and with three
+sweeps cuts off the labia and the head of the clitoris. The parts are then sewn
+up with a packneedle and a thread of sheepskin; and in Dar-For a tin tube is
+inserted for the passage of urine. Before marriage the bridegroom trains
+himself for a month on beef, honey and milk; and, if he can open his bride with
+the natural weapon, he is a sworder to whom no woman in the tribe can deny
+herself. If he fails, he tries penetration with his fingers and by way of last
+resort whips out his whittle and cuts the parts open. The sufferings of the
+first few nights must be severe. The few Somαli prostitutes who practised at
+Aden always had the labiζ and clitoris excised and the skin showing the scars
+of coarse sewing. The moral effect of female circumcision is peculiar. While it
+diminishes the heat of passion it increases licentiousness, and breeds a
+debauchery of mind far worse than bodily unchastity, because accompanied by a
+peculiar cold cruelty and a taste for artificial stimulants to "luxury." It is
+the sexlessness of a spayed canine imitated by the suggestive brain of
+humanity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#487] Koran vi. So called because certain superstitions about<br/>
+
+Cattle are therein mentioned.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#488] Koran iv. So called because it treats of marriages, divorces, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#489] Sνdi (contracted from Sayyidν = my lord) is a title still applied to
+holy men in Marocco and the Maghrib; on the East African coast it is assumed by
+negro and negroid Moslems, e.g. Sidi Mubαrak Bombay; and "Seedy boy" is the
+Anglo-Indian term for a Zanzibar-man. "Khawwαs" is one who weaves palm-leaves
+(Khos) into baskets, mats, etc.: here, however, it may be an inherited name.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#490] i.e. in spirit; the "strangers yet" of poor dear Richard<br/>
+
+Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#491] Al-Hakk = the Truth, one of the ninety-nine names of<br/>
+
+Allah.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#492] The Moslem is still unwilling to address Salαm (Peace be with you) to
+the Christian, as it is obligatory (Farz) to a Moslem (Koran, chapt. iv. and
+lxviii.). He usually evades the difficulty by saluting the nearest Moslem or by
+a change of words Allah Yahdν-k (Allah direct thee to the right way) or "Peace
+be upon us and the righteous worshipers of Allah" (not you) or Al-Samm (for
+Salam) alayka = poison to thee. The idea is old: Alexander of Alexandria in his
+circular letter describes the Arian heretics as "men whom it is not lawful to
+salute or to bid God-speed."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#493] Koran xxxvi. 82. I have before noted that this famous phrase was
+borrowed from the Hebrews, who borrowed it from the Egyptians.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#494] The story of Moses and Khizr has been noticed before. See Koran chapt.
+xviii. 64 et seq. It is also related, says Lane (ii. 642), by Al-Kazwνni in the
+Ajαib al-Makhlϊkαt. This must be "The Angel and the Hermit" in the Gesta
+Romanorum, Tale lxxx. which possibly gave rise to Parnell's Hermit; and Tale
+cxxvii. "Of Justice and Equity." The Editor says it "contains a beautiful
+lesson:" I can find only excellent excuses for "doing evil that good may come
+of it."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#495] Koran chapt. v.108.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#496] The doggrel is phenomenal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#497] He went in wonder and softened heart to see the miracle of saintly
+affection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#498] In Sufistical parlance, the creature is the lover and the Creator the
+Beloved: worldly existence is Disunion, parting, severance; and the life to
+come is Reunion. The basis of the idea is the human soul being a divinζ
+particula aurζ, a disjoined molecule from the Great Spirit, imprisoned in a
+jail of flesh; and it is so far valuable that it has produced a grand and
+pathetic poetry; but Common Sense asks, Where is the proof? And Reason wants to
+know, What does it all mean?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#499] Koran xiii. 41.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#500] Robinson Crusoe, with a touch of Arab prayerfulness.<br/>
+
+Also the story of the Knight Placidus in the Gesta (cx.),<br/>
+
+Boccaccio, etc.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#501] Arabs note two kinds of leprosy, "Bahak" or "Baras" the common or
+white, and "Juzam" the black leprosy; the leprosy of the joints, mal rouge.
+Both are attributed to undue diet as eating fish and drinking milk; and both
+are treated with tonics, especially arsenic. Leprosy is regarded by Moslems as
+a Scriptural malady on account of its prevalence amongst the Israelites who, as
+Manetho tells us, were expelled from Egypt because they infected and polluted
+the population. In mediζval Christendom an idea prevailed that the Saviour was
+a leper; hence the term "morbus sacer"; the honours paid to the sufferers by
+certain Saints and the Papal address (Clement III. A.D.1189) dilectis filiis
+leprosis. (Farrar's Life of Christ, i.149.) For the "disgusting and impetuous
+lust" caused by leprosy, see Sonnini (p.560) who visited the lepers at Canea in
+Candia. He is one of many who describes this symptom; but in the Brazil, where
+the foul malady still prevails, I never heard of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#502] A city in Irak; famous for the three days' battle which caused the
+death of Yezdegird, last Sassanian king.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#503] A mountain pass near Meccah famous for the "First Fealty of the Steep"
+(Pilgrimage ii. 126). The mosque was built to commemorate the event.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#504] To my surprise I read in Mr. Redhouse's "Mesnevi" (Trubner, 1881),
+"Arafat, the mount where the victims are slaughtered by the pilgrims." (p.60).
+This ignorance is phenomenal. Did Mr. Redhouse never read Burckhardt or Burton?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#505] i.e. listening to the sermon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#506] It is sad doggrel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#507] This long story, containing sundry episodes and occupying fifty-three
+Nights, is wholly omitted by Lane (ii. 643) because "it is a compound of the
+most extravagant absurdities." He should have enabled his readers to form their
+own judgment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#508] Called Jamasp (brother and minister of the ancient Persian King
+Gushtasp) in the translations of Trebutien and others from Von Hammer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#509] The usual term of lactation in the East, prolonged to two years and
+a-half, which is considered the rule laid down by the Shara' or precepts of the
+Prophet. But it is not unusual to see children of three and even four years
+hanging to their mothers' breasts. During this period the mother does not
+cohabit with her husband; the separation beginning with her pregnancy. Such is
+the habit, not only of the "lower animals," but of all ancient peoples, the
+Egyptians (from whom the Hebrews borrowed it), the Assyrians and the Chinese. I
+have discussed its bearing upon pregnancy in my "City of the Saints": the
+Mormons insist upon this law of purity being observed; and the beauty, strength
+and good health of the younger generation are proofs of their wisdom.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#510] Thus distinguishing it from "Asal-kasab," cane honey or sugar. See
+vol. i., 271.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#511] The student of Hinduism will remember the Nαga-Kings and<br/>
+
+Queens (Melusines and Echidnζ) who guard the earth-treasures in<br/>
+
+Naga-land. The first appearance of the snake in literature is in<br/>
+
+Egyptian hieroglyphs, where he forms the letters f and t, and<br/>
+
+acts as a determinative in the shape of a Cobra di Capello<br/>
+
+(Coluber Naja) with expanded hood.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#512] In token that he was safe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#513] "Akhir al-Zamαn." As old men praise past times, so prophets prefer to
+represent themselves as the last. The early Christians caused much scandal
+amongst the orderly law-loving Romans by their wild and mistaken predictions of
+the end of the world being at hand. The catastrophe is a fact for each man
+under the form of death; but the world has endured for untold ages and there is
+no apparent cause why it should not endure as many more. The "latter days," as
+the religious dicta of most "revelations" assure us, will be richer in sinners
+than in sanctity: hence "End of Time" is a facetious Arab title for a villain
+of superior quality. My Somali escort applied it to one thus distinguished: in
+1875, I heard at Aden that he ended life by the spear as we had all predicted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#514] Jahannam and the other six Hells are personified as feminine; and
+(woman-like) they are somewhat addicted to prolix speechification.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#515] These puerile exaggerations are fondly intended to act as nurses
+frighten naughty children.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#516] Alluding to an oft-quoted saying "Lau lα-ka, etc. Without thee (O
+Mohammed) We (Allah) had not created the spheres," which may have been
+suggested by "Before Abraham was, I am" (John viii. 58); and by Gate xci. of
+Zoroastrianism "O Zardusht for thy sake I have created the world" (Dabistan i.
+344). The sentiment is by no means "Shi'ah," as my learned friend Prof. Aloys
+Springer supposes. In his Mohammed (p. 220) we find an extract from a sectarian
+poet, "For thee we dispread the earth; for thee we caused the waters to flow;
+for thee we vaulted the heavens." As Baron Alfred von Kremer, another learned
+and experienced Orientalist, reminds me, the "Shi'ahs" have always shown a
+decided tendency to this kind of apotheosis and have deified or quasi-deified
+Ali and the Imams. But the formula is first found in the highly orthodox Burdah
+poem of Al-Busiri:—
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"But for him (Lau lα-hu) the world had never come out of nothingness."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hence it has been widely diffused. See Les Aventures de Kamrup (pp. 146-7) and
+Les uvres de Wali (pp. 51-52), by M. Garcin de Tassy and the Dabistan (vol. i.
+pp. 2-3).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#517] Arab. "Sνmiyα" from the Pers., a word apparently built on the model of
+"Kαmiyα" = alchemy, and applied, I have said, to fascination, minor miracles
+and white magic generally like the Hindu "Indrajal." The common term for
+Alchemy is Ilm al-Kαf (the K-science) because it is not safe to speak of it
+openly as Alchemy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#518] Mare Tenebrarum = Sea of Darknesses; usually applied to the "mournful
+and misty Atlantic."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#519] Some Moslems hold that Solomon and David were buried in Jerusalem,
+others on the shore of Lake Tiberias. Mohammed, according to the history of
+Al-Tabari (p. 56 vol. i. Duleux's "Chronique de Tabari") declares that the
+Jinni bore Solomon's corpse to a palace hewn in the rock upon an island
+surrounded by a branch of the "Great Sea" and set him on a throne, with his
+ring still on his finger, under a guard of twelve Jinns. "None hath looked upon
+the tomb save only two, Affan who took Bulukiya as his companion: with extreme
+pains they arrived at the spot, and Affan was about to carry off the ring when
+a thunderbolt consumed him. So Bulukiya returned."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#520] Koran xxxviii. 34, or, "art the liberal giver."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#521] i.e. of the last trumpet blown by the Archangel Israfil: an idea
+borrowed from the Christians. Hence the title of certain churches—ad Tubam.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#522] This may mean that the fruits were fresh and dried like dates or
+tamarinds (a notable wonder), or soft and hard of skin like grapes and
+pomegranates.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#523] Arab. "Ai-lksνr" meaning lit. an essence; also the philosopher's
+stone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#524] Name of the Jinni whom Solomon imprisoned in Lake<br/>
+
+Tiberias (See vol. i., 41).<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#525] Vulgarly pronounced "Jahannum." The second hell is usually assigned to
+Christians. As there are seven Heavens (the planetary orbits) so, to satisfy
+Moslem love of symmetry, there must be as many earths and hells under the
+earth. The Egyptians invented these grim abodes, and the marvellous Persian
+fancy worked them into poem.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#526] Arab. "Yαjϊj and Majuj," first named in Gen. x. 2, which gives the
+ethnology of Asia Minor, circ. B.C. 800. "Gomer" is the Gimri or Cymmerians;
+"Magog" the original Magi, a division of the Medes, "Javan" the Ionian Greeks,
+"Meshesh" the Moschi; and "Tires" the Turusha, or primitive Cymmerians. In
+subsequent times, "Magog" was applied to the Scythians, and modern Moslems
+determine from the Koran (chaps. xviii. and xxi.) that Yajuj and Majuj are the
+Russians, whom they call Moska or Moskoff from the Moskwa River,
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#527] I attempt to preserve the original pun; "Mukarrabin" (those near
+Allah) being the Cherubim, and the Creator causing Iblis to draw near Him
+(karraba).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#528] A vulgar version of the Koran (chaps. vii.), which seems to have
+borrowed from the Gospel of Barnabas. Hence Adam becomes a manner of God-man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#529] These wild fables are caricatures of Rabbinical legends which began
+with "Lilith," the Spirit-wife of Adam: Nature and her counterpart, Physis and
+Antiphysis, supply a solid basis for folk-lore. Amongst the Hindus we have
+Brahma (the Creator) and Viswakarmα, the anti-Creator: the former makes a horse
+and a bull and the latter caricatures them with an ass and a buffalo, and so
+forth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#530] This is the "Lauh al-MahfÏŠz," the Preserved Tablet, upon which are
+written all Allah's decrees and the actions of mankind good (white) and evil
+(black). This is the "perspicuous Book" of the Koran, chaps. vi. 59. The idea
+again is Guebre.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#531] i.e. the night before Friday which in Moslem parlance would be Friday
+night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#532] Again Persian "Gαw-i-Zamνn" = the Bull of the Earth.<br/>
+
+"The cosmogony of the world," etc., as we read in the Vicar of<br/>
+
+Wakefield.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#533] The Calc. Edit. ii. 614. here reads by a clerical error "bull."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#534] i.e. Lakes and rivers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#535] Here some abridgement is necessary, for we have another recital of
+what has been told more than once.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#536] This name, "King of Life," is Persian: "Tegh" or "Tigh" means a
+scimitar and "Bahrwαn," is, I conceive, a mistake for "Bihrϊn," the Persian
+name of Alexander the Great.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#537] Arab. "Mulαkαt" or meeting the guest which, I have said, is an
+essential part of Eastern ceremony, the distance from the divan, room, house or
+town being proportioned to his rank or consideration.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#538] Arab. "Sifr": whistling is held by the Badawi to be the speech of
+devils; and the excellent explorer Burckhardt got a bad name by the ugly habit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#539] The Arabs call "Shikk" (split man) and the Persians "Nνmchahrah"
+(half-face) a kind of demon like a man divided longitudinally: this gruesome
+creature runs with amazing speed and is very cruel and dangerous. For the
+celebrated soothsayers "Shikk" and "Sαtih" see Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 371.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#540] Arab. "Takht" (Persian) = a throne or a capital.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#541] Arab. "Wady al-Naml"; a reminiscence of the Koranic Wady (chaps.
+xxvii.), which some place in Syria and others in Tαif.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#542] This is the old, old fable of the River Sabbation which<br/>
+
+Pliny ((xxx). 18) reports as "drying up every Sabbath-day"<br/>
+
+(Saturday): and which Josephus reports as breaking the Sabbath by<br/>
+
+flowing only on the Day of Rest.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#543] They were keeping the Sabbath. When lodging with my Israelite friends
+at Tiberias and Safet, I made a point of never speaking to them (after the
+morning salutation) till the Saturday was over.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#544] Arab. "La'al" and "Yαkϊt," the latter also applied to the garnet and
+to a variety of inferior stones. The ruby is supposed by Moslems to be a common
+mineral thoroughly "cooked" by the sun, and produced only on the summits of
+mountains inaccessible even to Alpinists. The idea may have originated from
+exaggerated legends of the Badakhshαn country (supposed to be the home of the
+ruby) and its terrors of break-neck foot-paths, jagged peaks and horrid
+ravines: hence our "balas-ruby" through the Spanish corruption "Balaxe."
+Epiphanius, archbishop of Salamis in Cyprus, who died A.D. 403, gives, m a
+little treatise (De duodecim gemmis rationalis summi sacerdotis Hebrζorum
+Liber, opera Fogginii, Romae, 1743, p. 30), a precisely similar description of
+the mode of finding jacinths in Scythia. "In a wilderness in the interior of
+Great Scythia," he writes, "there is a valley begirt with stony mountains as
+with walls. It is inaccessible to man, and so excessively deep that the bottom
+of the valley is invisible from the top of the surrounding mountains. So great
+is the darkness that it has the effect of a kind of chaos. To this place
+certain criminals are condemned, whose task it is to throw down into the valley
+slaughtered lambs, from which the skin has been first taken off. The little
+stones adhere to these pieces of flesh. Thereupon the eagles, which live on the
+summits of the mountains, fly down following the scent of the flesh, and carry
+away the lambs with the stones adhering to them. They, then, who are condemned
+to this place watch until the eagles have finished their meal, and run and take
+away the stones." Epiphanius, who wrote this, is spoken of in terms of great
+respect by many ecclesiastical writers, and St. Jerome styles the treatise here
+quoted, "Egregium volumen, quod si legere volueris, plenissimam scientiam
+consequeris ," and, indeed, it is by no means improbable that it was from the
+account of Epiphanius that this story was first translated into Arabic. A
+similar account is given by Marco Polo and by Nicolς de Conti, as of a usage
+which they had heard was practiced in India, and the position ascribed to the
+mountain by Conti, namely, fifteen days' journey north of Vijanagar, renders it
+highly probable that Golconda was alluded to. He calls the mountain
+Albenigaras, and says that it was infested with serpents. Marco Polo also
+speaks of these serpents, and while his account agrees with that of Sindbad,
+inasmuch as the serpents, which are the prey of Sindbad's Rukh, are devoured by
+the Venetian's eagles, that of Conti makes the vultures and eagles fly away
+with the meat to places where they may be safe from the serpents. (Introd. p.
+xiii., India in the Fifteenth Century, etc., R. H. Major, London, Hakluyt Soc.
+MDCCCLVII.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#545] Elder Victory: "Nasr" is a favourite name with Moslems.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#546] These are the "Swan-maidens" of whom Europe in late years has heard
+more than enough. It appears to me that we go much too far for an explanation
+of the legend; a high-bred girl is so like a swan in many points that the idea
+readily suggests itself. And it is also aided by the old Egyptian (and
+Platonic) belief in pre-existence and by the Rabbinic and Buddhistic doctrine
+of ante-natal sin, to say nothing of metempsychosis. (Joseph Ant. xvii.. 153.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#547] The lines have occurred before. I quote Mr. Payne for variety.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#548] Arab. "Al-Khayαl": it is a synonym of "al-Tayf' and the nearest
+approach to our "ghost," as has been explained. In poetry it is the figure of
+the beloved seen when dreaming.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#549] He does not kiss her mouth because he intends to marry her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#550] It should be "manifest" excellence. (Koran xxvii. 16.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#551] The phrase is Koranic used to describe Paradise, and Damascus is a
+familiar specimen of a city under which a river, the Baradah, passes,
+distributed into a multitude of canals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#552] It may be noted that rose-water is sprinkled on the faces of the
+"nobility and gentry, " common water being good enough for the commonalty. I
+have had to drink tea made in compliment with rose-water and did not enjoy it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#553] The "Valley Flowery:" Zahrαn is the name of a place near<br/>
+
+Al-Medinah.<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#554] The Proud or Petulant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#555] i.e. Lion, Son of ( ?).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#556] i.e. Many were slain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#557] I venture to draw attention to this battle-picture which is at once
+simple and highly effective.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#558] Anglicθ a quibble, evidently evasive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#559] In text "Anα A'amil," etc., a true Egypto-Syrian vulgarism.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#560] i.e. magical formulζ. The context is purposely left vague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#561] The repetition is a condescension, a token of kindness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#562] This is the common cubic of 18 inches: the modern vary from 22 to 26.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#563] I have noticed the two-humped Bactrian camel which the Syrians and
+Egyptians compare with an elephant. See p. 221 (the neo-Syrian) Book of Kalilah
+and Dimnah.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#564] The Noachian dispensation revived the Islam or true religion first
+revealed to Adam and was itself revived and reformed by Moses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#565] Probably a corruption of the Turkish "Kara Tαsh" = black stone, in
+Arab. "Hαjar Jahannam" (hell-stone), lava, basalt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#566] A variant of lines in Night xx., vol. i., 211.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#567] i.e. Daughter of Pride: the proud.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#568] In the Calc. Edit. by misprint "Maktab." Jabal Mukattam is the old
+sea-cliff where the Mediterranean once beat and upon whose North-Western slopes
+Cairo is built.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#569] Arab. "Kutb"; lie. an axle, a pole; next a prince; a high order or
+doyen in Sainthood especially amongst the Sufi-gnostics.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#570] Lit. "The Green" (Prophet), a mysterious personage confounded with
+Elijah, St. George and others. He was a Moslem, i.e. a ewe believer in the
+Islam of his day and Wazir to Kaykobad, founder of the Kayanian dynasty, sixth
+century B.C. We have before seen him as a contemporary of Moses. My learned
+friend Ch. Clermone-Ganneau traces him back, with a multitude of his similars
+(Proteus, Perseus, etc.), to the son of Osiris (p. 45, Horus et Saint Georges).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#571] Arab. "Waled," more ceremonious than "ibn." It is, by the by, the
+origin of our "valet" in its sense of boy or servant who is popularly addressed
+Yα waled. Hence I have seen in a French book of travels "un petit Iavelet."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#572] Arab. "Azal" = Eternity (without beginning); "Abad" =<br/>
+
+Infinity (eternity without end).<br/>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#573] The Moslem ritual for slaughtering (by cutting the throat) is not so
+strict as that of the Jews; but it requires some practice; and any failure in
+the conditions renders the meat impure, mere carrion (fatνs).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#574] The Wazir repeats all the words spoken by the Queen—but "in iteration
+there is no recreation."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#575] A phrase always in the Moslem's mouth: the slang meaning of "we put
+our trust in Allah" is "let's cut our stick."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#576] Koran liii. 14. This "Sidrat al-Muntahα" (Zizyphus lotus) stands m the
+seventh heaven on the right hand of Allah's throne: and even the angels may not
+pass beyond it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#577] Arab. "Habash" the word means more than "Abyssinia" as it includes the
+Dankali Country and the sea-board, a fact unknown to the late Lord Stratford de
+Redcliffe when he disputed with the Porte. I ventured to set him right and
+suffered accordingly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+[FN#578] Here ends vol. ii. of the Mac. Edit.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 5, by Richard F. Burton
+
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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